PUEBLA MEXICO (BEST Things to DO & EAT)

Hola! Bienvenidos! Welcome to beautiful Puebla! Buenos dias! Good morning country collectors! We are so excited because we have made it to our 16th state here in Mexico. That's right we're in Puebla baby! And today we are going to be taking you around exploring its largest and capital city that goes by the same name. Puebla Puebla! It was so nice they named it twice. But before we get started make sure to hit that subscribe button and ring the bell so you don't miss out on any of our future adventures. And stick around to the end when we share some more of our recommendations. Alright let's start with how we got here. Instead of taking a long bus ride from Cihuatanejo we hopped on a quick one hour plane ride to Mexico City. Staying in the airport we went upstairs and over to the international terminal where we found door 7 and the area for outward buses. There we purchased our 80-0 bus tickets to Puebla for 362 pesos each. It was very expensive especially because the ride was only 130 kilometers and took about two and a half hours. But i guess you're paying for convenience. But if you're already in Mexico City and want to go to Puebla you can head to the TAPO bus station. I saw tickets there for about 200 pesos each. Now that we're here let's check out our place. We found this apartment on Airbnb for $40 a night. It's a nice big space equipped with a comfortable bed, couch, small kitchen, balcony, washer dryer combo, and a big bathroom. But the best part and the main reason we booked this was for its rooftop. There's a nice hangout room fit with a couch and tables plus a small gym area and a patio with some incredible views of the surrounding city, mountains, and volcanoes. That's right she said volcanoes. Puebla is located in the valley of Puebla which is flanked on all sides by volcanoes and mountains that are part of the trans-Mexican volcanic belt. And in case you didn't know we lava you a lot. This one behind me is called Popo I probably butchered the name but for short they call it Popo. And it looks like it is a little shy this morning hiding behind the clouds. But this is one of Mexico's most active volcanoes and its second highest. It even has a snow covered peak. Pretty cool right? Well who's ready to go hit those streets? Let's do this. When we arrive in a new city one of the first things we like to do is check out the Zócalo or main square in town. And let me tell you Puebla's does not disappoint. It has towering trees, sculptures, this amazing fountain right here, and so much more. It's a great place to come down, sit in the shade, read the newspaper, hang out with your dog, just enjoy yourself out in this nature right in the center of the city. We came here on Sunday and it was going off. People were everywhere. They had professional dancers over here doing the la la la la bomba dance. It was so cool. Definitely come down and check it out. The Zócalo is a great base as many of the city's attractions are located nearby. And this is where you're going to find the Puebla letters. As you know it's a great place to snap a photo. On the eastern end of the Zócalo you will find the hop-on hop-off tour buses as well as trolleys. They do tours around the city and show you the highlights. I just spoke with the driver here on the green bus. He said that for 80 pesos they do a 30-minute tour and they offer it in four languages. So that's something that you might want to check out. Surrounding the Zócalo you're going to find many colonial homes, restaurants, and notable buildings such as the municipal palace, Casa de los Muñecos, and the Puebla Cathedral. Construction on the cathedral started in 1575 and took over a hundred years to complete. We read that the bell towers stand under just 70 meters making them the tallest in all of Mexico and the cathedral the second largest. Let me tell you there is nothing blah about Puebla. This historical center right here was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its historic significance as well as its mixture of architectures like classic renaissance and my personal favorite, baroque. Because you know what they say, if it ain't baroque, don't fix it. It's absolutely stunning. You've got to check it out. Let's keep going. And right next to the cathedral you will find the Casa de la Cultura and inside there is something absolutely spellbinding. Welcome to Biblioteca Palafoxiana. This amazing library was built in 1646 and has been recognized by UNESCO as being the oldest library in the Americas. It contains over 42,000 books and 5,000 manuscripts. It's an absolute treasure. It costs 42 pesos to enter but is free on Sundays. It's someplace we absolutely recommend popping in when you're in Puebla. And if you're