Ever since I first started grade school, History quickly became my favorite class and something I still love to study to this day. Architecture on the other hand is something that I don’t know much about, except for a few basics here and there. Nevertheless, when you combine both architecture and history and drop me right in the middle of it, in any city in the world, I’m in heaven. I love old ornate buildings that make me wonder what they would say about everything they have witnessed thru hundreds of years if they were able to talk. I’m just fascinated by historic districts anywhere.
The first really old historic district I ever visited was Mexico City’s Historic Center. I was probably around 13 years old and though I did love it at the time, I wasn’t old enough to really appreciate it. Then, as I got older I got to visit Paris, London, Rome, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, and New York, and loved them all so much. However, it was after visiting all those places that I gained a new appreciation for Mexico City’s Historic Center and the whole city in all its beautiful glory. Its beauty is absolutely to par with any of the top cities in the world, and it makes me feel so proud.
Now, I fall in love with it deeper and deeper every time I visit. Today, I bring you some iphoneography from my last trip there. Hope you enjoy it!
Author Archives: Abril
New Decade Ahead
Hello fabulous 30’s! I can’t believe it was already 10 years ago that I was turning 20, celebrating with family and friends on a small yacht in Mexico; planning to spend a summer in Europe, backpacking by myself, a trip that would greatly define the decade to follow; and completely oblivious to all the twists and turns my life was about to take.
Thinking about the last decade, how it brought me such unexpected joy and wonders, pain and growth, and so much love and passion…I can’t help but to get so excited about what this new decade will bring, whatever that might be. Call me crazy, but as scary as uncertainty can be, I find it very exhilarating; something about not knowing what’s to come, fills me with a hopeful “anything is possible” kind of excitement; sure I have an idea of some things that may happen in my 30’s, like motherhood for example; but I now know the difference between planning for the road ahead and actually walking on it, a valuable lesson learned in my 20’s that I’m sure will come in handy in my 30’s.
In fact, it seems that life’s welcome to my big 3-0 was precisely a big reminder of such lesson. I had envisioned some kind of extraordinary celebration happening on my actual birthday, everything from skydiving to a lovely ocean view picnic had crossed my mind; yet instead I’m sick in bed, with a painful throat and a crackling voice. Last night, I started throwing a tantrum about it in my head, whining and feeling sorry for myself. Still woke up today with some of that negativity lingering around…and then, my husband opened a bottle of Moët&Chandon, brought me breakfast in bed and expressed all kinds of loving feelings; people starting reaching out to send me their best wishes; and guilt about my whining starting seeping through, washing away all the negativity and giving room for gratitude to fill me up.
So no big birthday bash for me, no extravagant trips or daring adventures; just a humbling reminder of the things that really matter in life, and how lucky I am to have them all.
Granted, I couldn’t just let my 30th birthday come and go without embracing the changes ahead in my own way, which translated to me chopping my long locks (which I’ll soon be donating to Locks of Love) into a cute angled hair bob that I’m really loving. New decade, new look! Of course, I wanted to unveil the new look with amazing photos of it, but since being sick hasn’t allowed me to carry out that plan, we’ll all have to settle for a quick snapshot taken with my iPhone. Don’t worry, I’m still committed to, sometime in the near future, bringing you some cute photos that will do justice to my friend Lino’s amazing hairstyling work.
Travel: 6,000 Miles
I spent the first two weeks of March roadtrippin’ across the USA, which you probably already knew if you follow me on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter. From Phoenix to NY, we drove thru 14 states, stopped at countless cities, traveled more than 6,000 miles. We went from desert to snow and everything in between.
It was a business trip for my husband, visiting different customers along the way, and I just happened to tag along because I love road-trips and more importantly because I love my husband. There’s something about being confined to a small space with the one you love for hours on end…we’ve had some of the deepest, most random conversations in a car in the middle of nowhere, which I find incredibly romantic; we’ve witnessed some of the most splendid sunsets and stopped to admire beautiful landscapes; we’ve discovered new wonderful places and visited old favorite ones; we’ve fallen in love with each other, and with this country, all over again.
I got to see some places that had been on my travel bucket list for a long time, like San Antonio, Atlanta, New Orleans and Savannah; and also visited some old familiar places like Austin, Houston, Baltimore and my dear New York City.
I don’t know what it is about travel that makes me feel so accomplished. Maybe it’s because it was a childhood dream to travel the world and explore new horizons, and as many places as I have yet to discover, I am grateful for every single mile I have traveled.