Julia and I flew into McAllen to celebrate my 40th birthday with family and friends. It was a celebration of salsa, cigars, and dominoes. To view the entire album, click here.
We flew to Huatulco Mexico for much needed R&R. We stayed in Villa Sol y Mar in Conejos which had a great pool and patio with a view. We spent a day at Maguey Beach and ate a 2 kilo huachinango fried in garlic! Below are some pictures from our trip. To view the entire album, click here.
Julia and I had dinner at an Argentinian steakhouse the other night where they served us huge slabs of tenderloin. With the leftovers, Julia made some Beef and Gorgonzola Toasts with Herb-Garlic Cream. Beautiful day to enjoy this snack on our terrace!
Jennie, Julia, and I took a road trip south through the country to the state of Oaxaca--known for fabulous food and Day of the Dead festivities in early November. We stayed at a fabulous B&B and spent two days exploring the city and relaxing. We shopped at San Bartolo Coyotepec known for its black pottery and San Martin Tilcajete known for its alebrijes. Oaxaca definitely deserves a second visit--and next time, cooking classes and the ruins at Monte Alban! Click here to view the entire album.
With our car having just arrived, we decided a road trip was in order. Destination: Puebla. On the way to Puebla we stopped in Cholula, a town rumored to have 365 churches one for every day of the year. We only stopped to look at 3 or 4 churches before getting back on the road to Puebla where we had lunch at Meson Sacristia de la Compania and a stroll along the Zocalo.
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Part of our market tour was to stop at pulqueria bar to drink some pulque. Pulque is made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant, native to Mexico. Pulque was a sacred drink, drunk by Aztec priests and by sacrificial victims to ease their suffering (ay que nice!). After the Spanish conquest and with the introduction of beer, among other things, consumption declined. However, as of late, it has been making a comeback. They flavored the drink to make it more appealing, especially for the young folks who stop by before school for a buzz. The bar we visited, with walls and ceilings appropriately painted for the upcoming buzz, served pulque in all sorts of fruit flavors. Some were tasty....some were not.
On our second week here, Julia and I decided to sign up for the Mexico City Market Tour to get a taste of some street food, sample some fresh fruits and vegetables, and familiarize ourselves with our new city. We started the tour visiting a street vendor selling the morning tamale and atole. The difference between tamales here and those from South Texas is that the ones here are made with less manteca and therefore fluffier and most likely healthier. Atole is a traditional masa based hot drink with sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla although you could also get chocolate added.
Then, we stopped at El Mercado De San Juan, a market known for its fresh fruits, vegetables, chiles, moles, fish, and meats. Many of the finest chefs shop there for their restaurants.
After the market, we headed over to another street vendor selling Tlacoyos, oval hand-made tortillas that are stuffed with beans, and quesadillas.
Our next stop was a Pulque Bar but we'll write about that on our next post...
To view the rest of our photos, click here.
After a rough couple of days of packing, planning, and saying goodbyes to our dear friends in DC, we finally arrived to Mexico City July 7th, 2011. Our household effects and car have arrived (plasma is okay!) and we are getting settled in our new neighborhood.
Below are a couple of pics from our move.
