COMIDA!!!!!!!

Even though it is Wednesday, my memories from this past weekend still are very strong! But what made this weekend so memorable was the AMAZING gastronomy of Spain!
Let's cut to the chase (not trying to make a music pun, there!) I didn't have any specific plans this weekend, except to meet my friend Gabriella on Sunday. When I woke up Saturday, I had an apple and milk (not a great mix!) for breakfast and went on a run. At around 12:30, Margarita, my host mother, and I went to Las Setas. Las Setas are these huge, white, modern, and slightly unattractive plastic mushrooms (setas.) When I went by it on the bus, the week before, I was unimpressed, and thought they were lame, but once we got closer I gained a new appreciation for the 'Star Wars' edifices.
We got off the #28 bus, and entered the ground floor, which ended up being a flavorful market! Now, I've told myself many, many times not to compare Spain to America, because that is like comparing oranges and artichokes, but in the market at Las Setas, there were things that would never be found in the States: lamb heads (with the eyeballs still intact), organs, lamb hooves, whole pidgeon and rabbit corpses, etc. But, my favorite part was getting chicharones. Chicharones are deliciously fried pieces of meat, but not your typical Kansas State Fair attire. Instead of being a golden brown, with mystery meat in the middle, chicharones have a more wholesome look- a dark amber brown, bay leaves mixed in, and the meat is easily identifiable (beef!) There are two types of chicarrones, rojo and blanco. Rojo is fried meat, while blanco is the fat (it reminded me of eating breaded bacon grease.)
After our visit to the market, we went a level below to look at the Roman ruins, and then bought tickets to go on top of Las Setas, to have a view of the whole city. It was beautiful!

After our outing, we went to the same cerveceria, around the corner from the apartment, to meet Manuel, Margarita's father, Javi, Margarita's brother, and Marmen, Javi's wife. There we feasted on chicharones, small shrimp (maybe krill?), and endame like legumes (I need to get updated with the names of things!) Later, Manuel, Margarita, and I had lunch in Margarita's apartment. Lunch was a delicious mushroom stew (it was Saturday, so specifics are a little blurred) accompanied by bread, salad, and picas (teardrop-shaped, pale, unsalted-like pretzels.) Now that I mentioned picas, I might as well discuss table manners here. No one puts their napkins in their laps! Instead, while eating, they keep their non-dominant hand over the napkin, and eat with their right. As a knife alternative, people use picas to scoop up their food. At times I feel like I have bad table manners, because I have know idea what I am supposed to do! Also, eating times! As everyone probably knows, Spaniards eat late. Breaks fast is VERY light. I usually have bread, fruit, and a glass of milk. I have lunch when I get back from school, which is 3, and then we have dinner at around 9:30.
Anyway, once we had reached our eating capacity, we watched Canal del Sur, which is the public television station for the province of Andalucia (VPT is a little better, but like I said before, comparing Spain to the US is like comparing artichokes to oranges.) I took a little nap during the show Mio Pueblo, but it was desperately needed!
Later that evening, Margarita, her friend Conchi, and I went to La Bascilica del Gran Poder, for Saturday evening mass. It was very interesting, but I think, in the future, I will make a post about all of the churches that I have visited here in Sevilla.

After the service at Gran Poder, everyone went behind the altar to kiss the feet of this statue of Jesus, and then rub their hand against the cross.

Following the service, we went to another cerveceria. I had a Coke, but, then we went to another one, but this cerveceria  specialized in tapas (yeah!) Being it a Saturday night, the place was PACKED but some how we managed to find a some space in a corner. There we ordered bacalao, which is fried fish, covered in batter. It was marvelous! Although it was only one piece, it was satisfying! Oh, an interesting thing about tapaerias, is that they write your tab on the counter with chalk! How cool is that?
Sunday we met Gabriella (which was a little chaotic, but whatever!) We walked through El Barrio de Santa Cruz, which was originally (in the Middle Ages) the neighborhood where all Jewish people lived. Because of the strong prejudices against the Jewish community, people wanted to contain them int the smallest area possible, causing the alley ways are incredibly narrow. So narrow at times, that you need to step sideways to pass through.
After touring through the center, we met Conchi at another tapaeria (both cervecerias and tapaerias serve tapas and beer.) I had a pringa, which is essentially the Spanish version of a sloppy-joe. We went to another places for tapas, but it was not quite as memorable.
We went to Las Setas again, because Gabriella hadn't seen it, and then went back to the apartment for postre.
Two days can not even come close to explaining all of the food and gastronomic mannerisms here in Spain, but I'm sure, that over the course of the next few months that I will come up with many more food related topics to write about!

