Hola!
Today was our day to pick up our car and head to Puebla, which is about 90 miles south of Mexico City. We were up about 6 a.m. and washed, breakfasted and re-packed by about 8:30 a.m. So sorry to leave the beautiful Hilton Reforma, but needs must, and we needed to get on the road. We Ubered to the Airport, and were transferred from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 and the Alamo office. Because we were renting in Mexico, for the first time ever, I opted to purchase the insurance coverage on the car. I had been warned via email that Alamo would not have a record of the coverage, and would probably try to sell me more insurance, and sure enough, they did! I repeated that Allianz was covering us and we didn’t need any further coverage. I also provided him with the paperwork describing the coverage. The young man we were dealing with insisted that 3rdparty coverage was mandatory, and that I was going to have to pay something like $400 US extra on top of the rental charge! I basically said flat out that I wasn’t going to pay for it … so suddenly, I guess it wasn’t mandatory, as we were finally given the car and out we went. Truly amazing. Why does this have to be so difficult???
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| Heading over the mountains to Puebla |
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| Beautiful landscape! |
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| In Puebla's Zocalo |
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| Beautiful park! |
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| and fountain! |
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| Puebla Cathedral |
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| More Cathedral |
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| Beautiful altar |
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| Lunch! |
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| Beautiful arcade! |
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| Mayan sculpture |
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| More Mayan |
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| Another Mayan Altar |
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| I feel like this sometimes... |
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| Love those Lions! |
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| Labeled "Yoke" |
Robert and Emmy (GPS) did a terrific job in getting us out of town and toward Puebla. We did go on the toll road, and truly – it seemed that every five minutes or so, there was another toll booth! At one point, we paid something like $80 pesos, drove about half a block, and had to pay again! Incredible. R pointed out that the tolls weren’t really that much – but truly, they do tend to add up!
The air in Mexico City was very, very smoggy this morning, and it was really a relief to actually get out of town and head over the mountains. Stunning and very unexpected scenery – beautiful forests and lovely rolling hills. We finally drove out from under the smog, and made it to Puebla in about three hours. We ran into a bit of trouble – seems that the toll road went from three lanes down to one, which corked everything up! Bad, too, because I of course had to go to the bathroom. But that’s when the fun really started!
We could actually SEE our hotel – we just couldn’t get to it! NO PROBLEM! Truly, truly frustrating. The hotel is a Hilton Garden Inn, and it is relatively new. And, the ONLY way to get to it is by going west on a specific highway, and then you sort of glide into it, just as long as you don’t blink, or you’d be past it. [I have never seen a hotel that had its one and only entrance on the ramp transiting from one freeway to another. If you happened to be on the freeway going in the wrong direction – too bad! – R] By the time we went around it twice, and past it three times, I was in the screaming stage! I really loved the fact that Emmy would announce “Arriving at the Hilton Garden Inn” when we couldn’t actually get to it! Grrrrrrr…..
Finally, finally made it to the hotel and parked in their parking lot. We are in room 1420 which is a corner room on the top floor. Very nice room; spacious and well equipped – but I have to admit that it did take me some time to finally calm down. To say the hotel’s signage SUCKED is an understatement! We got to the sign saying “Hilton Garden Inn 1 km” and that was it! Nothing! Not a happy camper.
Robert did some Caltech business while I tried to pull myself together…and then we headed back down to the lobby to get an Uber to Puebla’s Zocalo. Lovely drive, although lots of traffic, and there was the Zocalo! We toured the beautiful Puebla Cathedral, whose towers are allegedly the highest in the country, and then found a place for lunch around the square. By now it was after 2 p.m. We passed by Subway, Carl’s, Jr., McDonalds and finally Burger King, to get some lunch at Royalty Hotel.
We both ordered the chicken enchiladas in mole, and they were good. Not as good as at Teotihuacan, but we enjoyed them all the same. R had beer and I had sparkling water to drink [with ice! Gasp! – R]. After lunch, we decided to head to the Museo Amparo, to view their collection. Not far from the Zocalo, in several renovated old houses. They have done a beautiful job with the museum, but truly, I know we’re in Mexico, but there wasn’t a word there in English, and no guidebooks or maps to help visitors! [Now we know what it is like for foreign visitors to U.S. museums. – R] They did have a lot of Mayan pieces, including another HUGE cylinder seal, and we enjoyed our tour very much.
It now being somewhere after 4 pm, we decided we had had enough culture for the day, and would head back to the hotel. Uber driver Victor arrived in just a couple of minutes, and fortunately for us, he knew how to get us back to this hotel! Upstairs so Robert could get some Caltech work done.
About 6:30 we headed downstairs to find a glass of wine, and ended up with a wonderful bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. We also were provided with a large bowl of salsa and guacamole and chips, which was great! Back upstairs about 8, and now blogging before I can get to bed!
Tomorrow we are taking the car out (will we ever see the hotel again?!) and heading to the pyramid at Cholula and their new museum. So – adios for now!
Love,
m
xxx
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