The land of the famous pepper

Xalapa, otherwise known as Jalapa (by the Spaniards who were unable to pronounce the 'X') is said to be the place of origin of those famous chilis we all love. JALAPEÑOS!
It's quite funny really as anyone who knows Spanish will know that this will also be a word for the people who live there. Also, sorry to disappoint, but I didn't eat a single jalapeño whilst I was there. The people who lived there told me it's not really where the pepper is from, though Wikipedia begs to differ. Not really sure who to trust!

After a heavy night out, ending in 4 hours sleep and a drunken boogie in the shower when i woke up (I'm not even joking) the best hangover food I could scavenge was some brioche and last night's tea which I had skipped in order to go for pizza with the couple from the gym and which consisted of 2 tortillas with cheese in the middle, lettuce, salsa and refried beans - cold. Nothing like a good fried egg sandwich with cheese and marmite - my usual hangover fix, but it did I suppose help me not throw up in the 3 hour car journey in the sun with 4 of us squished in the back...

The main reason for our visit, Daniella's cousin's 15th birthday party, was a lot of fun. Not as extravagant as the last one I went to but still a big spectacle. We ate mole made from a traditional ranch recipe (this is not the tiny creature, as certain people assumed it was when I told them, but the chocolatey chili sauce they have with chicken though I had it with rice and tortillas), drank tequila and sugar cane spirit and had a good old dance. The birthday cake was incredible - very moist with a lot of creamy icing and pineapple bits. As well as the usual dance routines and waltzing with family members, there was a crowning ceremony (!!) and a special presentation of a doll that Daniella had to do. I guess it all symbolizes her ascent into adulthood but I still find it all very strange. Apparently in the olden days this used to be a bit like the Cinderella dance off the prince had; the 'young ladies' would dance with the eligible bachelors in order to find a partner!

After the XV we went to the 'Callejón' which is a little narrow street with loads of cool little bars and had drinks. Matt and I also had FISH AND CHIPS! Okay so it wasn't the proper chippie style newspaper wrapped up job complete with mushy peas and scraps; just mere fishfingers and crinkley chips but it tasted so good. We met some of Laura and los Danielles' Xalapa friends who were really lovely and we also met Toño who ex-Xalapa assistant now in Toluca (Jeremy) used to hang out with all the time and who Matt met on several occasions. He spoke English really well and in an ENGLISH ACCENT which was very exciting! (Everyone here speaks in an American accent). When I was nearly falling asleep on Daniel's shoulder, Matt and I rocked up to a hostel to stay the night and, as usual, my energy perked up so started nattering away to Matt, who, in his half dream state came out with some absolute crackers. He also thought he was talking to the others as well. Can't really describe it on the blog but we were in stitches laughing he is one crazy boy. lol.

The following day we went to the mall cos Matt wanted to buy some new clothes, and then we met Toño in a beautiful Italian restaurant in the centre for lunch. The food there was SO good and such a welcome change from all the tortillas, cheese and beans I've been living off! I had spinach and ricotta canelloni for the equivalent of £2. The others got massive calzones for around the same price. UNBELIEVABLE. It made me very happy. We then wandered around the lakes, nosying at the stalls where they were selling churros, tacos and cups of ice that the man scraped off the block and added sauce to...

Xalapa is a really beautiful city. It's so green, there are loads of parks and the streets are lined with beautiful trees, some with pretty little red flowers. However, there is a LOT of traffic and the streets are so hilly and windy it's very confusing to navigate around, especially compared to Córdoba's grid system! Will definitely be returning on numerous occasions over the year, I am sure of it!