Santa Fe and Albuquerque

Tuesday, October 11

Today starts our sixth week.  We have traveled 7,900 miles through seventeen states and two Canadian provinces visiting twelve national parks and two Canadian national parks, but we’re not done yet.  John has been filling up his National Parks Passport Book with stickers and stamps along the way. 

We left Alamosa, Colorado this morning heading for New Mexico.  We only saw a small portion of southern Colorado but from that experience we have to admit that Colorado is a beautiful state.  

Arriving in Santa Fe we were surprised at how quaint and charming it was.  We really knew nothing about Santa Fe so we had fun exploring.  We loved the Plaza area and the artsy Canyon Road.  But my favorite was the welcoming doors of Cameno De Monte Sol.  Loved the entrance doors along this road!  It appears the custom here is to have a wall or fence around your yard and these doors are the entrance ways.  

the walled yards

                                    And the many doors that welcomed us ~

               

with beautiful flowers

                                          
                   

               



Which is your favorite?

artist working on Canyon road

merchants

the Plaza

After exploring we grabbed an ice cream and sat in the Plaza in the bright sun watching the people go by.  The Plaza is a very busy area with vendors selling jewelry, belts, woven blankets and food while top end boutiques line the streets.

the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

Bright colors are abundant.



We sensed a strong religious dedication in both of these cities evident by churches, crosses and statues everywhere.

            

                                                     Then on to Albuquerque ~     
We moved on to Albuquerque which has more of a larger city feel.  We arrived in time to stroll around the Old Town district with shops and restaurants.  There is also a central Plaza area similar to Santa Fe where vendors sell their wares.  

               Old Town

 We spotted a restaurant that appeared to be a local favorite so we decided that was the place to be.  Guess it was ~ I had the BEST Mexican meal I have ever had (Mexican is not my favorite).  To a simple quesadilla with guacamole they added a crisp tortilla shell that made it delicious.  THEN the waiter said he would bring sopapillas with honey.  “Sopapillas?” we asked.  He continued to explain that some people eat sopapillas with their meal but he was brought up eating them after the meal with honey.  Great ~ why not?  Sopapillas are a lightly fried dough that is hollow in the center.  The waiter explained how to pull a piece off and drizzle honey over it OR pull a corner off and FILL it with honey and eat it.  Delicious. 

my quesadilla

our sopapilla

cheers