The Little Engine That Could!

Well! It's been over week since I arrived in Spain, but it feels like a year! I honestly don't see how anyone could be mentally prepared before going to study in a foreign country, where they are not fluent in the native language or accustomed to local traditions! If I were to elaborate on all of the new things I have encountered, my blog would be the same length as War and Peace, so I will try to make it as brief as possible.
A great place to start, though, is the day after I published my last blog. It was my second day taking the bus, by myself, to my school, and I felt fairly confident in myself. I sat down, and stared up at the screen on the bus. Before I knew it I was in unknown territory, and went up to the bus drive to ask if we had gone by Marques del Nervion, where my school is located. He stopped the bus and told me to go get the number 27 bus. I was super freaked out! I called my mother, back in the US (it was 2 AM there,) crying, probably looking like a total lunatic to everyone who passed me by. I then came to my senses and asked a few people where Marques del Nervion. One old woman had a hard time understanding my accent, and told me to go to a bar (at 8 in the morning! I didn't think so!) I knew that my bus did not make any turns so I just kept going straight, and eventually I came upon Marques del Nervion! I was late to school, of course, and I had little focus all day, but I learned that I should always carry a map, and be attentive about where the bus is going!
Now, my school! There are quite a few quirky things about it, like how all of the kids hang out in a bathroom, boys and girls! Also, randomly during class some of the kids scratch or massage each other! Maybe they do that because they've been going to school with each other so long?
Everyone says that European schools are really difficult, but after seeing some of the material that is taught in the classroom, and the amount of homework that is given, I think that it is easier than the American school system. Yes, in the United States we have do more critical thinking, but I felt like the AP classes I took were much harder than what the Spanish students are doing in Geography!
Friday was my birthday, and it was certainly not an easy one, since it was my first one away from people that cared about me and of whom I was familiar with! I went with my school to a convent for a religious retreat (I don't know what was going on, but not a lot of praying,) which was a little embarrassing because when I came to school I found everyone decked out in their fashionable casual wear. The girls had every their hair done, as well as having covered their faces with tons of makeup. I felt a little out of place, considering that I was wearing my makeshift uniform (my school didn't have one for me, so I had to buy one!) and was suffering from exhaustion and a bad hair day. Not your ideal beauty! But I stayed strong, and I made some acquaintances! Finally! That's one thing that has really bummed me out! In English I am very sociable person, but right now with Spanish I can barely contribute to the conversation!
Anyways, Friday afternoon I came home and was feeling fairly happy, until I came up to my host mother's apartment, and I couldn't open the door. Then I realized I was home alone, because I told my host mother and sister that I was going to do something with one of the girls in my class, but that fell through! But when I was at my worst, in came Margarita, Claudia, and Margarita's brother's, David, family, with consisted of mouthy Julia, who's 3, Inez, 2 months, and his wife, Pepi. I love little kids, and spending time with Julia really made my day!
Later Margarita's father, Manuel, came over, and we had some ice cream cake, in honor of my birthday.
That evening Margarita and I went to the historic center! We went to the Giralda, walked down la Avenida de la Constiucion, and la Iglesia del Salvador.

Iglesia del Salvador

Archivos de Indias

La Giralda

La Giralda

La Giralda

La Giralda

Romanas Aquiductos

Saturday Julia and Inez came over and spent the day with Margarita and I (Claudia goes home every weekend to Huelva.) That evening Margarita, her friend Conchi, and I went to la Basilica de la Macarena. (The Macarena is a statue of the Virgin Mary. I'm fairly certain that the statue came before the dance!) That was really interesting because we were there during Saturday evening service, and there were a ton of military service men and women in there military uniforms. I don't know what the Spanish military forces do (brainwash Gibraltan monkeys into thinking they're Spanish?) but it was quite a site to see all of these people worshiping in such a beautiful space! Afterwards we went out for tortas at a local cerveceria.

La Macarena

Sunday, Margarita's other brother, Jose, came over with his family for lunch, to celebrate Margarita's birthday (which is Tuesday.) We went to another cerveceria, which is close to her apartment, and then had a very long lunch (4 hours.) Later, Conchi came over with all of these sweets, which is a super plus to having a friend who works for a candy company (Compana.)
So there you have it! I thorough run down of my first full week in Spain! In future posts I will try to have more of a focus, like school or family, but we'll see how that goes. Hasta luego for now!

