What is your favorite market in Mexico?

The first thing I do when I arrive in Mexico City is buy a roasted corn on the cob followed by a tamarind icepop. After those two cravings are satisfied I go straight to La Merced and the big question is where to start.

Do I pick up the papel picado (the cut-out paper I use to decorate the restaurant in the Mercado de Flores (flower market) section of the market and have to pre-order, pick up the baskets we use for chips in the Canasteria section or buy myself some delicious candied yams? All I know is that I will spend the major part of one day roaming the crowded aisles.

Everyone who goes to Mexico City should visit La Merced at one time or another but don’t go alone. Hire a reliable taxi company (numbers to come) by the hour and have the driver accompany you on your tour. He can carry your bundles, negotiate for you, well,

Homemade candies

really haggle, that is an important part of any transaction and you will feel safe. Reams have been written about this marvelous market that is laid out pretty much like it was in pre-Hispanic times and I will give you some links but, in the mean time, here are some snapshots from my last visit there.

Zarela