Dolores Hidalgo

Our next stop, Dolores Hidalgo, the seat of the start of the Mexican Independence movement, but more importantly the place where you can buy any flavor imaginable of ice cream in the central plaza. The lofty to the bazaar - that is what our travels are all about. Danny has been here before but for, this was a first for me.1 I have heard the many stories about the ice cream - shrimp ice cream, avocado ice cream to name but a couple of the many many flavours.

As we drove first the toll road and then the secondary highway to get to Dolores, we passed and stopped at visible churches.  Not only was it interesting to compare and contrast these various churches but it also gave us a respite from all the driving. Oh the colors ...

Before we even checked in to our scheduled AirBnB we had to make a stop for ice cream - "maybe they are only open on Sundays and will be gone tomorrow!" says he.

 Well, he got his first of I am sure, many.

 These are just some of the flavors found.

The apartment was a lovely 3 bedroom place with a full kitchen, dining room, living room, 1 1/2 baths, patio, and hot water and a washing machine.  What more could one ask for? Once the evening rolled around however, we were trying to find some sort of heating unit. Not to be found. Let me tell you, it gets cold in a cinderblock/cement home without rugs on the floor and no heating unit. Next time we do this, we are bringing our little coleman heater for sure. We loved the warmth of the bed once we rolled in.

A day for sewing for me! Yes, I really did bring along a sewing machine and all the necessary items to work on a project.  Sewing and washing clothes made the day pass quickly and Danny went touristing , well at least to a museum or two. 

A break for lunch at a local kiosk just down the street from us. Tortas to die for and as they had no water other than what came in in pails and bottles, they covered the plates in a heavy saran wrap taking away the need to wash the dishes. Guess they took the pots and such home at night to wash. 

At the end of the day I had 5 blocks finished for the UFO that I need to complete. Now on to the rest of the quilt top.

A walk in the main plaza saw the Christmas decorations still up and the ultimate in topiary presentations.   The speakers were camoflaged to look like trees. 

Even the cathedral was decked out with decorations. and the town hall  

Stepping inside the cathedral we discovered, once again, that we were about to gatecrash a wedding. Seems like we do that a lot.  They certainly go all out in the decorations for a wedding. The same bouquets that were on each pew were also on the hood and truck areas of the bridal car  (just bigger) and small bouquets were tucked into the door handles, tied with matching ribbons that trailed along as driving.

Walking towards town for lunch we came across more of the Moorish influence in the architecture - this being a garage door 

 Lunch at a restaurant tucked away in a courtyard behind a storefront gave way to a fabulous coffee experience for Danny and a fun time watching a couple of women jumping around and screaming when one of them went to put her jacket on and found a gecko in her sleeve. LOL

Throughout the whole experience of Mexico to day everywhere we go always has a mass of flowering and non-flowering plants in pots. The pot can be quite plain or very ornate. This jade plant was the first time I have ever see one with flowers on the growing stalks that grow around the bottom of the plant.

There are many things to see that one would not ordinarily see back home. This is what travel is all about: visualizing and experiences things that are out of our comfort zone. This Sr is the local mailman in the downtown area around the plaza. His mode of transport is his bicycle and the mail is all simply sitting in his basket, waiting to be delivered. No fears of the mail being robber here from what I could see. He was more than friendly and allowed me to take his photo. In fact, when I asked, he posed for me.

As always happens it came time to pack up the car and head on down the road to the south. Our ultimate destination for this trip? Chiapas, one place at a time. ....