The trip started out very early. Grandpa and I had a 6:00 a.m. flight to Santa Fe via Dallas, and luckily it was smooth sailin'. (It wasn't international, which is where I run into real trouble.)
Adobe in the sun. It works in Santa Fe in a way that it doesn't when it's dropped in other cities.
San Miguel Mission, the oldest church in the US.
The original portions of the church were constructed circa 1610!
Dad and D took us to drop our stuff at the hotel, then it was off to a delightful al fresco lunch at the Pink Adobe. I had a cup of the green chile stew, and D and I split the tilapia tacos. This was a new thing for me - I had been wanting to try fish tacos for a while, and finally made the leap. Turns out, they're pretty good. Probably because, with a plain-tasting fish like tilapia, mostly you taste the "taco" part of the "fish taco."
The other three had margaritas, but given my previous tumultuous relationship with tequila, I was quite happy with a cold glass of water. Plus, being the humid ground dweller that I am, it seemed that water would be a good choice to stave off the nearly inevitable headache that comes with rapid dehydration. But it worked! I was there for a day and a half with nary a headache to be had. Granted, I was drinking water like my mouth was on fire, but it's better than the alternative, because I get wicked headaches.
We strolled around the plaza looking for jewelery to buy, then retired to the hotel for a nap, but first I went (briefly) to the hotel gym for a jog/spin on the elliptical. Perhaps that was not such a good plan, because I was so tired that I overslept for dinner! Dad called my room phone right about the time we were supposed to meet, and woke me from a dead sleep, despite that I had the curtains open and TV on! I managed to find my cell phone under one of the many pillows on my bed (it was great!); I probably shoved it there to shut it up when the alarm started going off!
My many pillows
I rushed to shower and get dressed for dinner, which was at the hotel restaurant. One of the great things about traveling, it turns out, is that you have no choice about what to wear. You don't have to stand at your closet and ponder. You just put on whatever wrinkled mess you packed for that particular occasion. So I did that and off I went, set on destroying the steak and shrimp fajitas Dad had ordered for me. And there a delicious sauvignon blanc from South Africa as well! Of course, I can't let dessert pass me by, so I got a sopapilla, but everyone had a little bit of that.
St. Francis Cathedral in the sunset
The real reason for this excursion was a trip to the Santa Fe was the opera. Grandpa had wanted to go forever, but had never managed the trip. And with Dad and D being within driving distance, it just all worked out. So we headed into the hills and toward the Santa Fe Opera for the evening's performance of La Boheme. The performance was good, although I don't know if it was much better than a version I saw at OTSL a few years ago (our director left here to go to Santa Fe!). But the setting was amazing, as were our seats! (I have souvenirs somewhere, including my ticket stub, but my life is too much of a mess right now to find them. Sorry.)
The view from the parking lot
The problem with the show being outdoors is that they don't start until it's dark, which in this case was 9:00 p.m. By the time we got back in the car around midnight, I was one tired cookie. So when my phone rang the next morning and dad said they were down eating breakfast, I was certain I had overslept again.
Nope, not me this time. Grandpa forgot to change his watch, so he ended up at breakfast an hour early! I did the quick-shower-and-dress routine again and met them in the cafe for a peach crepe and tasty cafe au lait, which was good fuel for our walk. While Grandpa enjoyed the shade of the town square, Dad, D, and I walked up and down Canyon Road, which is famous for its art galleries, but really should be famous for its flowers! They were beautiful, and they put my sad and wilted flowers at home to shame.
We had to catch a 3:00 flight, but that left us enough time to explore the Palace of the Governors (outside of which we bought our jewelery) and the New Mexico History Museum.
Our visit to the latter was cut a bit short due to hotel check-out requirements, but once we did that we had one more meal in the (surprisingly good) hotel restaurant. I had a chicken quesadilla, and part of dad's pork sandwich. Grandpa opted to skip the meal portion of the lunch and went straight for dessert. I think it was mostly to make Grandma jealous.
Not a bad way to end the trip, though! Special thanks to Dad for arranging everything!
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