Mexico City

And, then I was off to Mexico City for Phuong's 40th birthday trip! 

8 ladies, a lot of activities and adventures, and some good learning. 

Some items I would keep in mind on my next visit would include: 

• Prepare for the altitude! No drinking alcohol and do lots of hydrating right away
• DON'T DRINK THE TAP WATER or use the water for brushing your teeth. Avoid ice and food washed in the water (salads, fruit, anything that touches the water!)
• Maybe bring probiotics and liquid IV
• Be ready to pay to use public toilets. Having pesos on hand are important for this.
• Uber only. Do not use public transport.
• Know some Spanish! Mexicans are not all bi-lingual like what we're used to in the states 😅

And, the list of adventures: 

Day 1

Checked in at Sheraton Mexico City Maria Isabel Hotel

Dinner at Salazar - altitude sickness 

"Mexico City's elevation in feet is 7,349, or 2, 240 meters above sea level. Due to Mexico City's height, visitors can often experience altitude sickness, which can really take away from their enjoyment of the trip." For a little more context, Colorado Springs is 6,035 feet, and I've experienced issues with the altitude there in the last few years. 

Day 2

Xochimilco boats - chill, very touristy

Local lunch at Mesón Santa Catarina - yum

Casa Azul - Museo Frida Kahlo - inspiring experience 

Dinner in the neighborhood by the hotel

Lucha Libre - so fun! 

Day 3

Teotihuacan hot air balloon ride over the pyramids! (4:50am pick up from the hotel, and totally worth it) 

Teotihuacan walk (pyramids)

Lunch at La Gruta - awesome cave, great salsas, and the best mole I've ever had

Visit to Bazar Fusion - great collection of boutiques

Dinner at Agua y Sal - delicious!

Some girls went to a speakeasy - Yuki and I called it a night

Day 4

Walk to Chapultepec Castle

Random Taqueria - I had the tuna tacos and I maybe shouldn't have... 

Half the group left for home in the afternoon

Attempt to head to the Mercado de Artesanias La Ciudadela and the best Uber ride 

Tour of the Museo del Chocolate

Walking Plaza de Constitución - street markets, public square 

Dinner at El Balcon del Zocalo - where my stomach issues began, but the food was great! 

Day 5

Breakfast at Panaderia Rosetta

We made it to the Mercado de Artesanias La Ciudadela :) 

It was an action packed time, I had to seriously put my Spanish speaking into practice, and I think we barely scratched the surface of what Mexico city has to offer. I mean, I know I missed out on some great food, even though I had some great food. :) 

List for next time: 

Pujol

Terraza Cha Cha Cha

Limosneros

Contramar

Supra Roma

Le Bipo

late night spot https://lacasadetono.mx/

Boston

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly travel anymore this summer, I was scheduled on a last minute work trip to Cambridge for an in person workshop. It was a week after returning from Colorado, and ended a day before I had tickets to go to Mexico City for a friend's birthday trip. 😜

But, Cambridge was beautiful and clean and old... or wait, maybe Boston was beautiful/clean/old... 

Both were nice 😉, the weather was gorgeous, we had an energizing couple of days together as a working group, and I felt honored to be a part of the work. 

I stayed at the historic Kendall Hotel and we got in a nice walk over to Contessa in Boston for a yummy team dinner! 

Montana, Michigan, Colorado

What a crazy couple of months! 

After coming back from Sensorio, I was invited to Montana and Michigan for quick visits -- and then, I had a week and a half trip planned to Colorado to see my family.  

The visit to Montana was to see my good friends, Brian and Teresa (!!) who moved to Missoula last year, and who thoughtfully invited me out to go to a Decemberists concert at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater! 

The night before my arrival, however, there was a giant storm that knocked over a bunch of trees and took out the power for most of the city! So, the first day I was there, we drove around looking at the fallen trees and planning for a weekend of camping in Brian and Teresa's beautifully designed home. :)  But then, around 11pm that night as we were finishing up some games by floodlight, the power came back on in a delightful moment and things went back to normal. :) 

The next day, I had an easy morning while Brian and Teresa did some work, and then Teresa and I went to lunch and wandered around downtown Missoula. They have a lot of cute shops and bars and a small art museum. Eventually, we headed back to grab Brian and make our way to the concert venue. 

Kettlehouse was nestled right in the mountains, the weather was perfect, and The Decemberists were impressive! 

Then, on my last day there, we got in a little hike before I headed back to the Bay. 

About a week later, J- and I were off to Michigan to visit his family (and for me to meet his family for the first time!).

J-'s mom lives in Michigan, his sister and her two daughters were also visiting from London, and his favorite aunt and uncle were there from Houston! 

We kayaked down the river, played games and rode bikes with the girls, walked the Dow Gardens and did the canopy walk (pictured above), took some late night walks to The Tridge and around the neighborhood, J- cooked all of our dinners, we ate a lot of ice cream, and we were sad to leave as we drove back to the airport. 

We were both a bit nervous going into this trip, and then it was wonderful! 🩵

And then, back Colorado for a week with my family in Colorado Springs and a weekend with my dear friend Michael in Denver! 

Family time started with a little celebration for my dad's birthday at my brother's house, and then continued with a busy and fun weekend together. We went to Casa Bonita in Denver and had a day on the boat down in Pueblo. No drama on the boat this year. Well, except for the rain. :) 

The rest of the time was filled with: my mission for the perfect sneaker, a fun afternoon with Katie, walking the dog with my mom, arcade with the kiddos, lunch with my brother, an afternoon by the pool with my sister-in-law, a visit to the Ninja Warrior gym, and a morning at the pool with the kiddos. 

Joshua and Joy are both excelling at the Ninja Warrior gym and I happened to be there when they both did a crazy laché between two bars that were... 5 or 6 feet apart(?) for the first time! Joshua is 7 and Joy is 5, and both of them are less than 4 feet tall (I think). Amazing!!

At the end of the week, Michael came to pick me up, say hello to my parents, and to see Colorado Springs for the first time! I took him on a quick tour of the Garden of the Gods and The Broadmoor Hotel before we headed back to Denver. 

The rest of the weekend we did a lot of walking, went to an audio exhibit, paddle boated, had a great sushi dinner, went up to Golden, and just had a lot of quality time to catch up and hangout together. :)