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Tijuana is more than just a border town; it’s a place where cultures blend to create something truly unique. In this week’s adventure, we dive deep into the heart of Tijuana, Mexico, a city that’s breaking stereotypes and emerging as a vibrant cultural hub that’s got everyone talking. From its tantalizing food scene to its booming craft brew culture, Tijuana is a city that surprises at every corner. We’ll cover topics like:

– Where to stay in Tijuana
– The history of Tijuana
– Things to do in Tijuana
– Best tacos in Tijuana
– Where to eat in Tijuana
– Best brewery in Tijuana
– Why there are zebras in Tijuana
– Medical tourism in Tijuana
– Pet friendly things to do in Tijuana
– And much more!

🏠 Where we stayed: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1009701633674066958?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=9b4eec03-ba23-4233-a89a-611619414681

🎥 CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
1:03 Georgina Restaurante
2:56 The history of Tijuana Mexico
3:34 Avenida Revolucion
4:04 Medical Tourism in Tijuana Mexico
4:56 Pasaje Rodriguez
5:54 Plaza Santa Cecilia
7:10 What tourists think about Tijuana
9:29 Visiting Tijuana’s coolest brewery – Norte Brewing Co
10:39 Cesar’s – Home of the Original Cesar Salad
13:11 Where we stayed in Tijuana
14:11 The best tacos in Tijuana – Tacos el Franc
15:37 Alma Verde
16:44 What it’s like traveling with a dog in Tijuana
17:43 Visiting The Wall
20:57 Centro Cultural
22:42 Telefonica
24:08 Outro

#mexico #travel #tijuana #bajacalifornia #travelvlog

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⭐ Extremely disappointing/no one should ever go here
⭐⭐ Was below our expectations and we’d recommend skipping this.
⭐⭐⭐ An average experience. You could pass on this if you don’t have time to visit.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Met expectations and is recommended.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exceeded our expectations and was a highlight of our trip. We use the 5 star rating sparingly on purpose to emphasize experiences that truly blow us away.

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Tijuana Mexico the world’s busiest border crossing where the United States and Mexico meet with a wall right down the middle it’s a city cloaked in mystery a no man’s land it’s a place many Americans whisper about with a mix of fear and Fascination too dangerous they say too unpredictable and yet to

Mexicans the ju captured the solo for Rich culture Tijuana is the ultimate Misfit but it’s precisely in these border towns that a new culture emerges raw and unfiltered where the rules are Rewritten daily movement is the lifeblood of Tijuana with a Relentless flow of humans each carrying their

Dreams their fears their stories Across the Threshold legal status changes with a step a stamp a signature and with it culture shifts morphs and adapts this week we peel back the layers of this enigmatic City because as it turns out people have got this place all wrong We just crossed the border oh my gosh I cannot believe we’re in Tijuana this is insane I never ever expected we’d be filming a video here but a lot of people they don’t know this but Tijuana is one of the biggest cities in Mexico so I

Think we can find a lot of things to do over here I think you’re right and you already found a really cool breakfast spot so if nothing else finding this spot is probably going to be worth it whenever I saw there selling this dish I

Said I have to show you guys and I have to eat it so we’re here outside of the restaurant 7:50 in the morning we want to be the first ones because they open at 8:00 so we want to try this place qua Chef adri Marina travels the world in

Search for inspiration that can be reflected in each dish that she creates her latest project gorina restante is just that this is what they’re talking about when they say theana Gastronomy is one to watch this is a fabulous dish that really really wanted to show you guys and this a perfect transition

Between our ciso series and this series in Mexico so this is Chiles with Bata what yeah we need to try it it tastes amazing we both order the same thing because it’s something that you need you really need to try and I think it’s a perfect place

If you want to have a branch they also have like a lot of uh fun cocktails they have one with beer and orange juice I don’t know how that will taste but uh the dishes there amazing we read the menu and there were a couple things that

We wanted to order but definitely these one is the one that we choose Vera with Chile killes just makes sense because when you think about it a lot of times when you order Chile killes it will come with Crea on top so this Vera cheese is almost like mixing like a kopa cheese

And like that kma together it’s just incredible but what stands out to me is definitely the crunch that they achieved the Chul so many places we serve it to you soggy this was perfect agree well we wrap up eating our first of many delicious meals here let’s talk about Tijuana’s history originally inhabitated

By the kumay tribe this area was a land of little interest to colonizers until the border between Mexico and the United States was established in the mid 19th century the city really began to grow in the early 20th century as a tourist destination Prohibition in the United

