Ahhhh summer usually gives us hot days, flings, beach, sun and fun. Hmmm this summer only gave me 2 out of 5. I'll let you figure out which two they were. The Olympic Games was definitely the highlight of my summer. I was happy to wake up early in the mornings to catch the events and watch reruns of Married With Children and The Nanny. I even recently came up with the great idea that "channel hopping" should be an Olympic event. I would soooooooo be qualified for that. I mean since they want to get rid of softball (or one of those events I am really not sure) they are going to need a substitute. And I know, I really know that channel hopping would be a sold out event.
Uhm where was I? Yeah, so I visited my friend Belinda that lived in Tlaxcala. The 3 hour bus ride to Puebla was sucky because I didn't eat, it was raining and the it just felt like forever to reach. I saw an awesome mall that made me think of the ones in the United States while I was on the bus. The traffic was ridiculous in Puebla's Centro so I had nothing else to do but look through the window. I got tired of reading about elephants in the issue of National Geographic that I took along. I'm sure the mall has been there during my numerous visits.
So the bus from Puebla to Tlaxcala charges 16 pesos. WTF! I found the 16 pesos to be more than an affordable price since it took me a little over an hour to get to the final stop which was the Centro. I was worried during the journey because I passed through some really rural areas and I was HOPING that my friend did not live in any of these areas. By really rural I mean farm animals in the yards, narrow dirt roads, board houses and the like. HELLO I'M A CITY GIRL! **But not city girl enough to live in Mexico City. NO THANKS! Contamination much?!** I was more than ready to give Belinda a huge hug, chat for a while then find my ass back home if a rural lifestyle was her reality. When I started seeing lots of cars, buildings that have more than 4 stories and other city like characteristics I knew that all would be well :-) Tlaxcala has really small public buses. Taxco combi flashbacks anyone? But these buses have doors and weren't *gasp* white Volkswagen. The part of town that I saw has the quiet colonial vibe going on. Most buildings are of that typical burnt orange that the Mexicans apply to their art and surroundings. The streets are busy but not to the point of annoying me. Yeah I know a city girl like myself shouldn't mind the crowd but most foreigners I know that have spent at least a few days walking in any city-like area of Mexico get annoyed at the pace and manner in which they walk. I instantly thought of Oaxaca when I took a broader perspective of the Tlaxcala's setup. Belinda said that they are fast food restaurants and huge supermarket chains but I didn't get to visit that part. Of course I saw an Oxxo, and I didn't see that many stray dogs! All being said the nausea I suffered was totally worth it. Belinda was really hospitable and the city is beautiful.
I wrote this for your sake MM, miss you much.
