New Year's, Chalco, and Amecameca

Happy 2014! I brought in my New Year spending time with my roommate and her family in a small town called Chalco. New Year's in Mexico is pretty strictly a family day, which, while certainly calmer and quieter than the traditional NYE parties in the states, turned out to be a pretty nice time. Anabel's (my roommate's) family were very friendly people, and I got to practice my Spanish. We had a dinner, we lit off sky lanterns, and I learned a new tradition -- at midnight on TV, they ring 12 bells, and for each bell you eat a grape. For each grape, you get a wish. As a side note, they need to ring that bell slower. I almost choked on grapes.

Also, I blew up 100 balloons. I could have stayed in my balloon fortress forever.

Because I was at a New Year's Eve - Eve party the night before, I fell asleep pretty early. And slept intermittently until 3 pm the next day. And woke up starving. So, Anabel, her mom, and I set out in the car to go find lunch. We got side-tracked, though...

We drove to a town called Amecameca, which is kind of between the volcanoes
Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. This is Amecameca's church, built in 1680.

The inside of the church has peeling paint and crumbling walls, but also has that old-world beauty.

A nativity near the front of the church.

Pigeons are cruel.

After leaving the church, we walked through the market and picked up some sweet sesame-bar snack to appease the roaring dinosaur in my stomach. Then went to find lunch.

On our way to the restaurant, we took a scenic route so that we could have
a nice view of the volcanoes. The one you see here is called Popocatepetl.

This one is called Iztaccihuatl, also known as the sleeping woman, a dormant volcano.

There is a beautiful legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, and if you're interested in that story, click here.

We had a delicious lunch, complete with tlacoyos and chalupas, in a small restaurant in the
middle of nowhere. Behind the restaurant, there was an area where you could swing, play
volleyball, jump on trampolines, rest in a hammock, and enjoy a great view of the volcanoes.

On the left side is Iztaccihuatl, on the right is Popocatepetl, and of course, I'm there in the middle.

And so the New Year begins! New Year's Resolution #1: Hike those volcanoes. Upcoming volcano climbing post, maybe?