States turned Tijuana into a Haven for Americans seeking alcohol and entertainment catalyzing its reputation as a place of escape and Indulgence I guess that part of Tiana hasn’t changed much over the years and our next spot still carries that Legacy reminding us that Tijuana knows how to party our next

Stop is avenita revolu we picked up our dog Napa from the Airbnb and we’re going to take a little stroll around here now a lot of tourists when they think of Tijuana they think of this street it has all the bars all the clubs places to eat

There’s a lot more to Tiana than just this street but we figured since it’s early in the morning on a Saturday and there’s not a lot of people out right now we’re going to take a walk down to the end see what’s going on around here

And show Napa her country it’s her first time getting out she’s already made a couple of Street dog friends let’s explore Revolu as soon as you’re in Mexico you’re bombarded with a lot of uh hospitals and places that you can make your medical procedures because of course they are cheaper over here in Mexico well over here in AIA Revolution uh there’s not only bars there’s a lot of pharmacies like like five next to

Each other and they’re like all the all the way so uh and let’s talk about this of course we know there’s a couple of medicines that you don’t have to have prescription or they are cheaper over here so that’s why is that you can get a drink get some Pharmaceuticals and then

Go across the border everything in a couple Fls we’re walking around and we came across this cute little Corridor what’s it called B Rodriguez and it’s full of Street artists and also people selling all kind of stuff now I have a question for you Martine I keep seeing zebras in a lot of this street art mhm I don’t

Know that zebras are native to tupana what is what’s up with that no no no like they were painting some donkeys uh so they look like a zebra you know in the black and white pictures I guess donkey was too boring so they added the stripes and then it became like a symbol

Of the actually they have a a team I was just going to say the Z of Tijuana a basketball team that’s right and I think even still today you can see some on the street here we haven’t and we probably won’t cuz we’re here a little too early

Yeah but we’ll see keep your eye out and just know they’re not real seeing Us and at the end of the street is Plaza Santa Cecilia where you can see a really cool view of that huge Archway that they have here which is Iconic from Tijuana as well as visit Plaza Santa cilia now it’s interesting because if you’re looking around the plaza you’ll see like

Stars or handprints these are from performers that used to that have come here to perform and down here normally they have a bunch of pel which is like that um beautiful Mexican paper you see hanging above some of the streets but because it’s been raining it all got

Destroyed but still a really beautiful place lots of souvenirs over here fun place to stroll around especially on a weekend normally it’s packed over here but we’re here pretty early and even then it’s still kind of busy we need to put handprints of tourist to Local that’s lasanas nor style that’s a happy birthday song that is from Mexico so who would have thought down in Tijuana we found some followers of ours what are you guys’ names my name is Jos and I’m Andrew and what brought you to Tiana uh

Tiana is a place that is super cool and endless so every time we come it’s a new adventure what has been your favorite thing to do in t0 so far street food street food 100% any recommendations to where uh taconazo by the pliers or Zolo tacos over by the pliers they put bomeo

Tacos super good you guys are my type of people so good for the culture and just all the food yeah cool and you guys are from up north in Northern California we should have car together yeah after our meet up with Andrew and Joseline we decided it’s time to check out theana internationally

Acclaimed beer is seen and of course it’s hidden in a place where even Google Maps hesitates to go I don’t know if I would always trust someone saying to go into a sketchy parking garage to find our next Hidden Gem in Tijuana but I have a good feeling this is going to be

A good One this one is weird because they don’t have any other chising outside so you just have to enter to this place but we’ll see if we don’t finish somewhere else oh W this is a good photo spot too Grand and something funny happens when you’re the type of person to go into

Sketchy parking garages in search of beer you end up meeting some interesting folks who do the same like Sebastian and his family we kill time with them while waiting for the place to open and they also share their impression of Tijuana with us how do you feel Tijuana is right

Now well I’m pretty young so I haven’t gotten that much experience uh but it’s definitely changed a lot in the last 10 years it’s definitely got a lot safer cleaner you got got foreigners coming over got a day trip out of it and you guys leave in Tijuana or in San Diego in

San Diego every few weekends we us to just come for a weekend and come eat lunch or breakfast whatever and just come back amazing do you feel like it’s a really big difference between each side of the Border uh before yeah at this point it’s getting a lot more

Similar especially like the for the young people like location bars restaurants it’s a lot more similar now and while most tourists come here in search of tequila and margaritas Sebastian’s family knows that Tiana’s bruene is one to watch everybody knows that San Diego is very good for the

Brewering industry and that also that culture crossed the border so pona what’s one of the first cities to have that actually culture before it was uh popular in Mexico City or maybe guara it was over here in Tijuana so uh we were talking with our new friends and there’s