into art you can stop by Museo Amparo. It is considered to be one of the most important cultural and exhibition centers in Mexico due its large collection of pre-hispanic colonial modern and contemporary art. At the end of your tour make sure to come up to the roof and check out this terrace. The view is absolutely gorgeous. We've heard that Puebla is actually a destination for food and you know we're hungry so let's go try and find some. We have found ourselves here at Antojitos Tomy and we got ourselves some delicious Pueblano treats starting with a molote. We got it stuffed with tinga de pollo which is shredded chicken and tomato and then it was fried. It is absolutely delicious. We definitely recommend it. And the second item we got are chalupas and I know what you're thinking, Heidi I've been to Taco Bell. Those do not look like chalupas. Well Taco Bell has been lying to you. These are traditional chalupas from Puebla. They are corn tortillas that are fried in lard or oil and then topped with red or green sauce, some onions and some shredded meat. I haven't tasted it yet but let me give it a try. Great flavor, very soft, really good. And last but not least, check this baby out. We've noticed all over Mexico different regions have different specialty tortas. Here they're called samitas and it's because the bread is this special egg-rich bread that has sesame seeds on the outside. It's very crispy but soft on the inside. You can get them with all different things inside but I went with the traditional. It's fried pork. It has some avocados on here. Looks like sun-dried tomatoes. I don't even know what to say. Oaxacan cheese. My mouth won't stop watering. So I am going to jump into this thing. Look at how huge that is. Half of it is as big as my head. Let's do this thing. Oh my gosh, you can hear the crunch and you can smell that Oaxacan cheese. I can barely fit it in my mouth. The cheese adds this beautiful saltiness. The pork is fried absolutely perfectly. The crunch complements the crunch of the bread. Man, you have got to try one of these. Sorry, I need to get back to my torta. I have to say the samita is definitely the winner here. It is so so good. I feel like this could be like four meals. It's crazy. You could definitely share it with somebody but if you're looking for traditional Poblano food, we definitely recommend coming down to Antojitos. Tommy, you will not be disappointed. Well, all right. Let's get back on the road because we have a lot more to do today. While we were exploring the other day, we stumbled upon this alley. It is super colorful and so so beautiful. It goes by the name Callejon de los Sapos or the alley of the frogs. It's absolutely riveting. And on Sunday, there were tons of people around. They were browsing in the shops. There's a lot of antique shops around too. We definitely recommend coming down here. It will just brighten your spirits. Yeah, it seems like down the alleyways they're selling stuff. There's people playing music. There were violins. I think we saw a cello and a guitar. Yeah, and they had like a lot of little vendors set up as well. And I actually got these earrings there. Forty pesos. They're these little handmade clay casuelos. They're just in case I need a little something to put my mezcal in just for sipping. Here you go, babe. You guys all packed up for our next adventure together? That's cool. I love this. This reminds me of just that old school travel. Like we said, there's a lot of antiques in this area here in this neighborhood. And if you're wondering why it's called the alleyway of the frogs, we read that back in the day the river would flood this area. And guess who showed up? A bunch of toads and frogs. So there you go. A little snippet of info for you. Wow, that seems like an unforgettable experience. Oh my God. And at the end of the alley, you're going to run into this traditional cantina by the name of La Pasita. And I actually did some research on it and it was quite interesting. There was a soldier that was down from Veracruz and he was sitting across the street and noticed the building was for sale. There used to be a grocery store. So he purchased it and he started to make some dried fruit liqueurs there along with selling groceries. But the fruit liqueurs are way more popular. So he stopped selling the groceries and just went with the liqueurs. Yeah. And so one of the most traditional drinks is La Pasita. It goes by the same name and it's a raisin liqueur. I guess everything happens for a raisin. Okay, this is getting out of hand, but let's head inside and go try it. Come along. Look at it. That was in 1916. All right, we got the goods. He gave us some special instructions for this. As you can see, there is a raisin as well as some