First Impressions of Puebla, Mexico

When my dad was younger, he spent a good deal of time traveling around. He lived briefly in Malaysia, Thailand and Mexico. I used to be him to share his stories. I listened with longing. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to travel a lot and experience as much as possible.

After two great years of living and working in China, I decided to once again follow in my father's footsteps and move to Mexico. I found a library job and decided to go for it. I only speak Spanish to communicate in a basic level, but I'm willing to put the time and effort in.

I came down a few days to spend exploring with my dad before beginning work.

Day 1: Hamburgers and Sleep

Our flight experienced some technical problems so we didn't arrive until 10:30 at night. My school was kind enough to pick us up at the airport before sending us on our way. We stopped for a quick bite at the local hamburger place before heading to bed.

Day 2: Zocalo

After a nice sleep, we woke up and paid a visit to the school. Everyone there was incredibly kind and welcoming. I had to fill out some paperwork and get things ready for my new visa.

We then had the afternoon to ourselves so we set out to get to know my new city. We took a 15 minute taxi to Zocalo.

We walked around the plaza and admired the beautiful Spanish Colonial Style. First we visited the St Michael Fountain. According to Catholic tradition, the saint watches over the city and protects it from harm.

Next door is the Cathedral. Construction began in 1575 by the architect, Francisco Becerra and was finally completed in 1645.

It started to rain a little so we decided to explore some of the nearby shops.

As we walked around, we came across many beautiful buildings and lots of churches. I was mesmerized.

Just wondering around, we came across Saint Mark's. This church was completed in 1675. It has a baroque exterior with beautiful tiles, brick and stonework. The inside has a neoclassical style.

Next we discovered, The Church of Guadalupe. It's a little newer. It was completed in the 18th century. It's supposed to have one of the best examples of Talavera bricks in the city. And they were definitely stunning.

Here's a picture of the tiles up close.

We finished the day off with a delicious meal. I ate a delicious dish of mole poblano. It was heaven in my mouth.

Day 3: Cholula

For my dad's last full day with me, we decided to take a day trip to Cholula, Puebla. It's a small suburb about 40 minutes away from the city center. It's famous for its markets, churches, and the pyramid. It's especially popular with a younger crowd because it is a little more open minded.

We hopped on a bus that took us to the central market. There was very little traffic so it was a quick trip. We started off our day with a visit to the central market. We walked around casually and chatted up some of the shop keepers. Dad bought a delicious fruit and we ate it as we walked around. It was a Sunday so the area was bustling.

We walked by some of the local churches and took a peek inside.

We stopped for lunch at a locally owned restaurant. In Mexico, it's typical to eat a 3 course meal for lunch. This 3 course meal usually consists of soup, rice and an entree. You eat slowly and focus on enjoying your time with your family and friends. My 3 course meal consisted of tortilla soup, rice and chicken fajitas.

We split up for a bit so that I could check out the pyramid. Dad didn't have the energy to walk all the way up to the top. It was a bit of a hike but it was well worth the views at the top.

In Cholula, there is a legend that Cortes built 365 churches, one for every day of the year. Although the pyramid might just look like a giant mound, it's actually the largest pyramid in the world.

The temple-pyramid complex was built in four stages, starting from the 3rd century BC through the 9th century AD, and was dedicated to the deity Quetzalcoatl.

If you climb all the way to the top, then you can get to see the beautiful Catholic Church dedicated to the Virgin of Remedies.

Also, at the top are some great views of the city.

After I climbed to the top, I went down and explored the excavation site. It was so interesting to learn about the ancient history.

I met back up with my dad at the bottom of the pyramid. He was waiting for me with an ice- cold Coca Cola and it was such a godsend on a hot day.

After our long day, we were exhausted but I needed to go get set up in my new apartment. We went back to the hotel so that we could rest and shower. I only had one suitcase so it was pretty easy. I immediately fell in love with my new apartment. It had a living room, kitchen, eating area and two bedrooms. I'd be sharing it with a super awesome roommate.

It was really bittersweet to say goodbye to my dad after enjoying all the time that we got to spend together. We had one final meal at the new apartment before saying goodbye. On the street close to the apartment is a van that sells meals packed into a bag of Tostitos. I ordered something called tostitos esquites. It was tostitos packed with corn, white queso, and salsa. It was so yummy.