Happy first Friday of October! Like last week, this post is being written early (Wednesday morning) as friends are coming to visit this weekend (they actually just arrived), and I will be offline to explore more.
What’s on my mind: airlines & being powerless
I guess it’s humbling, but it’s definitely annoying. (Almost) No matter how far you make it in life, you’ll still find yourself in situations where you’re at the mercy of others (usually an admin that DGAF).
Airlines are the thing that frequently come to mind as you usually find yourself SOL. Recently, we found out the second leg of my mom’s flight was missing. Yes, missing. It was not canceled, but there was no longer a record of it.
After calling Delta and being told the wait was 11 hours (her flight was in less than that), I tried iMessaging them. Within a few hours, someone got back to me but couldn’t tell what was wrong. I called Aeromexico (whose flight it was) and they told me Delta hadn’t booked it. Once I spoke to Delta, they blamed Aeromexico for canceling it. We were caught in the crossfire of laziness and indifference.
Eventually, we were able to get my mom the same flight home a day later. When I asked about compensation for a hotel overnight and food, Delta said I’d have to talk to Aeromexico as it was their fault. Yay to being powerless and at the mercy of a faraway admin.
Where to next: Argentina?
Last week I talked about stressing about where to go in 2022. After doing some mindless Googling yesterday, I’ve found signs of life of Argentina reopening.
“On November 1, the same rules will be extended to all fully vaccinated foreigners. All visitors would be required to have a PCR-RT test between days 5 and 7 in the country.”1
“Then from November 1, all foreign visitors will be welcome and exempt from quarantine, if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. They must present proof of a negative COVD-19 result from a PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before travel, in addition to taking an antigen test seven days after arrival.”2
As you can see above, there are some conflicts on what you need to enter (and do once you’re there), but multiple sources are all saying Argentina will reopen to vaccinated foreigners November 1.
This is somewhere we haven’t been and that is high on our list. Flights look to be in the high $500s to low $700 range for the early part of next year (and I expect prices to decline as it gets closer). Airbnbs seems to be cheaper than in Mexico; 1) no occupancy tax (which saves ~$200-300); and 2) much lower demand than Mexico is currently experiencing.
While flights aren’t too expensive, Argentina is further and takes much longer to get to from LA. There are no direct flights, so we would likely be transiting through JFK, MIA, or DFW. Flights would be in the 15-18 hour range–a far cry from the ~4hr nonstop flight from LAX to MEX.
As it gets closer, we will research requirements to enter and weigh the pros and cons of going. For now, we’re very excited and Argentina becomes a contender for where we’ll spend the first quarter of 2022.
What’s in my tummy: Cicatriz and many tacos
Last week I talked about Cicatriz and their housemade ricotta. Since our brunch there two Saturdays ago, we went back three times with my mom–twice for dinner and once for lunch.
At this point, it’s abundantly clear it’s one of my favorite restaurants in Mexico City. The only downside is they don’t change their menu very often (if at all?). I think I’d go back for brunch and lunch once more, but after that I’ll probably wait till our next return before returning.
On the other hand, we ate a lot of tacos while my mom was here. Not only are tacos wonderful, but they are inexpensive (read: cheap), accessible, and quick to make. As “fine” or high end dining becomes more of a slog, I think I want to eat way more casual or street food going forward. Not only are the flavors massive, the downside is extremely limited.
Stay tuned for a blogpost and YouTube video on my top tacos of Mexico City.
What I’m watching: nothing (actually)
Last week I mentioned that our current Airbnb doesn’t have a smart TV.
While I have been watching sports (F1, EPL, UCL, etc.) on my iPad, we have watched zero TV or Netflix in the last week. I’d love to say because of this I’m reading a ton, but I actually read considerably less last week.
Instead, we spent the last 6 days exploring Mexico City with my mom whilst eating, filming, and talking. While I do miss Netflix (and mindlessly watching TV), it has been a nice break.
What I’m reading: Thursday Murder Club
I’m currently 80-90% done with TMC. While I had zero idea what was going on in the first 20-25% of the book, I’ve come to really enjoy it. The gist is at a retirement community there’s a group that meets on Thursdays to discuss murders. Not too long into the book, there’s an actual murder and they very cleverly find ways to get involved in the actual case.
There are several characters and many twists and turns. I believe a follow up to this book comes out this or next week.
After this, I’m not too sure what I’ll be reading. My new kindle finally made its way to me (thanks Yunj!), so I’m not sure if I want to read or continue audiobook-ing.
Verdict: if you enjoy mystery, you should definitely read this!
What’s up this weekend?
This weekend our friends, Krizia and Patrick, will be visiting (actually, they’re already here). We don’t have too many plans scheduled, but we will be eating at Pujol (yay!).
I’m sure we will explore some different neighborhoods, revisit some places they went on their last trip here, try places new to all of us, and of course eat many, many tacos.
Stay tuned for videos from their and my mom’s trips to Mexico City.
Coming soon…
While I spent almost all of the last week or so “off”, I do have quite a lot coming down the pipeline still.
Later today (Wednesday, Sep. 29), I’ll follow up my Portugal D7 Visa with Netherland’s DAFT Visa.
Next week, I’m not too sure what I’ll be writing, but as of now, I’ll be continuing with European long term visas by discussing Spain.
On the video front, tonight our first video with Marissa visiting us in Queretaro will go live.
My most recent video, part 2 of a neighborhood tour of Condesa and Roma, can be seen below:
Have a great weekend and see you next week!