Home Sweet Home?

Alright! I am now settled into my new home, where I will be staying for the next five months. I just finished my second day of school, and am exhausted from trying to take in all of the Spanish that surrounds me constantly. I am living in Sevilla, Spain, which is in the southwestern part of Spain, in the province of Andalucia.
Now! Let me just go through everything in chronological order, because at the moment I feel like I'll be just writing random, unorganized thoughts. So, after spending a night in Boston for the CIEE Pre-Departure Orientation, all of the students went on a plane headed to London (except for one, due to a delayed visa.) Now, since we landed in London, I can say that I have been to five countries so far for my gap year, but I guess that's kind of like me saying that I have been to Michigan, when the only place that I have been to is the Detroit Airport. By the way, Heathrow is by far one of the craziest airports I have ever been too! The security is a little bit more intense than the US, but before security we had to take a train from the terminal where we landed, then take an elevator to the terminal where we were supposed to take the bus to our plane to Barcelona. Quite the adventure!
We arrived in Barcelona, and still had high spirits, despite having little to no sleep. We went to our hostel, and that evening we went on top of a hill to a church named Tibidabo. It was very beautiful, and you can see all of Barcelona and the cities that surround. I wished I had done a little bit more research on the places that we had gone, so that I would have had a greater appreciation for the places we visited.

 

 
The following day we had orientation, and in the afternoon we went Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and...

Walked to unknown places.

 

On Sunday, those of us going to southwestern Spain (Sevilla, Cordoba, Huelva, Cadiz) took the bullet train from Barcelona to Sevilla, which took six hours. I'm not complaining because I know that it could have taken a lot longer!
When we arrived in Sevilla we were met by our coordinator, Henrietta Buxton, and our host families. I was met by my host mother, Margarita, and her two friends, Conchi and Eva. We drove from the train station to her apartment, and then we went to a cafe and had seafood (mariscos!) After that we had lunch at Margarita's apartment, which was several hours long.
Monday (yesterday) I started school (no break for me!) I am in el segundo bachillerato, which is the equivalent of a senior in the United States. I'm actually going to a Catholic school, which I thought would never happen, but here I am! All the students are really nice, its just that they talk really fast (they all have really strong accents because pronounce their z's and c's with a -th sound. Also, in Andalucia, they drop their s's.) I feel like a bit of an idiot at times, like when someone told me that we had philosophy class, and I thought he was saying that the teachers name was Sofia, even though it was a man.
Oh! For classes I am taking history, geography, English, math (Pre-Calculus), economics, religion, and French. I never thought I would be taking French in a different language, but after being in a very disruptive computer class, I thought "Hey, why not!" Today was my first full day of class, and the teacher was very nice to me. At first she was asking me all of these questions to me in French (I think one of them was about how I live close to Quebec) and then she switched to Spanish, which made things very confusing. It was actually kind of hard to tell if she was speaking Spanish or French at times because of her accent.
Although there are a lot of things I want to do, I am taking it day by day! Right now I am trying to get my uniform together, then all of my school things, like books and what my teachers expect of me.  These past few days have not been easy, but I need to view this adventure as an adventure. Not every mile is supposed to be enjoyable, it should be excruciatingly painful (mentally), but at the finish, nothing could be more rewarding!

Pathways

Wow! I can´t believe I'm leaving tomorrow for Spain! It´s hard to believe that six months ago I was walking down O´Connell Street in Dublin! But, these past six months have been filled with many adventures that have helped me grow and prepare myself for my next journey!

2/3 of the team and I

In addition to coaching I have been working at my parents' business, Visual Learning Systems, and helping out a little bit at Swan & Stone Millinery. At Visual Learning Systems I have mostly been looking up elementary school contacts in Virginia (Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudon counties.) At Swan&Stone I learned a little bit about making hats, and parts of the trade, like fiber mills and the different techniques in creating a hat.
Since finishing my Wilderness First Responder course I´ve been dabbling at a few things. After Christmas I started helping coach the Otter Valley Middle School ski team (under the direction of head Middle School coach, Bob Clark), which has been great! At first I was like, ¨What am I going to do with them!¨ but after going to many ski clinics, I knew what to do: drills, one-on-one tips, and trying to be as friendly as possible. Coaching kind of put a little pressure on me, though, because I actually needed to be a good role model. No yelling at my brothers as they skied by, or losing the girls concentration by talking about One Direction (not like I would!) But coaching has been very rewarding! Although there were only three girls on the team, I felt like I have really made an impact on their technique and their speed! Last weekend we had a race down at Wild Wings, in Peru, Vermont, and just seeing them try their hardest really made my day! Another bonus is that I got to ski every day!

