The Beauty of Puebla

I was feeling spontaneous and took a weekend trip to Puebla! It was very last minute...meaning it was planned on Thursday and I left Friday. I was in Puebla for an education conference on Wednesday about how to teach English to children. It was great! I really enjoyed the speakers. They were very engaging. My favorite speaker talked about teaching in the 21st century. She taught us songs to use and how to adapt them to different cultures.

So on Friday I bought a bus ticket and took the 4-hour ride to Puebla where I met fellow Fulbrighter Clara and her friend Fer, who we spent the weekend with. When we got there, Fer took us on a short driving tour of downtown Puebla. We went to a restaurant on top of a hotel with one of the best views of the city. After that we had dinner in a nearby city called Cholula at a vegetarian restaurant. Best pizza I've had in Mexico (and possibly the US!). Then we listened to some banda music at a bar near the restaurant and called it a night.

Saturday was a relaxed day. Clara and I did a little exploring. We went to the Puebla Cathedral to see the inside and there was a mass going on so we sat down...until we realized it was a wedding. We left pretty quickly. Across the street there is an art museum and library so we checked it out. They had traditional dance performances so we stayed for a while. Then we met up with a British Fulbright ETA that Clara knew and her two British friends. We had comida corrida and walked through the open markets that fill the streets of Puebla. Puebla is known for their pottery, called talavera. So obviously I had to shop. Then we had hot chocolate and dessert at a little cafe downtown. At night we all went to Cholula again to go dancing. We were there until the club closed at 4! And needless to say, we had tacos before going home.

Sunday was more of a tourism day. Fer, Clara and I dined at a fancy restaurant for brunch. I had chilaquiles, thinking my stomach can handle it but I still just can't eat spicy food. Clara and I had heard about Museo Amparo so we made sure to go there. They had some interesting exhibits. Some art I will never understand. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable. They had a great exhibit with recycled books. After that, we walked around the markets some more and had some ice cream before hopping on a tour bus. It drove us around the downtown area then up the hill to drive past some monuments. It was a beautiful view of the city. Unfortunately, the camera can't always capture the beauty. After the tour, Fer dropped us off at the bus station. We were running late but I was able to make the bus because it was sold out and there was another one 30 minutes later. Qué suerte! (What luck!)