Down Town Saltillo

Today was a really nice sunny and warm day and we headed downtown to the historical district and the main plaza (Plaza Armanas) in search of the Cathedral.  We managed to find a parking spot at the side of one the many narrow streets right at the park.

There are actually a couple of cathedrals. First we came across the Temple de San Francisco de Asisi which is a Franciscan church built in the 19th century.

We wandered through some alleys on our way to the main Cathedral.

Finally we came across the Catedral de Santiago de Saltillo and it was so amazing that we have quite a few pictures for you.

Look at the ceiling details.

The carvings on the beautiful white exterior and on the heavy wood doors are magnificent.

After leaving the cathedral, we walked back past the Franciscan Church and found that a service was just beginning - we took part in the service, understanding barely a word but feeling at peace and blessed that we were able to be here and be part of this special time.

We relaxed with some coffee in the pretty little park area in the square. White Christmas garland was carefully draped along branches of all the trees and it looked like snow.

From here we were on that eternal search for a bathroom and found one in a strange little store - standard price, 5 pesos - the lady handed us a wad of toilet paper and pointed us to the usual seat-less toilet in a corner.  We also found that place to be the local internet cafe - look at the coin operated computers !

Next stop on our walk around town was a new plaza that was still being built next to a school. People hurrying and scurry around, taxis coming and going as parents picked up their children from school all the while workers busy cutting stone, hand painting the curbs yellow and sweeping every little bit of cement dust from the newly laid concrete sidewalks in the plaza.  The adjacent street is filled with brightly colored houses - I am actually getting to really like these colors, something that I would never have previously thought I would do.

Sian - this one is for you.  You fell in love with the yellow school buses in USA, here is a yellow school bus in Mexico.

La Escuela Coahuilla (Coahuilla is the state that Saltillo is in)

Their cleaning and attention to detail was every bit as good as mine!

Then it was lunch time and what a lunch we had (all for about $20 including tip).  We had an amazing plate of chicken fajitas, special potatoes with sausage, 2 beers, a top shelf tequila, a bottle of water and olla (local traditional coffee made with dulce).

Making Tortillas

Cooking our Lunch

Enjoying our beers before lunch

One glass was blood orange juice, one was lime juice and the third was Don Julio Tequila.  Gerald's choice with the tequila was blood orange, mine was lime juice.

Off exploring again we found that shoe shopping in Mexico is HUGE - there are so many shoe stores.  It is also very different because all the shoes are displayed in many large blocks of windows, you select your shoes and then line up to get into the store and give the shoe code and your size to try on and purchase.

We wandered through tiny little alleys with all sorts of items on sale, clothes mixed in with fruits and meat stores - no logic behind all the stalls crushed in together.

Then we came across a fabric store that seemed to go on forever - so many different types of fabrics at what (for us) were amazingly cheap prices.

Karin, this one is for you.  Oh how much fun we would have being let loose in this place

We made our usual way home (wrong turns, find the way to the right road) having enjoyed a fabulous day of discovery, practicing our Spanish with the Manager of the lunch restaurant and other people that we came across - proud of ourselves for being able to buy time in a rest room, for ordering lunch and sharing small talk with a couple of people.

This little adventure is just about over as we head back home to San Antonio tomorrow to regroup, try to shed a couple of Mexican food pounds and start preparing for our retirement adventures in earnest.