Back in Puebla

Salad at Sacristia on typical Puebla pottery

Had a wonderful lunch at Sacristia, back in Puebla. I found Meson de la Sacristia; a lovely walk from my hostel.. The restaurant is in the courtyard of the hotel, is filled with antiques and potted trees, and has bright pink walls. The waitstaff is formal and helpful but not overbearing. It was a lovely place to be, but of course, odd being alone; there was a big noisy family nearby. I had fried parsley topped with shrimp and with tomatoes-- lovely and very tasty. Then a zucchini blossom salad which also had that tasteless cheese and avocado. And steak with huichotle. It was not that great as steaks go, and the huichotle had been chopped and I guess sauteed so it was hard to see what it really looks like. I will have to go to Merced or wherever the market in DF is to get a better idea.So-- it was a lovely setting, and beautifully presented food, but not acutally that tasty.

The door to my room at the Puebla Hostel

 The streets outside were full of antique markets and chic cafes, but I didn't see anything that called to me. I also went to the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, an ancient library. It is beautiful, an oasis of quiet, inside a large courtyarded building which also had art exhibits. It had high vaulted ceilings and books behind glass, and a beautiful tiled floor. The tiles were concave from the feet of centuries. There was an interesting book holder like a rotating file cabinet so you could read and crossreference several books at once: it was like a wooden cylinder with shelves along the side that could be rotated to get to the open book you wanted. Sort of like tabs in Windows. No one else was there. 

The hostel was run by a very friendly and helpful man who was full of information. I tried several times to get chocolate and ride the special nighttime tourbus which viewed the Christmas lights, but didn't succeed in either. . . Puebla is such a lovely place for walking. 

I heard wafting out of a courtyard that song I kept hearing in Sardinia--Hey Soul Sister. A lonely travel song.

Things are going swimmingly but traveling full tilt is catching up with me. I am getting dumb and can't seem to communicate in Spanish as well.

A big part of traveling is recovering the feeling of childhood-- I don't mean being a child but experiencing things as new, and trying to figure out the details and the system, and how to function in it. Like what a metro stop looks like: despite the terrible signage here, once you know what to look for, you will not walk into an underground parking lot (as I did once). That means being among people who are kind and helpful, especially when you ask for it, but also forbearing and patient when you don't get the simplest of routines. Humility on that level can be discouraging and difficult.

Popocatepetl fuming in the distance

miscellany:

The walk signals for crossing streets are animated. They start out moving at a stately stride, then with 15 seconds left, speed up; at seven seconds they start hurrying and at 3 seconds, running.

The subways do not have takeaway maps or clear station labeling. But they cost...42 cents.The entrances and traffic patterns generally are confusing.

 ancient door on an an antique store

As in Shanghai, there were dancers and dance lessons in the park: the middle-aged men looked like it was not their idea to be there. Toltec heads in the Kahlo/Rivera Casa Azul and in the Museo de Antropologia looked like jack o lanterns: next year!

a morning chat

Finialia