Imagine your arty friend in the big city that you've always wanted to visit goes out of town and offers you her place. That's the experience of staying at Anita's place. Her presence is felt in every room of the apartment, but you have the place to yourself. Plenty of art and travel books in Spanish, English, and Chinese to amuse you plus an enclosed back patio to sip your morning coffee. There is light but no view as the windows look in on a very small interior courtyard or the patio. The location is great as you are on a major bus line and at the edge of both the Condesa and Roma Norte neighborhoods. (Technically I think Anita's place is in Hipódromo; you'll see why it's called that if you join the joggers and circumnavigate Av. Amsterdam, the one time site of a race track.) Her place fronts right on Av. Insurgente Sur, a very busy major thoroughfare. Turn left at the corner (Av. Michoacán) away from Insurgente and you enter into a beautiful neighborhood of parks, eateries, shops, and lovely Art Deco buildings of the '20's and '30's. The neighborhood is a walker's paradise. A couple favorites in the neighborhood were Molino El Pujol, a tiny outpost of the reputedly best restaurant in Mexico City, and Oro de Agua, a charming breakfast and lunch place. Across the Street from Molino EP is a huge and very cool bookstore, Libreria Rosario Castellanos. A very good grocery store is to be found 4 blocks west on Av. Michoacán through Parque México, Superama.
Cross Insurgente and you enter Roma Norte, the "hipster" hangout of CDMX. Walk six blocks to Orizaba and turn left and you will walk straight into some of the coolest parts of the city. Don't stop before you get to Plaza Rio de Janeiro and the giant replica of Michelangelo's David. Two streets to check out that you will cross are Av. Álvaro Obregón (wonderful boulevard with Renaissance statuary) and Colima (hipster ground zero I think). Enjoy!