A three hours flight from Miami and we are in Mexico City with Agathe and Juan. Yahoo!

Agathe had recently moved with Juan to Mexico City for few months. The plan is for her to work on her Spanish and discover this beautiful country - a coastal road trip is scheduled for April. They live in Juan's family house on the South side of Mexico City in a nice area called Jardines de Pedegral. We stayed with them and got to meet part of Juan's big family. We arrived at Juan's house just on time to celebrate the birthday of his sister, Marisol, at a local restaurant. This was great fun.

Juan took us the next day to visit the Chapultepec Castle.

A nice walk up the hill to the castle gave us the opportunity to learn from Juan more on the history of Mexico and the importance of the castle at the Battle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War and the subsequent French occupation during the Second Mexican Empire, when Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his wife Empress Carlota chose it as their residence and the seat of their Court in 1864. By the time we ended our climb and reached the top of the hill, the Mexican Republic had been restored (1867) by President Benito Juárez marking the end of the Reform War.

At the castle, we were exhausted but definitely more knowledgable and what a view over the entire City!

Lunch in Roma Norte at Contramar, our second favorite restaurant in Mexico City. Our #1 favorite was reserved that evening to celebrate Agathe's birthday. Definitely a very good day!

Back at the house, a delicious "tres leches" cake was waiting for us to wish Agathe a Happy Birthday with Juan's family. Too bad we had to keep some room for dinner at Maximo Bistro (our #1 favorite), we would have definitely eaten more cake...... Maximo Bistro did not disappoint us and we kept on celebrating Agathe's 37th Birthday with a delicious meal. This may become a tradition!

The next day began with a 5 miles run for the boys (Juan and Pierre) in a very nice park near his house followed by a restoring lunch with the girls (Isabelle and Agathe) at Brassi, a good italian place in the center of Polanco. Our attempt in the afternoon to visit Luis Barragán House and Studio did not bear fruits, thanks to the infamous Mexico City traffic and a not-so-accurate website opening hours info. This did not alter the mood of the troops and we kept enjoying walking through the city discovering local markets.

Late afternoon drinks on the terrace of Hotel Condesa where we met Chloe and the Hollyman's. We enjoyed drinks overlooking La Condesa under a beautiful sunset.

Dinner in Polanco with the Dessors family at Astrid & Gaston, the famous Peruvian restaurant, after a nice walk in Polanco and the visit of a unique concept store: Common People.

Saturday is San Angel Market day!

And people watching.....

Followed by a wonderful lunch at the San Angel Inn located in the beautiful Hacienda Goicoecha right next to Diego Riviera's house and studio.

Where we savored the famous Escamoles. These carefully prepared ant larvas are known as the Mexican caviar.

Despite the incredible traffic jams typical to the Saturday afternoons in CDMX, we made it on time to visit the Museum of Dolores Almedo Patiño at la Noria.

Where we enjoyed the beautiful and peaceful grounds,

And proud peackocks.

Unfortunately, we arrived too late to see the unique Mexican hairless dogs, they were taken inside for their evening meal. But several statues throughout the gardens were reminding us their presence.

Having enjoyed a relaxing break in the beautiful gardens of La Noria, the team was recharged and ready to take the road again - Direction Cuernavaca for a two-night stay at Juan's family weekend house.

Cuernavaca, le largest city and capital of the Morelos State is located 65Km South of Mexico city at a much lower altitude than the District Federal. Isabelle welcomed the sensibly warmer temperatures.

After a good night sleep and slow start, we headed for Brunch at Las Mananitas, a very nice hotel in the center of the city, with more beautiful gardens.

Strategically located near the Cathedral, we visited Robert Brady's house, Casa della Torre, and discovered the world of this American painter, designer and collector.

Robert Brady traveled the world and brought back to his house in Cuernavaca an eclectic collection of amazing objects and designs.

On Monday morning we "ubered" back to the airport, it was time to say goodbye. We were sad to leave but truly enjoyed these five days with Agathe and Juan, spending all these fun and good times together, getting to know Juan better, seeing our beloved daughter, meeting part of Juan's family and discovering more of Mexico, a country we love.