After several days in Mexico City, I was ready to move on and up next was Puebla. Puebla is the fourth largest city in Mexico and is most famous, historically-speaking, for being the site of General Ignacio Zaragoza’s defeat of the French army on May 5, 1862 that gave birth to Cinco de Mayo, which Estadounidenses have celebrated ever since by drinking Corona and perpetuating some of their favorite stereotypes. (Of course, the French took back Puebla soon afterwards, but nobody here seems to remember the date on which that happened.) That being said, the only things that I really knew about Puebla were that its soccer team has the same logo and sponsor as D.C. United and that I needed to try some Mole Poblano.
The bus ride from Mexico City to Puebla took a little under two hours, though that is not factoring in the forty minutes or so in which we waited at the bus station. We arrived around noon and checked in to the hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Victoria, which isn’t the cleanest or nicest hotel on the planet but is located very near Puebla’s Zocalo, or city center. My room also had a little balcony that actually provided a nice view into the Zocalo.
After checking in, we did a little orientation walk around the center of Puebla. We went to the Zocalo and it was similar in outlay, if not scale, to that of Mexico City. It was Valentine’s Day so there were balloons and flowers and people selling the aforementioned everywhere. On one side of the square (as in Mexico City, called the Plaza de la Revolucion) are the city government buildings and on the other side is the cathedral, which was built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Once again, the weather was unbelievably gorgeous and it allowed us to take lots of photos of the picturesque plaza.
By this time, it was time to eat and we went to a little restaurant a few blocks away from the Zocalo for lunch. Because we didn’t have much time in Puebla, I knew that if there was Mole Poblano on the menu, I was going to get it here because I couldn’t leave Pueblo without trying it. Sure enough, it was on the menu and I ordered it. What came out was a plate with a large chicken leg smothered in mole sauce and some refried beans. Like the mole negro that I had tried in Mexico City, the Mole Poblano was sweeter than I was anticipating, but it was much better than the mole negro sauce that I had tried before. It went well with the chicken and the beer and a good time was had by all.
After lunch, I went back to the hotel to work on my soccer blog for a while and a few friends were going to text me when they had finished shopping so we could grab a few drinks before the night’s festivities – which included street food and wrestling. After a couple hours, I heard back from them and found them sitting on a balcony overlooking the Plaza de la Constitucion, sipping on some margaritas and I decided to partake. I had a few and have come to the realization that Mexican food and drink contain significantly more lime than I’m used to. I’m not saying that it kept me from having a second one. I’m just making a comment.
This entry seems a little short but I think the story of the Cemitas and the Lucha Libre may take a little while, so I’m going to hold off on those until the next time. See you then.
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