queso de cabra or goat cheese on it. He said to sip it, eat the cheese. Seems like a very reasonable way to do it. Oh, that is very good. What a unique flavor profile. You can definitely taste the alcohol, but it's got that sweetness of the raisin and the cheese just gives it something really special. A little saltiness to it. You guys got to try one of these. We saved you one right over here. All right, salud. Here goes nothing. So he just told me you bite the cheese first, then you sip. Oh, I did it backwards. Interesting. Not my favorite, but I think you just come here for the nostalgia of it. I think if you like rum raisin ice cream, if you're one of those people, you would love this. Very unique. Definitely worth the experience, I'd say. Salud. And I feel like it's one of those things where you take a second and a third sip and it grows on you. I'm definitely enjoying it a lot more now. Sort of like you did with me. Took a while. This is my kind of grandma. She's drinking it in the backseat of the car. Let's go give her a cheers. They've been selling this pasita since 1916. Only back then, this entire bottle was one peso. As you can see now, it's 250, but it's still a great deal. It's so cool. And check out all the memorabilia in here as well. That's a few unique. I love it. So they cost 35 pesos each and you can see they have a bunch of different flavors as well. I think the rompope would be nice to try. That's like eggnog. Wow, that was so much fun and we met some really cool people. We did. And speaking of cool people, we would love to give a very special shout out to our Thank you so much for your contributions. We appreciate you immensely. You are the reason that we are here today. I'm going to pretend like I didn't hear that. Wow. No, but seriously, we appreciate you from the bottom of our hearts. All this fun is because of you and we can never really say thank you enough. Yeah. And as much as we're inspiring people, you are too. So thanks so much for being here. If you would like to join our community, we'll put the link in the description below. All right, let's keep going. Just up the street is El Parion. It's a handicraft market where you can come and pick up some great souvenirs. Let's go take a look around. As you're browsing the market, you are bound to see some beautiful Talavera pottery. This technique was actually brought over by the Spanish and has influences from the Middle East. It's absolutely beautiful. That's one piece of work if I do say so myself. Right across from El Parion is Barrio del Artista. Here you can find many artists creating and selling their works, as well as bars, cafes and restaurants. It's a wonderful place to come and spend some time. Man, all this art has been great, but I hear something sweet calling our name. Let's go find out what it is. It was the candy shop. This street we're on right now is affectionately referred to as Calle de los Dulces, or the street of sweets. We popped into this place right here and got a bag full of candy. There's a bunch of dulcerias all around here, so you've got your pick. Let's go find a place to enjoy these. We found our spot and we're starting out with the camote. One of the cool things about the candies that we're going to be trying today is they are actually a mix of indigenous and European flavors and were invented at the Santa Clara convent not far from here. This camote has a base of sweet potato and it's wrapped in a wax paper. They come in all different flavors. We went with the naranja or orange. Let's bust this baby open and give it a try. I've seen these all over Mexico, but we have never tried one. It actually tastes like a sweet potato with just a hint of orange. It's got that very soft kind of texture to it and it's just a little bit sweet. It's not like a punch in the mouth like we get sometimes back home with our candies, but it's really tasty. This one looks like something I would really enjoy. This is called tortitas de Santa Clara and it is a cookie that is topped with pumpkin and milk frosting. Let's taste it out. Got a great crunch. I love the pumpkin. Yeah, all around great cookie. I have been waiting to try this one. It's called the limon coco. It's candied lime peel with sweetened coconut stuffed inside. Let's jump into this. That's so unique. Oops, don't eat the paper. Wow, wow. That is so good. It's like a macaroon, but with some lime mixed in. It's like that song, you put the lime in the coconut, but the other way around. You put the coconut in the lime and you eat it all up. Is that the best one? That was the best one for sure. I love it. Let's keep going. Next to the sweet store, there is a building that is riddled with bullet holes. We did some research and found out that this used to be the