Arriving in Puebla Saturday night, I set out to explore 'el centro' on Sunday afternoon before classes start on Monday. This central area of town is called Zocalo and there is a large square surrounded by shops, restaurants and the cathedral. It's filled with trees, sculptures, a fountain, entertainers, and lots of people on a sunny afternoon.
I had a warm welcome. A couple of police officers were walking by me around the outside of the square, so I asked them if they could recommend one of the restaurants for lunch ('almuerzo'), they not only gave me a recommendation but walked with me to show me which one and we chatted along the way. Then, no sooner than I had sat down at a patio table an adorable little girl at the table next to me came over and said 'Hola'. She was fascinated with talking to a lady from Canada.
I began exploring the rest of the square after a wonderful meal of three enchiladas each with a different one of the traditional mole sauces, Verde, Rojo & Poblano. All were delicious, but I still like Poblano the best, probably because there is chocolate in it! During my exploration, the officers noticed me and asked if I would fill out a form for their work describing how they had assisted me. I did get a few strange looks as I sat on the bench completing the form with two officers standing over me, though. But taking photos after, likely dispelled any misinterpretations.
My days begin breakfast with Lupita and one of the 2 young men staying there, then I have a 20 min walk to the school. I have a private class from 9 am to 1 pm when we break for dinner provided by the school. Between 2 and 4, Monday through Wednesday we each go with the guide assigned to us and explore the city while conversing in Spanish. My guide this week was Emilio, a university student.With a few other students, we visited a traditional ceramics factory where they make Talavera, the famous blue & white ceramics that Puebla is famous for.
Tuesday we explored the artisan area and the original cathedral in Puebla. I got a good start on my Christmas shopping and had a new experience. I ate a ‘chapulin’! A fried and salted type of small grasshopper! It was actually good and the texture was crunchy and not at all unpleasant. I was definitely surprised!
I didn’t realize until this week that Puebla was the location of the famous ‘Cinco de Mayo’ battle with France. The hill where the battle took place used to have a church on top, El Templo de Guadalupe. There is now a museum build around and within these ruins in recognition of this important battle. This area of the city now is a huge park with other museums, a convention center and a ‘teleferico’ (aerial tram). We rode this one way to see the views of the city and then caught a bus back to Zocalo.
What a great start to the week!
