Tlaxacala, Mexico

Dear Family and Friends,

The other day we took another day trip to Tlaxcala, Mexico. 

We started our trip with a visit to the artisan museum.

One of my favorite items were the hand embroidered blouses.

Here is Chuck and Bob in front of a replica of an Otomi adobe house.

Inside we saw items they use daily, especially in the kitchen.

Here is a close up of the tedious embroidery work.

This is an Otomi lady and she is wearing an embroidered blouse and belt.

Spanish colonial ceramics.  This is just one example of the beautiful pottery found in this area.

The stained glass ceiling of the House of Legislature in Tlaxcala. It has the four kings of the Tlaxcalan republic.

The parish of St. Joseph.  It is located on the main plaza.

Chuck and Bob having lunch at the Portals Restaurant.  Lots of outside eating in the area because of the year round perfect weather.

Bob and I had the delicious Aztec soup.  It is similar to tortilla soup that you can buy in the U.S.

This fountain is inside the patio of the Mayor's office.  It is covered with beautiful fresh flowers.

Outside kitchen with many colorful ingredients.  Red and Green salsas.  The cheese looks like mozzarella, but it is string cheese from Oaxaca.

Chuck standing in front of the sign that shows distances to cities all over the world.  Where to next Chuck?

This is the three arches symbolizing faith, hope and charity at the convent.

The oldest bull ring that is still operating in Mexico. It seats 2500 people.

The open chapel of Moorish design. It was built because the natives feared going into buildings at first.

One of the many murals inside the Governors Palace. The murals show the history of the Tlaxcalan people from the crossing of the Bering straight to the revolution.

Tlaxcala is a wonderful town. Actually, if Chuck and I had discovered it ten years ago, we could easily have retired there instead of Cuenca.  The weather is about the same and it is at about the same altitude. 

This has been a very enlightening trip for us. Mexico is a wonderful and progressive country with very friendly people.

Love,
Nancy

Cholula, Mexico

Dear Family and Friends,

Our tour guide, Bob Cox, took us to Cholula for a day trip to see the world's largest pyramid. It is the largest pyramid at it's base, not height.

We went into a museum before visiting the site.  This is a model of how the pyramid would look if you could see it.  However, the pyramid was covered with mud about 700 years ago, and it now overgrown with plants and trees.  It could be excavated except the Spaniards built a church on top and now it cannot be excavated because of the church.

Before going to the pyramid site, we visited this museum, which Bob told us, was formerly an insane asylum.

There were many nice buildings inside with lots of old artifacts.

This is the Lady of the Remedies Church that sits on top of the mud and vegetation covered pyramid.

This is the patio of alters at the archeological zone.  This has been excavated because it could be done without harming the church.

This alter was originally dedicated to the god of nine rains.  Behind it is the Mayan obelisk.

Chuck and Bob walking in the archeological zone.

The north side of the exposed part of the pyramid. Chuck climbed a few of the narrow steps for this picture.

We had some wonderful sangria at lunch.  Maybe the ice in this drink is what gave me Montezuma's revenge.

Luckily, I always carry a medicine bag when we travel.

Love,
Nancy

More Pictures of Puebla

Dear Family and Friends,

Bob Cox took us to the oldest library in the western hemisphere.  It is beautiful and looked like a scene from Harry Potter.

I loved this old globe.  

Last night, Bob and his wife, Raquel went with us to a Brazilian restaurant for dinner.  Here is Raquel looking on as the waiter was cutting meat for her to enjoy.

Here we four are, stuffed and happy.

Last night, we decided to have breakfast together this morning.  While we were waiting for the others we had a special coffee recommended by Bob.  The waiter made a production of adding the milk.

Here we are after breakfast with Bob and his beautiful family.  Chuck and I were made to feel so welcome. They are beautiful people.    

After breakfast, Bob took Chuck and me to some museums.  First we went to a museum featuring music of Vienna. Sorry no pictures of that.

The next museum we went to was a museum of puppets.  It was really amazing. I felt like we were in a museum in Prague.

Here is Chuck with a very tall Pinocchio.

After that museum, we went to the land of the giants.  The giants were us, the people viewing the exhibit.  The exhibit consisted of miniature iconic structures from all over the world.

Here is the Sydney Opera House.

The Great Wall of China.

The Tower of London.

Finally, we went to an antique car show.  We saw many cars and here are a couple of favorites.

After we said our goodbyes to Bob, Chuck and I went back to our hotel for a rest.

Later we went to the main plaza.  It is a beautiful park.

We had dinner at an outside seafood restaurant right on the plaza.  I ordered the pineapple stuffed with shrimp.

Chuck ordered octopus.

After dinner, we walked around the plaza and ran into a tea party.

Lots of balloon vendors.

As we walked back to the hotel, I took this picture of the cathedral all lit up.  You can see venus in the sky shining brightly above it.

A wonderful day in Puebla.

Love,
Nancy

Puebla, Mexico

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I took a bus from Mexico City to Puebla last Sunday. We have spent the past week sightseeing in Puebla and near by sites.

The most interesting thing about this part of our trip is that we have a wonderful tour guide. Although Bob Cox and I are from the same town of Columbus, Georgia, we have never met face to face until this week.

We met through Facebook about three years ago. He told us we would love his part of Mexico and we decided to take him up on it.

Bob has lived in Mexico almost fifty years. His wife is Mexican and he is a Mexican citizen also.  He is a tour guide and, of course, speaks excellent english with a wonderful southern accent.

The following are some of the things we have seen in the city of Puebla.


This church, turned fort, is the site of the battle of Cinco de Mayo. It was at this time that Mexico won it's independence from Spain in 1821.

Inside the fort is a museum. Among the exhibits was this physical replica of the national symbol of Mexico. This is the emblem that is on the Mexican Flag.

When Mexico was at its height its territory reached as far north as Utah and as far east as the Louisiana border. This was around 1835.

I took this picture of one of the beautiful pedestrian streets in Puebla from the double deck tour bus.

St. Augustine church.

Fountain of the founding fathers. This fountain was constructed in the 1700's.

The house of Aquilles Serdan, where the revolution started in 1910. You can still see the bullet holes in the facade.

A street vendor in Puebla.

This candy is made from sweet potatoes and it was made originally by the Santa Clara convent. It is very popular here in Puebla. I tasted some and it is hard to believe that it is made from sweet potatoes.

Chuck and his new girl. Maybe that bottle of tequila she is holding was just too much for him to resist.

This is the main panel in the Santo Domingo church. The panel contains images of religious figures.

To the right of chapel of the rosary in the Santo Domingo church.  The gold leaf work is beautiful.

This is the beautiful church of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. Unfortunately, we didn't see the inside.

More pictures of Puebla later.

Love,
Nancy