El Hotel Colonial en Puebla

We arrived at the Hotel Colonial, only to see our good friend Amalio in the lobby. Wow! He was the first person we recognized since we started our trip the previous week. Has it only been a week?

Anyway, we were so excited to see Amalio, a familiar face in an unfamiliar town in an unfamiliar country. He helped us get checked into our beautiful room, and then he played the host and took us around his home town. The town is full of people celebrating Mexico's Independence Day.

We needed a good meal, and Amalio delivered. He took us to many of the stands around the downtown, and bought us:

-Hibiscus tea
-Quesadillas sin queso (the tortillas were made on the spot, and filled with pumpkin flour, mushrooms, tomatoes, and salsa)
-A corn soup with a spicy chile sauce and the same ingredients used in the tortillas
-Bean tostadas with potatoes and salsa verde
-A cinnamon pastry
-A dessert made of chocolate and water (mmmm, tasty!!!)

What a guy!

We went back to the hotel, and met Amalio's nephew and his wife and child, and his daughter, and went back out on the town. His nephew took us to a restaurant where we had tequila, a sour lemon drink, and a sangrita, which tasted like a Bloody Mary.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed the fireworks we could see outside of our hotel window. How romantic!

Tomorrow, we'll be attending the wedding between Amalio's daughter, Rigel, and her fiancee, Paul.