Now, looking forward! Tomorrow my parents and I are driving down to Boston, where I am to meet all of the others students that are going to Spain through CIEE. Thursday evening we fly from Boston to Barcelona, where we are to have our orientation with the receiving organization, InterHispania, which is in charge of all the international exchange students coming to Spain. We'll tour Barcelona and then Sunday morning I will take the train from Barcelona to Seville. I will be living and attending high school (I'm going to a private Catholic school, which I thought would never happen!) until the end of June, and then my family will come over from the United States for a month. I will still be keeping a blog while in Spain, but in the meantime I'd just like to thank those of you for making my experiences this past fall happen! Pues, adios America!!!

Thing Two?

Two days after coming home from Montreal, I was on the road again! This time to the Schenectady County Community College, to take a Biology CLEP test. I passed, so now I have 4 lab science credits at UVM! I stayed the night at my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Ron's house in Loundenville.
The following morning I took the train from Albany to Syracuse, which was probably the most relaxing mode of transportation I have ever taken. I was also surprised to find a lot of deaf people and high school musicians, all heading to Rochester.
I spent the next few days in and around Chittenago, New York. The main highlights were spending time with my relatives, learning who the Knicks were, and crying through a theatrical production of A Christmas Carol. My brothers then made fun of me by saying, "Louisa, a play and a water park!"
After the play, we were driving down Erie Boulevard in Syracuse, which is the extreme version of South Burlington, when my mom suddenly spotted a Polish market. We stopped, and were amazed at not only the inventory, but also how most of the costumers were from Poland, Ukraine and Russia. Also, the clerk kept on telling us not to get this because there was no flavor, or don't get this because it's stale. But, he also said that most of the inventory came from Green Point, an Eastern European neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Sunday we came home, but I was there for only an hour packing. I then went to my aunt's house in Norwich, so that I would be ready to commute the next morning to my Wilderness First Responder course on Lake Morey. That Monday, I was the last one to arrive, because of the weather, so that was a little awkward. Then I realized that I was the youngest in the class, and the least experienced! Everyone introduced themselves as being EMTs in Alaska or guides. When it finally came to me, I was so intimidated, that I just said that I took a WFA course in October. I felt like nobody needed to hear how I was on my gap year, and was in an outdoor based experiential learning program at my public high school in little Brandon, Vermont. I did drop things about myself here and there, but nothing too extensive, over the next ten days. But, I was there to learn, not to socialize, and I did acquire knowledge! I learned how to monitor vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, etc.), clear the spine, form a traction splint, and how to make a makeshift liter.
In the beginning I felt like I was behind and didn't know what I was doing, mostly because I had no past medical work, but by the end I felt like if I really ran into someone that was critically injured
in the woods, that I would be able to help them the best that I was capable. 

Thing One!

Procrastination- I never thought I would use that word to describe myself, but here I am. The past three weeks have been very busy, so this post will have two entries. Honestly, I don't want you, readers, to feel like you're drudging through a long National Geographic article on angiosperms (I'm sorry if you're into that.)

Months ago my parents were thinking of spending Thanksgiving somewhere other than Vermont; St. Johns, Nassau, Bogota, etc. But once mid-November rolled along we couldn't imagine leaving New England in November! (I mean who can resist Vermont during the shoulder seasons.)
So the Tuesday before Thanksgiving we were Boston bound! We went to the Museum of Fine Art, and saw a really cool Singer Sargeant exhibit. My favorite exhibit, though, was Colonial America, mostly because I knew all of the artists from American Studies (I couldn't resist taking a picture of Watson and the Shark, even though the original is in D.C.)  That evening we went to The Christmas Story, which I really liked (I've never seen the movie) but my brothers hated it because they couldn't stand the child actors (go figure!)

The following day I had to go to the Spanish consulate in order to get my visa. I was nervous and didn't know what to expect. After standing in line for an hour it was finally my turn to hand in my paper work. The woman on the other side of the glass wall told me I didn't have everything, even though it didn't say on the consulate's website or in the visa instructions from CIEE that I needed two copies for everything. This got me a little angry, and I almost gave that woman a piece of my mind (she was really mean!) but my mother stopped me. She then told me about how when she was in Budapest, in 1985, she and her friends had to go to the Czechoslovakian embassy to get a visa in order to pass through Czechoslovakia to go back to Poland. When they went embassy was closed when they went, and her friends had a tantrum (despite being "mature" 23 year old women.) When they went back the next day, the people at the embassy refused to give them a visa because they acted so poorly. Being students, they had no money, but fortunately the US government was willing to pay for their tickets to fly over Czechoslovakia, but the moral of the story is to always be calm and respectful while at foreign embassies. Also, I almost forgot my passport there, then realizing that I was going to Canada. Hopefully I will get my visa before I leave!

