We were absolutely thrilled with Victor & Sergio's apartment. While we never met them, they were attentive in their correspondence, and Maricarmen welcomed us without a hitch. The apartment is a 4th floor walk-up, which normally wouldn't be worth noting, but unless you're already acclimated to the DF's elevation, you will definitely feel the effects.

The apartment is spotlessly clean and beautifully decorated--just personal enough to not feel sterile, but not so overdone that you feel that you are tripping over someone else's stuff. The beds were firm and comfortable and linens were great.

The location at the end of an alley turned out to be a great asset--I'm not quite sure how it is that the alley manages to feel so clean and safe in the middle of a huge metropolis. Regarding safety, I find myself feeling less safe in San Francisco on a nearly daily basis than I ever felt in Mexico City.)

To be honest, initially I had planned to stay in la Roma or Condesa (the hip neighborhoods to the south) and had some doubts about staying in la Zona Rosa, which I understood to have seen better days. In fact, the neighborhood is clearly on the upswing, and even includes some very fine dining (don't miss Mar a Mar!) If you are gay there are a dozen bars to chose from in the surrounding streets, but we also had a ridiculously fun time in Marrakesh and La Purisima on Calle Cuba in el Centro.

We got a weekly pass for the city's Ecobici bike program, which we used extensively (you need to get a card at the office in la Roma in person, but after that the system is incredibly user-friendly; the only shortcoming is that the system shuts down after 12:30.) Also note that Uber is an amazing value in Mexico City, where taxi's can be dodgy.

All in all, we were extremely impressed with Mexico City, which felt remarkably progressive and optimistic, despite Mexico's very real problems. We can't wait to return.