[ A Quick Jaunt to Puebla ]

Saturday was the first free day of three on this trip! That means that we had no class and no commitments. :) I slept in until 9, which was such a treat (I've been a little sleep deprived). After that, I teamed up with Caroline, Carley, and Lucie for the day!

We began breakfast with a bang.

That's a lychee by the coffee! But the real bang came from the
peppers in the eggs! D:

We then went to Cholula's sister city, Puebla. They are divided by a river, and, as Tim described it, they haven't seen eye to eye since the eighth century. Cholula is considered more of the historic city, while Puebla is a little more industrial, and socially they are entirely different (or so I am told). Nevertheless, we took a taxi over the river and to the town square of Puebla!

Our taxi driver told us this is the largest cathedral in Mexico! (Unfortunately, Wikipedia disagrees.) Supposedly, the plans for the cathedral in Puebla and the one in Mexico City were switched, so Puebla ended up with the larger one! It also only has bells on one side, because the church was sinking on the other side before that! Once they removed the bells, the church leveled out and its been asymmetric ever since.

There was also a park next to the church, as well as several cool churches and buildings within walking distance!

Cholula/Puebla is known for its ceramics and tiles. They
were so intricate and colorful! My future home will
(hopefully) have cupboards occupied with these plates. :)

This was a model of Puebla in front of one of the hotels!

This building was covered in tiles!

We eventually found two different markets! One was indoors mostly and resembled a mall. The other was 'outdoor' but under tents. They were both really cool! After that, we decided to head back to Cholula!

Once back, we went our separate ways; the other three went back to the hotel to work on their assignments, but it was too beautiful of a day for me to sit inside. So I continued to explore!

What a treat! There are so many Italian Coffee Companies here!

I went to the Cholula market for awhile, walked around the city, and made my way back through another shopping district! I took a break at the hotel for awhile before the four of us trekked out for dinner again.

Although we couldn't find our original destination (a new store had moved in), we did find a great restaurant near where we had breakfast! I had a traditional Puebla dish: chile en nogada. It was so delicious! It is the three colors of the Mexican flag: red cranberries (although usually pomegranate seeds), a green poblano chile, and white sweet walnut sauce. It was stuffed with meet, sweet potatoes, raisins, and other stuff, then the chiles itself was fried and soaked in sauce! It was amazing!!!

Tomorrow, we leave Cholula. I am sad to go, because this has been such a great city to stay in. I'm going to miss the hotel! ;) However, Cholulans have a keen obsession with explosives. I have woken up, fallen asleep, and been generally startled at any time of day with cherry-bomb-like fireworks. But you know, besides that, it's been swell. I am excited to see the Pacific coast!

Paz y amor,

Abby

PS. I believe Danny is updating the Ethnohistorical Archaeology in Mexico Program Facebook page with pictures if you want to see more!

[ Tim Knab and a Tour of Cholula ]

On Friday, Tim Knab took us on a historical tour of Cholula! It began with the churches in the zocalo:

We then visited another church!

This is considered one of the most important churches in the Western Hemisphere.
When the pope visited Mexico, he would only speak from here! 

We also visited this church! It was pretty but I forget the significance of it...

This facade was made entirely of seeds!

We saw this doorway, but that was about it. [Sorry, wasn't paying as much attention today.]

After that we had lunch, where I got to try some pulque (traditional Aztec alcohol). It was strange but not horrible! We then walked out past these newly dug corn fields. Apparently, everywhere around Cholula, when the soil is being tilled or excavated shards of pottery show up! The professors barely took a glance a them and could recognize what century they were from, what vessel it came from, and what is was used for. These are some of the cooler pieces!

This would have been used in a tile or cup.

This was part of an obsidian blade!

This would have been from a huge drinking vessel!

As we continued on our walk, we saw a lot of cool murals.

We then dropped by the Cholula Museum for a bit!

This is a reconstruction of what the pyramid under the famous church
would have looked like!

These were positioned at the base of a thin piece of wood, and
they were spun so that raw cotton would travel up the
wood and become fine string.

We then went to the second part of the museum, which was all underground! They have been attempting to learn more about the pyramid and created tunnels to do so. It was really creepy, but also incredible to see long hollow passages where so many people must have walked up the same steps, but centuries earlier. Weirdly enough, it was in that dark, damp, confined space that I really realized how lucky I was to even be there.

We then went to part three of the museum, which was the uncovered ruins outside!

It was so beautiful outside.
I couldn't get over it.

Oops, a selfie. Hi Grandmas!

Everyone is still a little puzzled as to what this is.
John thinks that it was plastered and painted,
but the framing motif is of the clouds. It was
actually first found from a different group, showing
their interactions and exchange!

Shout out to Lucie for taking this picture!

Eventually we went back to the hotel and learned about the codices for another 2 hours! My notes are getting intense: they gave us our own Codex Nuttall book and I can now write in the stories! Soon enough I'll be reading off the codices like it's nothing. ;) 

For dinner, Tim invited us to his home. We had to walk there in the pouring rain, but it was well worth it! He was a chef for a French culinary school but is now a healer and part of the Nahua tradition. Everything was beautiful and tasted great!

He made a home brew with 14 herbs; he calls it Mexican Chartreuse.
Most people thought is was disgusting, but I kind of liked it!

I hung out with Lucie after that and was so ready for bed after an incredibly packed day! 

Paz y amor,

Abby

[ Cholula (But Not the Hot Sauce) ]

On Thursday we left early in the morning for Cholula! It was a beautiful drive out of the valley and into the highlands of Puebla! :D

Once we got to the hotel, I died three times inside. It is so cute. Is it okay to live in hotels?

We have  a balcony! And everything in the bathroom
has decorated tiles! And there's another patio!

The professors set up a classroom just down the hall, so we began to seriously go through and start interpreting the codices! After dinner, we watched Frida as a group! It was a great movie--I loved it and want to be Frida Kahlo. I think I have the unibrow to pull it off. ;)

Paz y amor,

Abby