The flight out of Tijuana was ridiculously easy thanks in no small part to Brent Ford who drove us from our house to the TJ airport. We left our house at 9am and were waiting at the gate by 11:15. Tuesday was definitely a good day to fly as the only line was to check baggage and that took only about 15 minutes.
We had to pay $1660 pesos for five visas (about $107 dollars), but that was expected. We exchanged some cash in El Cajon before we left and that was a mistake. The exchange rate at the airport was much better. Thankfully, we didn't exchange much.
Our flight from TJ to Mexico City was three hours and nine minutes and we were fortunate enough to have friend of a friend of Señora Mendoza's, Sr. Muoro, a taxi driver, and his grandson Arturo, pick us up at the airport. They charged us about $55 to take us to our condo, well worth the cost for the rundown on the lay of the land—where to go, where not to go, when to avoid the metro, how much to tip, etc.
Arturo is a student at San Diego State and a native San Diegan on vacation and came along to help his "grandpa" translate. He said Sr. Muoro is actually the grandfather of a family friend. Arturo was impressed with the twins lack of accent. He started speaking very slowly to Ike and when Ike rattled back rapidly, his eyes popped. The boys' Spanish is a bit rusty, but that's why we're here! It's comforting to know we have a local contact in case of an emergency. Expect the best, but plan for the worst.
Our condo is awesome. It's nothing fancy, but the location is amazing. Arturo said our neighborhood has become one of the most expensive in Mexico City and is very safe. The condo has three bedrooms and is stocked with games, an Xbox (much to our chagrin), snacks, and more. The owners obviously have kids who are into the same stuff as my boys as Luke already found The Lord of the Rings series, many of the Harry Potter books, and the works of Shakespeare in Spanish while Ike and Jake found a huge tub filled with light sabers!
By the time we got through traffic, unloaded and unpacked, it was after 9pm and we were starving, so we went to a pizza place next door to our condo building. It wasn't anything to write home about, but as they didn't speak English, we all got a great deal of practice right out of the gate.
Can't wait to start exploring tomorrow!