Puebla, the food kitchen of Mexico

We left Puebla just after breakfast this morning for Cholula. We climbed the Great Pyramid, admired the viewpoint (if you were to draw a volcano, you’d come up with Popocatepetl, wouldn’t you?) and went into Nuestra Señora de los Remedios church which was built over the pyramid.

From the very top of Cholula, we went to the very bottom. A walk through a narrow tunnel at the base of the pyramid enabled us to see the foundation of the temples and the many layers added over years.

A short bus journey out of town took us to the church of Santa María Tonantzintla. All surfaces are covered by colourful plasterwork – indigenous angels, chillis… Every space is filled with colourful objects and patterns, like a three-dimensional version of the trees of life we’d seen in the Popular Art museum in Mexico City. It’s fair to say we’d never seen anything like it.

Back to Cholula, we went to the food market and looked at the delicious looking fruits and vegetables, checked out the chickens and the food stalls enjoying brisk trades. It was past 11 o’clock but it had just started going; Cholula we learnt is a lazy town.

Lunch was out of this world. We went to a restaurant which specialises in pre-Hispanic food. And most of it was vegetarian. Heaven! Andy ordered a Tlaxke (a refreshing hibiscus yogurt juice combo) which was right tasty and Nopal Gratinado (cactus paddles with four types of cheese and beans). I had the Tortilla Cholulteca – a Mexican take on lasagna, with tortillas, vegetables, cheese and tomato sauce. And with seven types of chilli sauces to pick from, I was right where I wanted to be.

Back to Puebla, we had no agenda but to walk the colourful colonial streets and we did until our feet hurt. We stopped suddenly as we heard the Champions League’s anthem… looked at each other and carried on walking. The historic centre is very pretty. Most buildings are painted in bright colours (stunning against the blue sky) and decorated with tiles. We looked at antique shops and perused the ‘Street of Sweets’

We finished our walk in the Church of Santo Domingo, which is conveniently located right next to out hotel. The Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel) is magnificent and one of the most elaborately decorated baroque chapels in Mexico. The walls and dome are coated in gold leaf and plaster. The stream of light catching the saints, cherubs and angels made for a golden spectacle.

Puebla’s my kind of town. It is obsessed with food. People are either eating, queuing to eat at street stalls, carrying food or talking about where to eat next. In fact, we’re about to hit the town again to look for cucumber and chilli sorbet.