Puebla

Taking illegal photos inside the museum.

What an adventurous little group we were.  We finally got enough courage to go to another city by ourselves.  This time the children and I headed over to Puebla, which was 3 hours away from Cuernavaca.  We had a lot of fun.  Puebla is a pretty cool city.  The weather is fabulous...chilly in the morning, but perfect throughout the day.

Arden the photographer

I know I'm tooting my own horn, but I was proud of myself on this trip.  I was able to travel from Cuerna with the children, find the right transportation, and arrive to an economical hotel in downtown Puebla.  We didn't get lost and we were safe. I've done that in the US, many times, but I hadn't done that in a foreign country.  It gave me confidence. We always travel with Newel and I take it for granted that he'll know where to go and what to do.  I am grateful for guidebooks that give you all of that information in case your normal tour guide, aka Newel, is indisposed at work.

Playing in the zocalo

The buildings in downtown have the colonial structure and they are really cool...very unique.  I was in love with the city.  While we visited Puebla, we did a lot of walking and visited a lot of museums.  We were lucky that on certain days, the museums are free to the public and we also participated in a kids summer educational program which allowed us to get in for free at other museums and libraries.  I was surprised that even though I had both kids, we were able to see and do a lot the 2.5 days we were there.

Well deserved hot chocolate in the evening.

The grand cathedral. 

We arrived to Puebla fairly early that day.  So, after settling ourselves in the hotel, we headed out for a walk around town. On a side note...we did a pretty good job packing light for that trip.  We only had 2 backpacks (mine and Arden's) and my small purse.  We hit the free museum and hung out at the zocalo.  I kept wondering why the cathedral was closed...finally, I found out that it was being fumigated and wouldn't be open for several more days.  After dinner, we went out for hot chocolate.  We were so lucky, right across the street from our hotel we had a bakery, so we hit that on our way to the Cafe and for our morning breakfasts.

400+ year-old library

The phases of making a talavera

The following morning we hit another free museum and I was in library heaven.  They had a library that is over 400 years old!  Most of the books were ancient and were not even in Spanish...they were in Latin, German, and other languages. It was amazing...what was more amazing is that it's still in use.
We also joined a children's tour on the history of books, book making, and paper.  It was quite informative and the kids had a chance to imprint a picture.  I thought it was pretty cool.

Book history

Book press

We went to so many places that I don't remember the names of them, but we also went to another 400 year old library and it was pretty cool.

The other ancient library.

It was a blast walking down the streets of Puebla because different streets specialize in selling different things.  At one point we went to the Talavera market...it's the specialized tile/pottery style of Puebla.  Then at another street, it was the artist alley...where famous painters have gotten their start at. At this alley/street, we saw all kinds of artwork and artists...it was nice.

Artist street

Later, we hit the Calle de los dulces...where we treated ourselves to Puebla style candies.

At the Ranas

Calle de los dulces

One of my children's highlights was eating at the Ranas taqueria.  I won't lie, the food was good and cheap.  I thought it was pretty funny how they liked it so much, we ate there, twice.  They wanted to eat at the Ranas, a third time, but I had to decline...I wanted to eat some authentic mole from Puebla.

Children's plays

As the day went by, it started to rain and we were getting tired.  So, to get a little rest, we went inside a building that looked that it had an exposition on children's art..which it did, but it also had play performed by children.  Arden and Maya really liked watching the plays. Plus, it gave them a chance to rest for a while. The plays were performed by children from different cities from the state of Puebla.

Pueblan mole

 After, the rain, we headed back out for more walking and headed to the Hotel Colonial, where I got my mole fix...it was really good and the children had their choice of yummy foods, like a plate full of fries and noodles.

Sweet breakfast tamal

That night, Maya got sick.  She woke up around 2AM with the croup and a fever.  I was getting a bit worried because I was by myself and I didn't even know where the hospital was, in case her condition didn't improve.  We've been lucky that Maya's croup has never been as bad as Arden's, so I gave her the home remedies.  Tylenol, steamy bathroom, and then cool air. I was lucky the security guy was really nice and opened the main gate so I could take here outside to get the cool air.  A police car saw me and stopped by to see if I was okay.  I told them we were...they offered to take me to the hospital, but I declined...but they said to not hesitate to call them, in case Maya's condition worsened.  We did the treatment a couple of times and then, she was much better...good enough to not go to the hospital and to get some rest.  The following morning, after eating leftovers and a breakfast tamal, we headed back to Cuerna. I still wanted to see more of the city, but I didn't want to travel with a sick Mayita...she needed to rest.
On a side note...the entire time I was in Mexico, I was constantly reminded by various people that I wasn't from Mexico.  Whenever I rode in a taxi, the driver would ask me where I was from...because I looked and spoke differently.  Even the police officers, reminded me, I wasn't from Mexico. It's funny, how I don't quite fit in anywhere entirely.  Even when I've visited my own country, they didn't think I was from there.  I don't mind, though...I've come to embrace my differences.  What's important is that I try to be polite and respectful.