home of a prominent family that planned an armed uprising against then president Porfirio Diaz. When the government of Diaz found out about that, they stormed this building, killing the sons and taking the women captive. Though the original bullet holes still remain, it has been restored into the regional museum of the Mexican revolution, which you can visit for 40 pesos or free on Sundays. Right around the corner from the sweet street, you will run into Iglesia Santo Domingo and inside there is something very special, Capilla del Rosario, one of the most beautiful chapels we have ever seen. For 20 pesos, you can head into it and admire the marble work, the tile and the gold leaf. It is incredible and a site we definitely recommend. All those sweets got me craving something savory, so we popped into Tacos Herbes Baghdad and got some tacos herbes. These tacos are unlike any we have seen in Mexico thus far. And if you remember earlier, I mentioned the Middle Eastern influence in the pottery. Well, it also extends to the food. These tacos can be found all over Puebla and they were actually brought here by Lebanese immigrants. The influence was in the 19th century. The original recipe used lamb, but because pork was more affordable and the locals preferred it, down came the lamb and up went the pork on the spit. So now you know where your tacos al pastor came from. And unlike traditional tacos, they are made with pita bread. They have a few different sauces here, so let's dress them up and jump in. I did take a little bite already, but I'm gonna do it again. Let's jump back into this. Oh, I love that crunch. Wow, the crunch is exactly dead. They did something nice and charred the outside of this pita bread, so it really gives it a nice texture. It's very similar to pastor, but the flavor is completely different. I find it to be a little bit more spicy and not quite what I'm looking for. You should definitely give it a try because it is delicious. I'm gonna have another bite. We really enjoyed those, but just one thing, be careful with the sauces because they are really spicy. All right, well, we have one last stop for today, so we are gonna jump in a taxi. We'll see you there. Welcome to Puebla's subway system. I didn't know Puebla had a subway system. Then what are these? These are the recently discovered, long thought to be urban legend tunnels that run under the city. Secret tunnels. And as you can probably see, I'm wearing something different. We came here yesterday and it was closed. So just so you know, they are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 until four, and it costs 28 pesos to enter. So let's head inside and see what we can unearth. Oh, I like that. Oh my goodness, I am absolutely blown away by this tunnel right here. We sat outside. These were secret until 2016, but they were actually built in the 1500s. They run under the foundation of Puebla from the historic center to the Fort of Loreto. If you know anything about Cinco de Mayo, I know back home we celebrate it like it's just a fun little holiday, but it is actually when the Battle of Puebla happened here in Puebla, where the Mexican army, they used these tunnels to go back and forth all around the city to defeat the French so they didn't capture, you know, take over the city here. I'm just, you know, and they're so tall. Like, imagine the cavalry riding through here on horseback. They found guns in here. There's some like antiques over here that we can check out. I'm just like... You just gave me chills when you said that. Picturing horses walking down here with armed men on the back. Yeah, it's, this is incredible. So let's keep checking it out. How incredible is this? We definitely recommend doing a bit of research before you come so you can appreciate it. Yeah, I mean, they've definitely turned this in to a tourist attraction, but you know what? It, I'm still getting chills. You can hear the hooves of horses, the sound of gunfire above you. They're playing the music of the revolution and, you know, it really like, it feels, it hits you deep. And I definitely recommend coming down here and walking around, especially if you can do it when it's quiet. Wow, what a great way to experience some history here. And it looks like we found a light at the end of the tunnel. Let's keep going. And then it goes back down over here. Oh, it does. Yeah. Okay. So not only do you come up and get to see some really cool artwork over here, they also have another entrance right there. Okay. Okay, wow, look at all these murals. This barrio looks absolutely incredible. Like he said, it's called Chenanetla. So we're going to head back through the tunnels, but definitely end here. I think it's a great idea. Check out this art a little closer. Yeah, so