The locals are very fond of fireworks and shoot them off . . . all . . . the . . . time. Like all night long. They're actually more for the noise than the explosion and we actually got used to the noise enough to sleep through it, but not the marching band that went past our hotel at 5am. Apparently, there are celebrations for various saints almost every day of the week. Despite the interrupted sleep, this is really a cute place! The buildings are all very colorful and the streets are all either cobblestone or brick and almost all are one way. The church above is called Nuestra Señora de los Remedios and it's actually built on top of the largest pyramid in the world (according to Guinness). Cortés caught wind of the Cholulans wanting to kill him, so he massacred them and vowed to build a Christian church on top of every pagan temple. They built about 50 but this isn't a huge town, so there are a lot!
We visited the archeological site which had signs in English, so we understood it much better and were able to get through it much more quickly. We also walked through the local marketplace which was insanely busy and colorful. I didn't have my camera, but definitely plan on coming back with it because it was so interesting.
We had tacos arabes for lunch which is spit-roasted pork on a tortilla that's almost as thick as pita bread. Apparently there were some Iraqi immigrants who came to the area after WWI and it's sort of the Méxican version of a gyros. It was fantastic. Another interesting tidbit we discovered is that there is a town just a few minutes south that was established by Venetians and most residents therefore, have an Italian heritage. That explains all the Italian restaurants around here!
Our hotel is right on the zócalo and there was a carnival there, so after an afternoon siesta to make up for our poor sleep, we headed over there where the boys had fun playing arcade games. We walked through a couple of the churches which all had amazing interiors and then decided to turn in early since the fireworks didn't end with the daylight and we expect them to go all night tonight, too.
We had tacos arabes for lunch which is spit-roasted pork on a tortilla that's almost as thick as pita bread. Apparently there were some Iraqi immigrants who came to the area after WWI and it's sort of the Méxican version of a gyros. It was fantastic. Another interesting tidbit we discovered is that there is a town just a few minutes south that was established by Venetians and most residents therefore, have an Italian heritage. That explains all the Italian restaurants around here!
Our hotel is right on the zócalo and there was a carnival there, so after an afternoon siesta to make up for our poor sleep, we headed over there where the boys had fun playing arcade games. We walked through a couple of the churches which all had amazing interiors and then decided to turn in early since the fireworks didn't end with the daylight and we expect them to go all night tonight, too.