This was my first trip to Mexico City since living there as a child in the early sixties. Dec 18-27, 2012.

Paco and Maria’s house is located in the heart of the city near Chapultepec Park, which houses a number of major museums, galleries, historical sites and family activities.

Their home is a stunning, open space plan, ceramic tile floored, airy and bright design, with white walls and lots of perfectly placed art pieces, along with Paco’s photographs taken during their travels.

There is an interior courtyard where there’s a lovely table and chairs, flowers, small lawn, flowering trees and bushes. The main floor has a big entrance hall, a library, and the living room with two distinct seating areas, the dining room and very modern kitchen.

There are two resident dogs – Maya the St. Bernard, and Copito the terrier (exact breed unknown). They are both sweet-natured and welcoming to guests.

On arrival Paco sat me down and gave me the basics: map showing where their home is located, a map of the subway stops, the basic rules of the house, how to use taxis, etc. He also provided me with a cell phone that had his numbers, Maria’s numbers, and the house number, taxi companies & emergency numbers. So thoughtful.

Their housekeeper, Yolanda, is a complete charm. She prepares a big breakfast spread every morning, cleans the guests’ rooms and the house each day. She also kindly did my laundry for me when I asked if I could use the washing machine & dryer. What a treat!

Each guest room is equipped with plenty of electrical sockets for your smart phone and computer, a desk and chair, a closet and storage. And the corner room also has a mini-fridge and a TV – they have HD, satellite TV.

I watched their giant TV in their beautiful living room when in the mood – mostly CNN in English and a few shows in English, which was nice after struggling with Spanish all day.

All the home’s sleeping rooms are on the second floor with a view of the courtyard. There are two guest rooms with double or queen beds, one with an additional bunk bed, each with a small couch, good-sized desk and chair. There is one smallish bathroom on the second floor with tiled shower, sink and toilet for the guests’ use. There is a another small powder room on the main floor. There is also a lovely, open seating area on the 2nd floor with a coffee table, travel books and comfy couch and chairs.

Paco and Maria are kind, thoughtful, intelligent, curious people. On my last full day, they took the time to drive me to the street where I lived as a child, and drove at a snail’s pace so that I could scour the area for our old home.

My deepest thanks to Paco, Maria and Yolanda for a lovely stay!

Cheers,
Judy McLarty
Sunshine Coast, British Columbia, Canada