Day 4

Since we got up relatively early (8:30 am), and nothing opens in Puebla before 10 am, we walked to the Santo Domingo church to see the famous Chapel of the Rosary, an exquisite example of the Mexican baroque decorated by the indigenous artists. Then, we took a city tour. There were a choice of 4 tour companies, but only one had English narration. We saw parts of the city we would not have seen, including the forts area and a district with lots of murals. There were only 3 of us in this big double-decker bus – us and a man from San Diego who was on a driving trip from SD to Oaxaca. After return we had lunch at a standup sidewalk food stall called Antojitas Acapulco. We had typical Pueblan pelonas (kind of sandwich), which were delicious. Then we went to see the Palafoxian library . It is the oldest library in North America. Then we embarked on an unsuccessful quest to find Patio de los Azulejos, supposedly one of the most beautiful courtyard in Puebla. We walked and walked, but could not find it. The address we got from tourist information must have been wrong. So we took a taxi to the ritzy La Paz neighborhood to check it out. We visited a couple of stores, took some pictures, but were generally disappointed. Back to the centro historico -- we walked to an area where several factories used to be until 1947, including a tannery and textile factories that provided most the material for uniforms for allies in WW2. It has been repurposed beautifully as a garden and a modern shopping area. We then went looking for a well-known bar called La Pasita, but when we found it the sign said it had moved. On our way back to our hotel we stopped at a café and had a nice Don Julio tequila. Our dinner plans for high rated restaurant (Casa Reina) a 5 minute walk from the hotel was jeopardized by down pour. We dressed in rain gear and walked out and requested a taxi. While waiting the rain stopped so we walked. The restaurant was excellent and we finished with good tequila and a nice walk back to hotel.

Day 3

We embarked on a trip to Cholula. It is famous for its remains of` a prehispanic Indian civilization. Also it is claimed that the largest pyramid in the world is here. It’s base is 1500x1500 feet and height 217 feet. It was built starting 3rd century BC. However, it is covered with vegetation and now looks like a small mountain. At the top, the Spaniards built a large church of Nuestra Senora de Remedios. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the iconic picture of the church with the snow-capped volcano in the background because it was too hazy. We visited the archaeological site, which was a bit confusing initially. It had 3 parts – a little museum with some artifacts, a complex of tunnels and a large excavation field with parts of the pyramid uncovered. Once we entered the tunnels, it got a bit spooky because they were narrow and dark and we didn’t know if we were supposed to take the same route to get out or to keep going. We walked and walked ahead not sure what would happen, but finally we saw the light at the end and the exit. The excavation site was definitely the most interesting part and really gave us an idea how enormous this site/pyramid/city must have been. On the way back to the bus we saw women cooking on a portable grill and it looked good. So we had lunch cooked outside – quesadilla on a blue corn tortilla, cheese, meat, peppers, mushrooms, nasturtium flowers. It was great. On the way back we stopped in two amazing churches, both built in the 16th century in the style of indigenous Mexican baroque, which combines the European influences with the indigenous Indian cultures. The materials used on both churches include the local Talavera ceramics, both on their facades and the incredibly ornate interiors. The two churches were Santa Maria Tonantzintla and San Francisco Acatepec, both spectacularly beautiful and unusual. We also stopped at the Estrella, a huge ferris wheel 262 feet tall and is the largest in north America. It takes 20 minutes to go around and only costs $2. Our dinner was at a highly rated restaurant “Augurio”. The meal ended with a great Mexican digestive “Yolixpa”.

Day two

This is one of the nicest Mexican cities we have been to. Good roads, beautiful buildings lots of parks, clean. We went to the big Sunday flea market near our hotel in the morning, and then took a taxi to the International Museum of Baroque, one of the best places to visit. Since we didn’t have any breakfast, we started with their highly rated restaurant Barroco, which turned out to be really 5 star – one of the best meals in memory. The museum is also fantastic – the building the galleries and the interactive displays. The contrast between the very modern and stark white architecture and the exuberant Baroque art and design is very effective. The organization of the museum is also very interesting and thoughtful – 7 exhibition halls, each devoted to a different aspect of the baroque – baroque worldwide; baroque in Puebla; architecture; painting and sculpture; knowledge, arts and sciences; theater, clothing and decorative arts; and music and dance. The physical exhibits are not overwhelming, just a few examples to illustrate the main points, but there are huge screens with interactive visual displays that you can easily access and manipulate. Extremely well done. After the museum, we decided to check out the nearby Ecopark, a huge green area that is also beautifully designed with walkways, lawns and trails and it was full of picnicking families and lots of happy dogs. It is a big area and connects to the university campus and also to the elevated bike/walking paths. We are so far very impressed with Puebla and its city planners. After a short siesta at the hotel, we decided to walk a different part of the city. We first went to the big church we see from our hotel window. There was an enormous fiesta in front of the church with foods, crafts, etc. Then we walked to the artist village, which was a lovely area with huge trees and art studios on both sides of this pedestrian street. Unfortunately, the studios were closed. Dinner was at Los Mural de los Poblanos, a highly recommended restaurant, which has a very nice décor, but the food isn’t even close to Barroco’sat the museum. We decided to have a nightcap at our hotel and asked for the best tequila. They produced a beautiful bottle and the tequila was wonderful. The surprise was that the two glasses of tequila cost more than our dinner.

Day 1

WOW. This is a beautiful city. The ride from the airport was very impressive. Nice paved highway and a nice elevated what I thought was a train. Turns out it is 18 miles of elevated bike trail. The main plaza and the surrounding churches are really pretty. After checking into our hotel (Cartesiano), we walked to the Zocalo, which is only 3 blocks away. It was about 10 pm, and the place was full of families with children, music was everywhere, restaurants around the plaza were full.. We embarked on a search for a nice place to have a small meal, and first of all a drink. We found a terrace across the cathedral with a great view of the plaza and settled there. None of the waiters spoke any English and the menu was only in Spanish so Bo had to summon all her Spanish to choose and order. We didn’t do badly – 3 delicious appetizers (chloupas, taco del amor and taquitos de mole poblano) – totally different from items with similar names served in the US. Wine from Valle de Guadalupe was also very good. We got back to the hotel around midnight and decided to check out the hip hotel bar, but we walked in and out because the blaring techno music was unbearable.

Preable

We are traveling to Puebla Mexico. It is the 4th largest city in Mexico. The historic district was founded in 1513 by the Spanish and we will be staying there. This is the Hotel. http://hotelcartesiano.com/