A lot of popular speak EES or bre bars that’s very cool now beer is Mexico’s largest food export but craft beer is a whole different animal than the cheaper than water type of stuff you’ll find in the store here it’s an art it’s experimental and it takes talent and

There’s plenty of that here Tijuana has some nationally and internationally acclaimed breweries and Norte Brewing Company is our personal pick not for its magnificent views and surprising location in what used to be a strip club on the fifth floor of a parking lot there’s something for everyone here so I

Take my time sleeping a few cold ones while enjoying the view and letting Nappa do what she does best nap we need her on her best behavior for our next fancy spot to sit girl our next spot thank God they are dog friendly well they don’t advertise themselves as it but they did

Let us bring our dog in that’s right they have a couple of tables outside like in a little Terrace so we can bring a little nap out but this place is very special it’s an institution and now I have to ask him we te when you think

Caesar salad do you think of t or Mexico I could guess a lot of people they will think about Italy if it’s Caesar salad yes but turns out the home of the Caesar salad is here in Tijuana in this exact spot we are right now that’s right this

Is they have Hotel Cesar and they have a restaurant which luckily you can try without having a reservation in the hotel yeah so we’re going to see how the Caesar salad is made and I’m sure it’s going to be pretty good I don’t think I’ve ever like willingly wanted to order

A Caesar salad so bad until we’ve been here I heard the the way that they make it over here it’s something to see before we know it a man in a fancy white shirt black vest and tie shows up with this wooden cart and starts making the salad right in front of

Us turns out he’s the official salad Master what a title and he’s been teaching the staff how to make the salad for years just like it was done back in 1924 the tale goes that during a particularly bustling Fourth of July weekend in 19 24 Chef Caesar cardini

Threw together what he had left in his kitchen to create what would become the Caesar salad you see around the world today he tossed in anchovies Deon mustard garlic Worchester Shire sauce black pepper egg yolk fresh lemon parmesan and olive oil to create the sauce followed by large stocks of romae

Leaves and two croutons today Cesar’s restaurant sells about 2,500 Salas a month all tabl side and if you find yourself here on July the 14th 2024 a huge Festival is happening in front of the hotel scissors to celebrate the 100th anniversary and the salad Master is going to be serving hundreds of

Salads these day it’s very good this this really nice emotion that happens with the oil that they use it’s super creamy not like any other Sal you probably have before plus I love that they serve the leaves like this whole yeah exactly like you can see it’s

Premium leaves like it’s a good lettuce over there not like something shredded and I always knew that they use anchovies in Caesar salad but it wasn’t until I tried this one that I can actually taste it it’s good it’s fresh I mean took me not my favorite but this

One so good between meals we decided to head back to our place to freshen up and the spot we found is freaking awesome the weird thing is from here we can see the for that’s the wool in terms of where we’re going to stay in Tijuana because we’re going to be working

Remotely here for a whole week we wanted to make sure we were in a place that we felt really comfortable AR be host doesn’t know we’re like showing their place but we did a lot of searching and we wanted to find a place that had two bedrooms that we could close the door

Plus like adequate work spaces for both of us which is actually kind of hard to find on Airbnb sometimes something where we both have a desk that we could close a room this place fit the bell and it has a kitchen and laundry and an area

For not going to go to the bathroom and allows dogs and allows dogs so we have a whole extra bedroom if you want to come over and use the extra bed so we’re only going to use one room but man this place is is gorgeous we feel super safe here

There’s security we have our own private parking spot I know a lot of people are afraid to visit Tijuana but being here I feel a lot safe a lot safer than some the other places to we saw so should be a good work week on the other side of

Town is this place and it doesn’t matter how you time it there’s a line and rightfully so the name of the place Tacos El Frank Tacos El Frank has been around since 1996 but the tacos go back much further in history all the way back

To the early 80s when Havier set up his first Taco Stand devoid of any fancy signs that Blended in with all the other Taco stands around here it was a struggle to stand out but his dedication to perfecting the taste of every single menu item meant that word eventually

Spread and turn his business into what it is today so you cannot go wrong with what you order here from alastor to asada they have their stuff down to a science my opinion this is the best spot we went for the most popular option carada Tob with beans and Guacamole a single Taco is like a complete meal so filling I was expecting something tiny and that I’d have to order a lot now I’m regretting ordering for it’s clear julana hasn’t yet mastered the Mexican art of taco maath no two Taco types are the same our pop

