MEMORY MAKING IN MEXICO CITY

Marty O'Neill goes beyond the beaches and travels to Mexico's vibrant capital to savour the flavours and discover what this heaving megalopolis has to offer tourists.

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I've been to Cancun, Mexico before and, as much as it was very nice, I've always wanted to come back and try 'proper' Mexico, the real side of it. While Cancun is beautiful, it's a white sand beach resort full of four and five star hotels that could be anywhere in the world. A resort strongly catering for its mostly American clientele and where burgers and hot dogs are served by the pool for lunch, I spent that week craving the real Mexico and swore to return and do it right.

Fast forward a few years and here we are. Mexico City! In all its raw, friendly, energetic and breathless beauty. Breathless also applies to the altitude - Mexico City is the fifth highest city in the world and we hadn't envisaged factoring in a little altitude sickness. It took two or three days to acclimatise to it; your legs ache simply climbing a flight of stairs, you've a lack of energy and a little shortness of breath. It's not actual sickness but you're definitely forced to slow down a bit. Thankfully we settled in after a few days.