Greetings from New York! It is currently 14 degrees which is oddly great compared to the 7 degrees it was last night- just kidding, it all feels like the frozen tundra.
I am braving the cold because I am here for New York Fashion Week! As you can imagine it is a wild time in the city where ladies and gents are scrambling all around the city heading to shows, meetings, fittings, and brunches galore. The energy is pretty infectious and you can't help but love the welcomed stress.
My stay has consisted of all of the above but I'd have to say my favorite moment was receiving a surprise bouquet of a dozen long stemmed roses from my bae for Valentine's Day. Ugh, so sweet and so unexpected.
During this trip I am fortunate enough to be staying at a beautiful boutique hotel called The Evelyn. I have nothing but great things to say about calling this place home for the last few days. I think my favorite thing about it is how incredibly central the hotel is. It has made getting around Manhattan such a dream which is always my biggest stress.
Tomorrow is my last full day here in amazing New York. Cheers to braving the cold + snow. Keep up with my updates on Instagram and Snapchat (LILBLACKBOOTS)!
Happy to finally be sharing more photos from my amazing first trip of the year- MEXICO CITY! When it came to ringing in 2016 and starting the year off right, I knew I needed to get out of LA and spend a few days in a completely different environment. So, me and my Instagram husband planned a trip in 24 hours with an outbound ticket heading down south! I don't think I've planned anything within 24 hours let alone something involving a passport.
I am a big lover of spontaneity so something like this was right up my alley. But with that spontaneity does come it's downfalls which is why I thought it would be great to share with you some traveling tips when visiting Mexico City.
An International Phone Plan is Your Friend
Since we left in such a frenzy, we didn't have time to change our plans beforehand. Not a deal breaker, but it definitely requires some creativity later on. Let's face it, our phone's are not only great for wasting countless hours on Instagram, but also for navigation, google searches, and MAKING PHONE CALLS. All things highly necessary when navigating through a new city. Did I mention Uber? We'll get to that later.
Where You Stay is Where You Play
We received countless recommendations on which areas to stay in. Unfortunately we weren't able to find an Airbnb so last minute in those districts but our loft about 18 mins away was still lovely (see photos above!) Basically La Roma or La Condesa are where you want to be. Such tranquil, beautiful places filled with amazing restaurants, coffee shops, and parks. The Airbnb's are insanely adorable and completely affordable. What's not to love?!
Uber > Taxi's
So it's no secret that Uber's are wildly more popular than taxi's. However, when you don't have internet (ugh) taxi's may be your only option. What we discovered was a mixed bag of sorts. We had a few awesome drivers and some not-so-awesome rides. Biggest tip would be to negotiate your price beforehand. Make sure to notice things like their "meter being broken." Also make sure you are getting into an official taxi cab. You'll either see the letter "A" or "B" on their vehicle. And obviously, cash is key!
A small victory was that we were able to request an uber using wifi from our Airbnb when heading out. The stress of not having to give a taxi driver directions (that they sometimes ignored) was fantastic. Uber rides are also very decently priced there. I think our bill at a single dinner one night was double our accumulated Uber bill for the entire trip. Crazy!
Although there were some inconveniences, this trip was one of my favorites. With traveling comes the good and the bad. You will always learn something new from each new adventure. Next Mexico City post I will touch more on sights to see, mapping out your plan of attack, and why locals can make your experience so much better!
