By Nick Wilder
My wife, Keven, and I escaped from Chicago to the warmth and sun of Mexico for three weeks in February. Our first stop was San Miguel de Allende, a charming city in central Mexico which we had visited twice before. We particularly enjoy the flower and craft markets as well as festive weddings taking place in numerous churches every weekend. For the second half of our Mexican holiday, we drove 4 hours south to Puebla, a UNESCO designated city known for its Spanish baroque churches. We stayed at the beautiful Azul Talavera hotel in the heart of the historic city center. Puebla is Mexico’s fourth-largest city, famous as the location where the Mexican army defeated the French on Cinco de Mayo in 1862. We thought that Puebla felt like an authentic Mexican city that has not been discovered by many foreign tourists.
Here are some photos from San Miguel de Allende:
Kids in the outdoor flower markets.
Selling flowers in the indoor market.
Shooting bubbles from a soap gun.
We saw several weddings on our weekends in San Miguel.
Wedding at the Rosewood Hotel.
Young bridesmaids.
After a wedding, bridesmaids replacing high heels with comfortable shoes.
Getting ready for a quinceañera celebration.
Shop owner’s daughter in a makeshift crib.
Giant puppets near the central plaza.
Inside a giant puppet.
In Puebla, pedestrians are urged to run across the intersections.
Priests bless cars outside a cathedral on Saturday afternoons. Mexican car insurance?
Watching a street performer’s balancing act.
Welcome to the restaurant California.
The baroque churches in Puebla are beyond elaborate.
However, not everyone at the services is paying attention.
A young athlete at the park.
Having a good time at the museum.
Two scenes from a Puebla ceramics factory.
Keven took this picture of a gypsy troupe near our hotel.
View from our hotel of the sunset over a nearby active volcano.
