We were pumped arriving into Mexico City as we were about to meet Kath, Paul and Lilah and get our first taste of home since leaving nearly six months before. Our reunion was like one you would watch in a Hollywood movie. At first sight, we ran towards each other, stopping in the middle of the road for a huge bear hug, with tears rolling down our faces. Argh, real friends and it was like we hadn’t missed a thing! We got back to the good old days quickly with Kath having a bottle of Champagne ready and awaiting our arrival!

The house Adam and I stayed in was down the road from the FitzMeagers and it was a sight to be seen. It was run by two, older Mexican sisters, who lived there with their three dogs, a random business man and blow ins like us! The house was purple from top to tail. Purple walls, couches, curtains, cushions, bed spreads, you name it, it was purple! The house was immaculately clean but cluttered and full of quirky art, books and relics from their past! We were served breakfast each morning at their dining table where their lovely maid prepared us tea in a pot, with milk from a cow shaped pourer! My favourite memory of staying in that house was the morning I walked into the shared bathroom to find that their furry friend had forgotten the shared bathroom etiquette and had shat on the bath mat at the entrance to the shower!

We hit the ground running with the free walking tour and Luche Libre Mexican wrestling on day one. Our walking tour started with our enthusiastic tour guide leading us around downtown, through the ruins el Templo Major and past the Metropolitan Cathedral with the intriguing key statue of Pope John Paul II out the front. We passed the Casa de Azulejos (House of Blue Tiles) and finished the tour in front of the ornate, grand, Palace of Fine Arts. From there we could see the ‘Torre Lationamericano’ building, which our guide described as the ugliest but most important building in the city. Its status arises from its international recognition as an engineering and architectural landmark, since it was the world’s first skyscraper built on highly active seismic land. It was astounding that the building was still standing, especially as every other building in the city was on a noticeable lean! Given we had multiple food and drink recommendations from the tour, we agreed Mexican tacos were a must, and sat with Coronas in hand and ate A$1 tacos! Our guide had also given us a great tip around visiting the top of the ‘Torre Latinoamericano’! Instead of lining up in the sea of tourists for a ticket to the viewing platform, we instead headed to the restaurant, just one floor lower and had a cocktail with the same view for the same price! Free cocktail is what we heard, so after tacos we headed to the top of the ugliest building for yummy cocktails!

The Luche Libre wrestling was another world. It’s called professional wrestling and is said to be an athletic form of entertainment, based on the portrayal of a combat sport. The wrestlers wear colourful masks, and participate in high flying, rapid sequence holds and manoeuvres whilst the crowd both cheers and hurls abuse. There were people there who were genuine supporters, they had their favourite wrestlers, wore character masks and cheered like they were watching someone about to be slaughtered. As soon as we sat at our seats we had a waitress come and serve us giant beers and we watched as busty cheer leaders introduced each hero into the arena. We decided we were going to have to join the crazy's to enjoy the experience, so we cheered, hollered and chose our favourite wrestlers to back. Lilah was super baby and sat intrigued with her baby ear muffs and took it all in.

On day 2, Kath had read about a central park near by which was supposed to have museums and lawn space, perfect for picnics and a bit of culture. To our delight, when we walked out the front door in the morning, there was a farmer’s market waiting for us on our doorstep. We collected delicious looking radish, avocado, cheeses and even zucchini flowers for cheap as chips and set off for our picnic. After navigating the ridiculous maze that is Mexico City, we eventually arrived at the park to find it behind bars and closed on Mondays! We tried out our Spanish with three security guards and were told there was another park further up the road, with a lake. So, we set off, and walked for what felt like forever along an eight-lane highway, exhaust fumes engulfing us and wishing we could borrow Lilah’s muffs! We eventually arrived after around 1.5 hours of walking, to said lake, which was grubby and in no way picturesque, a total let down. And to top it off, we were there for only 45 minutes before the rain decided to join us! Not really the day of exploring we had hoped for!

Day 3 had us catching up for brunch with Simon, Sandra and Alec at a traditional Mexican restaurant. Sandra took the reigns and ordered seven traditional meals between the six of us! We had everything from mole to ant eggs. We sat with a plate in front of us, ate for around 5 minutes, then passed each plate to our left, leaving a new meal in front of each person and an opportunity to try a new piece of Mexico! It was a lovely experience. We thought it was just brunch, but Sandra had other plans! We were escorted to a traditional Mexican sweet shop, a restaurant for traditional margaritas, to Museo Soumaya and then invited back to their place for wine, tequila and mezcal! For a couple we had met once, just a few weeks before, they were unbelievably generous and kind, so much so that we even managed to convince them to join us in Vegas!