July 17th through July 22nd

July 17^th through July 22^nd:  Thursday was another busy day at the temple.  We had 8 first-time patrons and 3 weddings.  We both worked for about 10 hours in the temple.  Mom again was holding down the fort in the office and me outside organizing the different groups and then being the second sealer for most of the day. 

This is the last of the flowers to bloom.

Friday was not quite as busy but was just the same a long day.  Saturday was really busy.  We had 5 different groups show up in the morning, two of which did not have appointments.  We had every part of the temple at more than capacity.  I did 4 sessions of sealings in just the morning.  After 10 hours I was dead but mom hadn’t started until about 10:00am so she stayed till about 7:00pm.  We set a record for the temple with over 2600 ordinances performed.  One a sadder note, we got word that they took Nickie off life support today and soon after they took her to harvest her organs for donation.  We are so sad that this tragedy has happened and we are praying for our son-in-law’s family at this time of loss.  We then packed and got ready for our trip to Puebla to meet Sam and Ginny and the girls.  Sunday, we were up early and off to church at 7:15am.  It was ward conference in the ward we went to and they had a choir and had beautiful flowers on the pulpit. 

The flowers for ward conference.

The choir getting ready for conference.

We hurried home and changed clothes and took a taxi to the bus station.  We then had a 5 hour bus ride to Puebla. 

On the road again.  This stretch of road could have been in southern Utah.

The road to Puebla.

We got to our hotel and Sam and Ginny had not arrived, so we anxiously awaited their arrival.  It was so fun to see them.  We were waiting outside the hotel and were there when their taxi pulled up. 

Sam and Gin's arrival in Puebla.

We got all settled in our rooms and then went to dinner and then a walk around the Zocolo (main plaza) and a visit to the cathedral, interesting note this cathedral has the tallest bell towers on the continent.

 Dinner in Puebla Sunday night.

The zocolo.

This is how Willa got around town.

At least she got her calories for the day.

At least she got her calories for the day.

The Zocolo early in the morning before they have turned off the lights.

The cathedral at the Zocolo in Puebla.

Mom and Gin outside the cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

The cathedral.

This is the ceiling in our bedroom on the second floor.  The ceiling was at least 15 feet tall.

Sitting outside their room.

This is what little feet look like when socks are not worn.

Monday we went to breakfast and then took a taxi out to the Africam Safari.  Yes it is spelled with “m” at the end of Africa.  We spent the next 4 hours riding around in the taxi amongst the animals that walk around the cars. We did have to roll up the windows in the tiger and bear enclosures in a taxi that had no AC.  I will do a post on just our visit to the zoo in a day or two.  One the way back to Puebla, we had the driver drop us off at a food court and we all ended up eating cemitas, a sandwich with deep fried breaded pork or chicken and onions, potatoes, avocado and tomatoes.  We walked back to the hotel and crashed.  Tuesday, I went walking early in the morning and took pictures of entries and the facades of some of the different types of architecture in the historic part of downtown.  Chris came with me for the second hour. 

Another small church we came across.

Interesting mural of the last supper and the washing of the feet of the apostles.

Another small church we came across.

I never knew the Apostle James road a horse and carried a sword.

We bought fresh pastries and chocolate milk to take back to the hotel. 

Buying fresh pastries for breakfast.

We then tried to squeeze in a quick visit to the Chapel of the Rosary, one of the greatest Baroque chapels of the seventeenth century;

In front of Santo Domingo, the church where the chapel of the rosary is found.

Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

The chapel of the Rosary.

a Talavera pottery factory

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

We watched Javier draw with the glaze that in the oven will turn to cobalt blue.

This is Javier Guzman who painted this bowl we purchased.

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

The Talavera factory.

and the Palafoxian library, the oldest library in the Americas with an intact collection and original shelves and furniture. 

The Library.

The Library.

The Library.

The floors of the library were really worn between the talavera tiles.

We took taxis in between each and then hurried back to the hotel in order to catch the taxi we had ordered to take us to the bus station.  We got to the bus station with an hour to spare, but when we got to the front of the line to buy our tickets back to Oaxaca the bus we wanted was sold out.  So we had to wait in the bus station for 3 hours for the next bus. 

Waiting for the bus to Oaxaca.

Mom waiting for the bus.

Nana and Popa taking their turn with Willa.

Then a 5 hour bus trip and a taxi ride to our apartment.  We were all tired and hungry, so I cooked scrambled eggs and cheese tortillas.  We got Sam and Ginny and the girls settled in the apartment next to us and we all got to bed about 10:00pm. 

Willa on the bus ride to Oaxaca.

We are so happy to have them with us for the next 10 days.  We have a lot of things planned and plenty of time to just hang out and cook and eat and play cards.  I took a lot of pictures of doors and buildings in Puebla and plan to do a post of “Las Puertas de Puebla”, The Doors of Puebla, and the Buildings of Puebla.  I know some of you liked the ones I did of the Doors of Sucre last year when we visited Sucre and Potosí.  I hope you will like these pictures of Puebla.  Puebla was founded in April of 1531 and was the first city laid out by the Spanish and has some of the best colonial architecture mixed in with centuries of great buildings.  We loved our time there and plan to visit again before our time here in Oaxaca is over.