Don't take my word for it....

Every year, on our anniversary, we like to visit a new place. In fact, it was on our 10th anniversary in 1998 that we first visited Mexico. And now, thirteen years later, we are living here! We wanted to make our first Mexican anniversary special but we took a chance visiting Puebla. We had not heard much about it, and what we had heard wasn't great.

"Just another big city."

"The historic center is small."

"Nothing special."

But it was hard to resist a mere two hour bus ride...and a hotel that looked very chic at a great bargain, so off we went. We found Puebla to be one of the most beautiful, unusual, and charming cities we have ever visited. It is famous for its cooking (especially mole sauce, which can contain over fifty spices), Talavara tiles decorating the buildings, and churches, churches, and more churches!

Every single block seems to have its own church. One is more gorgeous than the next. They are filled with crystal, gold and beautiful fabric. I thought that they couldn't possibly be filled on Sunday, but they were.

For our Saturday night anniversary dinner,we tried to eat at a restaurant we had read about. We entered through a living room where a "mature" woman was singing to a group of people...maybe her...friends? We sat in the dining room, ordered drinks and I asked for chicken in mole sauce. The cook started hollering at the waiter who refused to acknowledge her...but finally we learned there was no mole. The waiter then disappeared. After waiting for about fifteen minutes, we left...interrupting the senior singer for the second time. We found another restaurant on a charming little street. There was yet another singer, but at least she was young, very cool, and had a good voice. Plus, they had chicken with mole! Ole!

After the cleansing rain of the evening, the weather on Sunday was gorgeous. As we were walking in the main square, with its incredible cathedral, we thought we heard a band playing. We were right! What kind of city has a free band concert on Sunday morning? Puebla!

And, because we were in Puebla, and because it was the season for Chiles en Nogada, we stopped at a tiny restaurant to try this speciality.

Puebla is...colorful, religious and traditional. It has great food, beautiful architecture and a lively zocolo. Even though it is only two hours from Mexico City, it has a completely different atmosphere.

We are so glad that we didn't miss seeing this wonderful city!