Week with the Wilmots, Day 1: Puebla

Well, our wonderful vacation with Jake's parents has come to an end.  Back to 4 days of school a week, 75 degree weather, and sun.  Sighhhhh.  Sorry friends and family in the States, I really couldn't resist.  Because the vacation was action packed, it needs more than one blog post.  So, they arrived last Saturday safe and sound in Mexico City, found the bus ticket place in the airport, took the bus to Puebla, then took a taxi to their hotel all by themselves!  Pretty impressive for them, seeing as they both haven't taken Spanish lessons since high school, and Dave hates languages so much that he opted to take 7 more classes and get a B.S. rather than take 2 college level Spanish classes.  I took a taxi down to Jake's house and we walked over to their hotel.  It was great to see them again.  We hung out in the hotel, chatted, and went to a restaurant near Jake's house for their first taste of real Mexican food.  They loved chalupas (it's hard not to) which, for anyone who doesn't know, are tortillas covered with green or red salsa and pulled chicken or pork on top.  We taught Barbara her first bit of extra Spanish: red wine=vino tinto.  Very important.

The gang.

The next day, I took the BUS for the first time (I'm very proud of myself, I even had to change lines) and met everybody for breakfast at a cafe near their hotel.  From there, we took a taxi to the zocalo of Puebla.  Neither Jake or I had been since our first week, so it was nice to explore a little more and take time to visit some shops.  First stop: la Catedral, which is almost as impressive as the one in Mexico City.

The zocalo

We then went to the Capilla del Rosario, a very famous church known for its amazing and ornate gold interior.  It was closed when Jake and I had our tour of Puebla, so we wanted to check it out.  Honestly, I still think the church on top of the Cholula pyramid is the most beautiful that I have seen.

From there, we walked down the Candy street, this time sampling a few of the goods.  La Calle de los Dulces is called so because just about every shop has traditional candies from Puebla and Mexico.  I still wasn't brave enough to try the chile powdered tamarind candies, but I did sample the baked coconut cookies (yum) and Glorias (dulce de leche covered with nuts--yummer).

At this point, my camera died.  This makes me 0 for 2 in regards to trips to Puebla.  Ah well, the show must go on.

From the Calle de los Dulces we walked through el Barrio de las Artistas (Neighborhood of the Artists).  A painting of a view of the volcanoes caught our eyes, and after a little expert haggling done by Barb, they became the proud owners of a really awesome piece of artwork.  They were fretting about where to put it; I snorted and reminded them of my house, which is just about covered with me and my siblings' artwork.

We wandered around los Jardines de San Francisco (Gardens of Saint Francisco--please say this in the Elf voice) and got cemitas for lunch at a little food market with very aggressive vendors. Stuffed, sunned, and sleepy, we wandered back to the zocalo to catch a taxi back to the hotel.  We took a siesta, then got tacos al pastor for dinner.