Tlaxcala

Today I took the bus to Tlaxcala, which is the capital of the state of Tlaxcala, the smallest state in Mexico, which is surrounded on 3 sides by the state of Puebla. I was in Tlaxcala the other day when I went on my solo tour with my taxi driver, Gustavo, but was so tired by the time we got to the city of Tlaxcala, I decided to skip it.

Dr. Sanchez, who is not really a doctor, recommend Tlaxcala for the church, which he said was even more magnificent in the popular baroque style that the two churches we visited in Acatepe and Tonintzintla.

So, I took a taxi to the bus station, bought my ticket and was soon on my way. The taxi ride cost more than the bus trip round trip. Buses here are really the way to go. They are cheap, comfortable and safe. This was a first class bus that took 30 minutes to get me from Puebla to Taxclala and it cost 16 pesos, a little over $1.00 (the exchange rate is 10.70 pesos to one dollar).

Tlaxcala, was a nice little city that kind of reminded me of downtown Sonoma. Of course there was a central zocalo, and many churches. It was clean, kind of laid back and nice to walk around. It was also a beautiful, sunny day. It's been freezing here (literally), so it was nice to be able to walk in the sun with little wind. It got quite warm.

I am not sure what church Dr. Sanchez was referring to, but after climbing what seemed like a mountain, I got to a basilica that had some pretty elaborate decoration, much of it in gold leaf. It was nice, but I think I preferred the churches we saw the other day. They were less pretentious (I find gold leaf kind of pretentious) and really sweet in a way. They were also working churches. There were people there on the days we visited.

I took some photos inside of this basilica before I noticed a sign saying no photos - woops!

After eating lunch, visiting a handicraft museum, where I spoke to an old guy who showed me how he made carpets which looked amazingly like Persian rugs, I headed back to the bus station and made my way home. Again, the taxi rides to and from the bus station cost more than my bus ticket.

I'm back in Puebla now and ready to go get something to eat.