[ 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!