Wasn’t allowed here so after we headed back to our Airbnb rested up and started planning our next day which start with a killer Breakfast second lots more food options for us today that’s right so we came to this place called Alma ver to have some breakfast and the interesting thing is if they’re pet friendly yeah it’s so great how many places have been pet friendly here in because we didn’t create this guide with

The intention of it being a pet friendly guide we aren’t like going to focus on that with our travel videos just so happens to be that these places are pet from so that’s right it’s great the main thing about this restaurant is they have a lot of vegan uh options that’s why Al

Of course they have a lot of smoothies and they have a lot of breakfast that um they’re for vegans we vegetarian and uh we’re not vegan or vegetarian but we still found a lot of things on the menu that we’re excited to try but I also

Think it’s good to point out that this place is just great for food alleries in general if you’re C can’t have gluten they also can accomodate for that and they love pet so all are welcome here check all our what how do you call it all our boxes yeah exactly and also

Talking about the pet friendly probably you guys are asking how’s having Nappa in her trip this is her first road road trip with her and uh so far it’s being so good I mean I never thought she’s going to be so well behaved as she’s during our our

Way here and during visiting all the places yeah she’s a little over four months now and for the past four months we haven’t been filming because we’ve been really focused on getting her all trained so she’ be good on the road and she’s doing an amazing job um it’s

Definitely had us slow down a little bit more with the way we film cuz Martina and I are go go go it’s been great cuz she reminds us that we do have to stop every now and then for nap time or food time or poy time we’re going to enjoy

Our meal we order Chiles I got some stuffed French toast I got Chiles Mo Chiles yeah and they have the cacao they put it over here uh yeah yeah going to be a good day okay on these trips were’re always blown away at the cuisine we end up finding and alav ver

Day is a great breakfast spot but as we travel we’re also reminded of the stories that tug at our hearts leading us to places like the wall apply us to want To here the ever so controversial border serves as a stark reminder of the nuances and complex narratives surrounding immigration one that we’ve lived and seen for ourselves approaching it we didn’t expect the wave of emotions that would overcome us but it did it’s difficult to be over here because we

Know what that walls represent for both countries for a lot of people and uh I’m talking with uh from my privilege because of course I live over there I can come to Mexico every single time I want I can cross every time I want and I

Know there’s a lot of people that they cannot do that that maybe they’re living over there um and they cannot cross they cannot visit their families they cannot eat Mexican food over here they cannot I don’t know they cannot do do a lot of things so it’s it’s hard I

Know it’s it’s difficult to explain what I feel whenever I see that that that wall over there dividing two countries and a beautiful sea over here it’s pretty crazy to be here because um for Martina and I a lot of times this wall was just something in our head all it

Wasn’t something you could physically see and physically seeing it it’s like a whole other a whole other experience it brings back a lot of emotions for us um in case you’re new on our channel martine’s from the from Mexico and I’m from the USA and for the longest time

This wall separated us uh that’s why we had to go through our whole journey with immigration it’s so crazy to see a physical representation of the thing that divided Martine and I for the longest time I at one point lived in Mexico he lived in the US like in our

Relationship we’ve always just wanted to be on the same side of this W and um for us we felt like it was hard you know years of of paperwork and you know Martine missing his homeb a lot of the time um but for many people we have

It easy there’s there’s people who they never get to see their family again I’m sure you can talk to anyone on this beach and it brings up different emotions but um for us for our story uh this wall represented trying to se mer te but they couldn’t because right now we’re living

Together and we’re visiting every single state in Mexico and the USA so we are very happy that we are learning from each other’s culture and uh that wall couldn’t stop us we’re sure some of you watching this have your own story of what this wall means to you and we’d

Love to hear your story in the comments because sharing that is the best way to illuminate the Shadows that walls cast and bridge the gap in understanding there’s another spot that we want to show you guys here in Tijuana and that is C cultural Tijuana this is a huge

Huge place there’s a lot of things to do over here and because it’s Sunday we don’t have to pay anything yeah that was a pleasant surprise that’s right you only have to pay if you want to go to the aquarium if you want to go to the

Movies and if you want to go to this sphere over here that they also show like kind of a movie yeah it’s like an IMAX kind of thing right yep that’s right that’s correct but for us we just decided to stick with the free exhibits which were super cool there was this Art

Exhibit that had some great messages and I really liked the California exhibit because this state has had quite the past that’s right yeah that’s it’s called a m de California Museum of the two californias and it’s yeah it was very interesting I think I agree with you the cube and the two California

Museum it’s the best that you can watch over here yeah so it was kind of fun to walk around and uh take it easy also what’s super cool is just the architecture of this building so so beautiful reminds me actually a little bit of that one we went to in