Later that afternoon we went to the Isabelle Stuart Gardener Museum, which was someone's house. Everything was the way Mrs. Gardener left it, so there are no labels, the lighting was very dim (you want to go on a bright June day, opposed to dusk in late November), and it really needed to be clean. But, I felt like there were some interesting highlights, like the chapel that she made herself (she collected pews and religious art from Italy, and held mass once a year on her birthday), the empty frames of the paintings that were stolen in an art heist in 1990 (mostly Vermeers) and the Singer Sargeant paintings (who she had an affair with. Go figure!) My dad said it reminded him of Disneyland, whatever that means?

That evening we spent hours walking around Boston, following an iPhone GPS while walking (which does not work what so ever), looking for an Irish pub. The first one we went to we were kicked out because my parents were the only ones that were over 21, so we tried to look for another. We did not get anywhere (we stumbled into Chinatown, if that counts), so we had to take two taxis to the Charles Playhouse to see the Blue Man Group, which was awesome! Andrew actually knows a Blue Man in the New York production, and he contacted him to see if he would be in Boston, but he said that one of his friends was in it. So, Andrew wowed us once again by making a Blue Man speak.

Thursday was Thanksgiving, of course, and we headed to my aunt's house in Norwich to have a modern yet rustic Vermont meal. Since Thanksgiving is an iconic American holiday, my cousins and I thought it was a good idea to watch Borat. I mean, Borat is trying to find the REAL America!

Friday we headed to Montreal, which I hadn't been to in six years. I was amazed over how within three hours from Brandon, I felt like I was in a different culture. Yes, everyone bilingual and are nicely dressed, but I felt like I was in Europe due to the sense of sophistication from others, as well as the architecture and rich history. We stayed in an apartment in the Old City, which was interesting because it was above a bar that played very loud and profane rap after hours, but I was asleep through it all, so whatever! We were "musuemed" out, so we mostly ate our way through by going to several Marches, a Jewish delis (Schwartz?), and ethnic restaurants (Chinese and Polish.)

South of the Border (No Not Massachusetts!)

So if the blog title didn't make sense I'll just clarify that I was in Mexico with our family friends, the Mondlaks. Our trip was certainly a great adventure, but I could not have imagined traveling without the company of Joel, Janet, or Jessa Mondlak! Their incredible knowledge on the culture and language of Mexico was far greater than any guide that I could have hired. Thanks again guys!
 When we arrived in Mexico City we were picked up by Joel's sister's (Betty) driver, Juan Carlos. Between the airport and Betty's apartment I saw some of the craziest driving in my life, but thanks to Juan Carlos I'm still able to write this blog. When we got to her apartment we were exhausted, considering that we had to get up at 2:30 am to catch our 5:30 flight from Burlington, so we chilled out.
The next day we went to the bus station to pick up Ariel and her New Zealand friend, Tamlyn. At the moment they are studying this semester at the Universidad de Vercruzana in Xalapa. After a series of fiascos we went to to our next stop, Xochimilco. Xochimilco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it still has the canals that the Aztecs built to drain the large lake that once occupied the valley where Mexico City is located. Anyways, Xochimilco is like a smaller and more colorful version of the canals in Venice, where the banks are lined with farms and vendors coming to your boat asking if you want grilled corn, jewlery, or tortillas, which is certainly something that I have never seen before, especially on water.

The following day we went to to the main Zocalo (plaza at the center of a town) in Mexico City, which is surrounded by the Cathedral Metropolitana, Sagario Chapel, Templo Mayor, and the Presidential Palace. The churches in Mexico were unbelievable, even if they were located in the middle of nowhere. The Cathedral Metropolitana had several alters made out of gold, with huge pipe organs, and all of the other aspects of a European cathedral. Although it's impressive, the Cathedral and Chapel were built from the stones of the next door neighbor's house, the Aztec's Templo Mayor. Templo Mayor is one of the last remains of the Aztec city, Techoticilcan, which was actually discovered in the 1970s when the government was expanding the subway.

