Clifton

I think you can track back some of my old posts on Puebla and places to go. Puebla's famous Chiles in Nogada are in season till September.

There's a red bus tour that takes you to al historical sites , one even takes you to Cholula's famous pyramid.

There are many Museum's that will fit varied tastes from Arqueological finds (Museo Amparo) to pre and post-colonial life.

On the other hand Taxco in Guerrero could be a great option too.

Side Note:

Violence in the Acapulco/Zihuatanejo area is confined to drug lord vendettas and does not affect in any way tourists.

Thanks Sol. You are of course correct about the drug lords causing almost all the violence. Most occurs in the wee hours of the day (like 3:00 AM) *& in areas that no tourist should be in at that time of day such as North of Jose Morelos (in Zihua) a area well known for drugs, & prostitution. It's a bit like visiting my city of Oakland with it's marvelous sections such as Grand/Lake, Piedmont Avenue,Jack London Square, Chinatown, College Street or Montclair but then going to East 12th or West Oakland in the middle of the night areas known for illicit activities. There has been no tourists effected by these incidents in Zihua. Now having said that of course you must use normal common sense just as you would in the US. In over 21 years of Mexican travel much of it alone I have never had a bad experience.

Thanks once again Sol. I've been reading like crazy since we decided to visit Puebla and you've confirmed a lot of the things we might like to do and added a couple of new ones that sound good. Usually I get more time to study for a trip. I've been reading about Morocco & Andalusia for months and we're not going there until next April, but this trip is more short notice (for us). So all information is welcome!

I was wondering more though if you had a favorite place for Chiles de Nogada, thinking maybe you knew a place there in Puebla where you thought they were especially good?

re: Chiles en Nogada

My mom that has proclaimed herself as a Chile en Nogada connoisseur, (and agreeing with her) recommends as "the best chile" for your buck a family kitchen take out place called "La Andaluza" located in the San Manuel neighborhood on 14 sur street.

Each chile en Nogada is 36 pesos ($ 3.27 dll). You can call the place in advance and they´ll reserve one for you or just drop by.

Another good option is "La Fonda de Santa Clara" a well established restaurant.

Bon Appetit

Well, I think we both have to admit Moms usually do know best.

Besides, I like little family run places a lot. So we'll see if we can find La Andaluza.

You've been a big help. Thank you.

Clifton, one other thing we loved eating in Puebla was the Lebanese tacos - I can't remember the exact name they were called - but there was a great place called Tacos Tony just off the main square. Inexpensive and totally delicious. Actually we found all of our restaurant choices in Puebla quite inexpensive.

After walking our feet off one day, we took an open air bus tour - they had headsets with English - saw a lot, really enjoyed ourselves, and gave our feet a much needed rest!

Tacos arabe - that's what they are called!

Tacos arabe, got it! I was wondering about the Lebanese tacos - sounded surprising, but intriguing. We'll have a look. I remember the LP mentioned Taco Tonys, but would rather hear from someone who's been. Thanks Susan.

The Hop On/hop offs are great for that, aren't they?

We have been planning our trip to Mexico for a while now,as we are travelling from australia its quite a long trip.I thought I had it all very well worked out,a few days in Mexico city,5 days in Taxco and 2 and a half weeks in oaxaca.Now I'm not so sure about Oaxaca and not quite sure if I should wait and see a while longer or plan some where else in Mexico.We leave Sydney November 20.Also not quite sure where else to go in Mexico.

We just returned form 2 weeks in Mexico. We originally planned to go to Oaxaca but re-routed because of teachers' strike. We were quite nervous before the trip but had a wonderful time.

We went to Mexico City (Polenco area), and there are people sleeping in tents on the reforma. They were organized and peaceful. There are many police around keeping the area "safe" for tourists. We did arrange to have our hotel send a taxi to the airport to pick us up and I recommend doing that. WE also went to Morelia (very beautiful city), Zihuatenajo, and Patzcuaro. We never felt unsafe or threatened. We travelled by bus and rental car. No problems. Once again, we loved this trip--there is much to see and experience.

Nomar. You hit all of my favorite spots in Mexico. Is not Morelia, Patzcuaro & Zihua just marvelous? In 21 years of traveling (much of it in Michoacan & Guerrero) I have never felt threaten. Did you happen to stop at the wonderful National Park in Uruapan?

Don't know about tourists not being bothered. We were in Acapulco a couple of years ago and walking down the street with a driver we had hired. He saw two people walking towards us using sign language and whispered to my husband that they were gang members and we needed to run. Fortunately the Jai Alai Fronton was right there and we decided to make a last second visit to it-we got in okay. Don't know if they would have bothered us but our driver was sufficiently scared enough to want to get out of there and that was good enough for me.

trixitoo,
Consider the Colonial cities: Zacatecas; Guanajuato; San Miguel de Allende; Queretaro in addition to Morelia, Patzcuaro, Uruapan.
A few days at the end in Zitacuaro, Michoacan (Monarche Butterfly Sanctuaries) and the Costalegre might be fun if you don't live on the beach in Australia.
www.costalegre.ca
www.tomzap.com
M(SMdA, Gto.)