Qar wow okay flashbacks I know right no but I think we recommend this place it’s a beautiful beautiful place to be and a lot of things for everyone also we so if you want to bring your kids I mean we don’t have kids but if you want to bring

Your kids they they is also like a room that they can play and they were singing and they were learning about history we had a nice little moment of Martina and I both singing itsy bitsy spider in each other’s language that’s right it it was quite the moment we should have got that

On camera so so we recommend you to come over here on a Sunday yeah our dog wasn’t allowed in so she’s back home napping but speaking of which we’re going to go meet back up with Nappa B I’m so excited for this last spot we

Kind of saved the best for last for you guys J loves these kind of places where you can choose different types of food and we found one yes it’s called telica and they’re not just dog friendly they’re dog celebratory that’s the new phrase I’m going to give it we had so

Many staff come up and say hi to Napa dogs are allowed here and it’s fun because also we can you know choose different items to eat that’s right I know many cities they have these kind of glasses let’s call it like that so you can have uh a couple different options

But this one it has personality it looks a little rustic and uh it’s kind of fun yeah fun young Vibe so there’s also a brewery in the back that some really cool Brews they had what were some of the ones you saw this was uh peanut butter marshmallow yeah Tangerine that’s

The ones that I choose y so we’re going to just have a couple of dishes here hang out with Napa let her enjoy one of our last nights here in Tijuana before we head down further south that’s right so let’s see what they have to Offer ped pork hot dog with a lote on top looks amazing oh yeah this is what you should get you have to put in the comments when I go to Tijuana I like to yeah I’m curious what those answers are going to be but in the meantime we’ve left a

Video over here for you guys to watch next so long travel well and make the world your neighborhood see you guys next time bye

26 Comments

  1. I really loved hearing your story and vulnerability about the wall, it's so important to hear your voices on this topic. Thank you for sharing!

  2. When I go to Tijuana, I like to… experience something new. I feel like there’s always something new and interesting to experience every time I’m there. There’s a perfect song for Tijuana: Tijuana Makes me Happy. I have long been captivated by the city and completely agree with everything you guys express about the city. You should see the wall from the other side in San Diego at Friendship Park. It’s not open very often, but it’s an amazing experience and really moving.

  3. I used to live in Tijuana and would cross every day for work. Zona Norte and Rinconada de Otay were my go to spots. Thank you so much for covering Tijuana, keep up the great work! Is Ensenada or Mexicali next on your bucket lists?

  4. Love seeing Napa! Tiajuana is a bit too much for me busy-wise, but to try that Caesar salad, yes please, lol. Your Airbnb is cute. The wall just makes me sad, I know that your experience was hard for you both but luckily it has a happy ending. Wow, the place you ate was like a fancy food court!

  5. nice you did a video on Tijuana, being from San Diego my first trips were in the 50's with my Dad. Coming from a devoured family my Dad would get me for the weekend and we would head to TJ. He would drop me of to play with his friends kids and he would head to the Bar. I didn't know it at the time but my Mom would head to TJ to go swing dancing. I stop at my Mom's always on my way to Mexico, in December. I stoped in TJ to get my Schipperke service dog's health book stamped, a must to fly, and she pulled out a Caesar's card from the 50's with the phone # 5-29-23 and the address 5TH and Main, yes before the street was renamed. On the back of the card is the original recipe for the Caesar salad. How cool is that. At this time I'm at Casa Marcado restaurant in Coatepec. Best Moli around, they even have a Moli Museum. Cheers, from the State of Veracruz….

  6. Try tacos El dorado in Otay. It's about 15 minutes from El Centro. It's not a YouTube or IG spot, but the best birra tacos you'll eat

  7. Tijuana: tequila, sexo y marijuana … I don't bother crossing the border to visit from San Diego, not worth my time … we have tacos on this side of the border too, what else is there? cliche places and prostitution

  8. I got teary during the part where you visit the wall.. okay I did shed a tear. My family crossed into the US via the Tijuana border before catching a flight in San Diego to Chicago, where they settled. – Jenny

  9. Loved loved loved this episode! Question: is Napa's name because she likes to Napa-lot? lol I'd assumed it was a nod to Napa Valley or something but after this video, me entró esa duda! jaja

  10. Guys this was so nice to watch and bring back some great memories from when I visited Tijuana back in Jan 2019. Especially seeing Tacos El Frances de Playas again 😍🌮🌮🌮

  11. It’s nice to see you did it right and became a citizen and that’s what people need to do other wise you don’t know who’s coming in sorry you don’t like it

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