stay tuned for that. Watch that cabeza. Watch your head. Wow, so these ones seem a little shorter. This seems more like what I was picturing when we said the tunnels, something that people are gonna have to be hunched over to get through here. These look way less like they were made. Like the other place looks more like a museum. This looks a lot more authentic. So cool. The tunnels led us out here to Los Fuertes Parque. This is where you are gonna find the Fort of Loreto and the Fort of Guadalupe. Like we said, the tunnels connected the historic center to the forts here. It's just amazing. But you have to remember, these were built in the 1500s and the Battle of Pueblo wasn't until 1862. So there's still a bunch of mystery. That's like over 300 years. We don't really know what happened down in these tunnels. The legend continues. Right? Very cool. Well, we're gonna head back to that very colorful neighborhood. So come along. And if you're looking for another activity to do, we've just walked around a little bit of this park here. And it looks really nice. There's a great mirador of the city below. Like we said, they have a bunch of museums. There's some cafes. There's more Puebla letters right here. Yeah. And the teleferico. There's a cable car that I think crosses it as well. So you could spend definitely a nice afternoon here. I like that idea. Well, let's head to that barrio. And by the looks of it, we have made it back to Chenaletla. Wow. I love this. There is just art on every wall here. I wonder what the story is behind it. I'm really enjoying this art. But first things first, we have some business to take care of. But check this one out over here. It's a giant piece of corn on my ease. And each individual kernel has its own personality. Some are happy. Some are sad. Some can't wait for you to eat them. And some are like, please don't eat me. This barrio is something else. It is so, so neat. I just read a little bit about it. This project here is called Ciudad Moral, which is the city of murals. And I believe it's like a colectivo of artists that come down and paint murals to not only beautify the neighborhoods, but to also promote like connectivity between art and culture. We definitely recommend coming down here when you are in Puebla. It's very inspiring. Oh, look at that cute little angel. Something that we learned is that Puebla, when it was first founded, it was called Puebla de Angeles, I believe, the city of angels. So that's what it's referred to as now, the city of angels. So you will see a lot of angel wings around, which is pretty neat. What a wonderful way to end our, well, two days here. I know. I mean, I feel like I love the contrast. We went from war to this beautiful piece and art. And it really just kind of filled me up. Yeah. And let us know what you thought of Puebla. We definitely loved it. I know it was hard to feel ourselves away from the beach, but just being back in a city and among this history is like, just kind of fills your cup even more. I mean, stunning architecture. One of my favorite Zocalo's in all of Mexico. The street art is stunning and the food is. Yes. And I know we told you we were going to give you some recommendations and they are food recommendations. We'll start with Brico Pizzeria restaurant. If you're craving some Italian food, they have wonderful salads, pizzas and pastas. The carbonara was just one of the best I've ever had in my life. Really good. And then the second one, Don Pastor, it's a taqueria. It's like a chain around here, but delicious and huge portions. Ton of fun inside. And they really had the flavors you're looking for. Yes. And last but not least, Mayis Criollo. I mean, wow. This was like the flavor train that you need to get on. We started out with bone marrow, elotes, esquites. Then we switched over to what you were really enjoying. We got the six hour slow cooked oxtails served over yellow mole. Thank goodness we didn't have to wait six hours. And then last but not least, Adam's favorite. Crispy pork belly on top of a poblano mole, which is something that this region is known for. And you cannot leave without trying it because it was perfection. Yeah. Another thing they're known for here is Chilean nogada. We had that when we were in Taxco and it is quite a treat too. So yeah. Thank you. Just thank you so, so much for being here with us. It would have been nowhere near as much fun if you hadn't been here to share it with. Yeah. If you enjoyed this video, please give us a thumbs up, comment, subscribe, and don't forget to ring the bell. And stay tuned because next week we are heading just, I think, 20 minutes away to the town known as Cholula. It's a sacred place and we can't wait to take you there. We'll see you then. Adios.