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.