“A man walks into a bar…”   You’ve heard it a thousand times as a opener for jokes.  Walking along Alvaro Obregon a few weeks ago, with the dogs and a friend leaving for the states, we came across a set of ladies asking about the dogs.  Seeming more state-side than Mexican we learned this was Liz Ball, from Stir Bartending Company in Washington D.C..  The irony of meeting individuals from areas you are familiar with in the states, and meeting them in Mexico is so frequent, but the surprise never becomes old.  One of the best things about Mexico City is you can be anywhere, summer, in the fall or Spring, and still come across people that you share similarities with, and usually while walking through the city.

Once in Plaza Cabrera, we came across students from the U.K. and began to offer tips of the best places to visit before they would leave.  A few months back it was a young lady with her fiance, and we spent a few amounts of time exploring the various options of  restaurants, mercados, and sites you can take in over a weekend.  During the Sunday biking event in Reforma it was someone from Columbia and we swapped pictures of dogs.  The casual conversation, the impromptu friendships that occur happen so regularly, it seems a part of Mexico City, and overall creates this home of friends and acquaintances that occur on a daily basis.  When I think about it, that is another aspect of Mexico City that defies what the tabloids define Mexico as, and perhaps which is why Mexico is one of the best kept secrets to those that feel otherwise.  It also makes it amazing when you travel to places in the states and begin to have a network of people you have met in Mexico to catch up with!