Templo Mayor

Cathedral Metropolitana

On the Zocalo there are unlicensed vendors everywhere! We were buying something from one of them but then all of a sudden she had to go and hide because the police (las baccas) showed up. I almost got ran over twice by vendors, who were running into this tiny alleyway, where everyone obviously couldn't fit. Unfortunately the hot dog vendor got caught, but apparently if you are caught you are only fined 15 pesos, which is about $1.25.
Saturday we went to the artisan market in San Angel. It was really cool seeing all of the different colors and mediums of Mexican art. I did my Christmas shopping there, which was awesome!

All of us at the San Angel Saturday Market

Later we went to Casa Azul, which was where Frida Kahlol lived most of her life. My favorite part was the exhibit on all of the dresses and braces that she wore to cover up here disfigured body (she was in a serious street car accident while studying medicine.) She dressed in a Oaxcan style because of its big clothes and it showed matriarchal dominance.

Casa Azul

Frida's Outfits

Frida's Bed

Sunday we drove from Mexico City to Papantla, which took us six hours because we got lost and the speed was a little slow in some places. While on the road I saw some of the craziest driving, like buses passing cars on narrow windy roads with steep banks on both sides (on a double solid line, but I don't think that mattered much to them.) When I wasn't paying attention to traffic I noticed that within hours the biodiversity changed from a dry city, to a humid temperate mountainous rainforest. We got to Papantla, which is a major vanilla producing area and is also near El Tajin, a famous Totonac ruin. That evening we walked around the Zocalo, and since it was Sunday it was very crowded. Apparently we were the evenings exotic specimens, especially when a bunch of tweens came up and asked if we spoke English (in Spanish) (#culturalexperience?)

Papantla's Zocalo

The state at the Mirador

Monday we went to El Tajin, and had a Totonac (the indigenous group that occupied El Tajin) guide, which was cool because we got an accurate perspective. We learned so much, but in I'll just retell a few random  if you had any sort of handicap, you were offered to the gods because you were special. Also, the upper class was the only ones that could speak to the gods, and were also the only people allowed to play on the ball courts (any of the 17 there.) The winner of the game was also offered. Also, the descendants of the Totonac are allowed to live nearby the ruins, but if the head of a household dies, the rest of the family have to leave. After our tour we watched the voledores, which are a group of five guys, who go up a 30 meter pole. Four of them tie themselves to ropes, while one stands up on top of the pole to dance and play music. The boldeores go around the pole a total of 52 times, which represents a century.

 

Afterwards we went to Xalapa so that Tamlyn and Ariel catch their Monday class. I went to their History and Culture classes, which I could understand a quarter of all the Spanish spoken. I was pretty proud of myself!
Tuesday we went to to the Archaeology Museum, which is the second best in Mexico. There were 2,000 artifacts from almost every pre-Hispanic civilization that had existed in Mexico.

Aztec Map

Wednesday we left Xalapa and went to Chapultepec, which is a Magic Town. I got a kilo of coffee beans, but it was just like going to the Mexican version of Woodstock, Vermont (nothing too interesting on the surface.)
Then we went to Puebla, which was one of the first colonial cities established by the Spanish in Mexico, so there were a lot of old edifices (I kept on thinking of the painted ladies in San Francisco) and beautiful churches. (Personally, I thought the churches in Puebla were far more impressive than the ones I saw in Mexico City.) One of the churches we saw had an interior made completely of gold and silver while another had statues of saints that were out of this world (the artwork, not the saints!)

Later, when we were walking to this mole (think mole negro) place, we saw people watching the Mexico vs. New Zealand World Cup qualifier game. All of a sudden we hear a big explosion of screaming! Mexico was winning 4-0! Afterwards we walked down Calle de Dulces (Sweet Street) which had only shops full of sugary goodies! We also went out to churros!
Our last day we went to Chalula to see la Iglesia de Santa Maria (the Church of Saint Mary.) This place was in the middle of nowhere, but inside were thousands of cherub faces lined with gold and just blasts of color in your face. It was a small place, but it was unbelievable to know that this was being built in the 17th century and was still so intact.

There was actually a guy in the tower swing the bell by hand!

We went back to Mexico City and ended our trip with a bang when we had to be transferred to our original hotel, because the pipes were busted to the second best hotel in all of Mexico City. Watcha' ya know! Oh, and lets not forget the pictures of food. And also, thanks to Janet Mondlak, considering that almost half of these photos were taken by her!

Tostados

Pan de muerte

Mole Poblano

Hot Chocolate and a Churro