Oaxaca

I started my trip to Mexico with three days on my own in Oaxaca, and while I went into the trip with big ideas about visiting ruins and botanical gardens and the like, honestly, I was tired. Since July, I've been to 6 countries on 3 continents. I've spent more nights in my AirBnb apartment in Accra than I have in my own bed in DC. And I was arriving in Mexico only a week after returning home from a super intense 5-week work trip to Ghana. I needed a break.

So I gave myself permission to take one. I ate everything from street corn to tasting menus, and in between I wandered the city, sat in parks and read or just watched the world go by, and talked to friendly strangers at the market food stalls. It was gloriously, luxuriously relaxed - and so very delicious. I don't know if it was the slowness of my pace, or the ubiquitous cups of hot chocolate, or the $5 yoga classes, but I could easily picture myself living there.

Chocolate con agua in the Mercado 20 de noviembre

Tlayuda 

Sabina Sabe - Dulce Amargo

Sabina Sabe - mole coloradito with mashed plantain fritters

Itanoni

Pozole and memela at Itanoni

Street corn (elote) 

Mole negro at El Escapulario

Tasting menu at Criollo

Risotto with huitaloche and a poached egg at Criollo

Black bean soup at Criollo (deceptively delicious)

Cauliflower in mole at Criollo

Where I stayed:

Casa Giron B&B - Carlos and Concepcion are the friendliest hosts you could imagine. The rooms are basic but spacious and tidy, and the location is fantastic.

Where I ate:

Mercado 20 de noviembre

Sabina Sabe

Itanoni

El Escapulario

Criollo