I spent Labor Day weekend in Santa Fe - a sort of brief getaway with my friend Kinzie, just because. Kinzie and I were freshmen roommates in college and it's hard for me to believe that it was ten years ago, almost to the day, that we moved in to our dorm room and quickly became fast friends. She is one of my favorite traveling companions because we basically like doing exactly the same things, so when we found out that we both were free over the long weekend, we jumped at the chance to plan a little trip.
We chose Santa Fe because neither of us had been and because it seemed just right for a short trip - the travel time is reasonable and there seemed to be plenty to do but not so much that three days would be wildly insufficient. We flew in to Albuquerque and then drove to Santa Fe, arriving mid-day on Saturday. We stopped for a drink and a quick snack at the Teahouse, which was on Canyon Road, just a short walk from the house we rented on Airbnb. Afterwards, we drove into the center of town to wander around and take in the sights. We sat outside on the patio at the Inn of the Anasazi and drank glasses of rose; we did the same at 315 Wine Bar and La Casa Sena before making our way to the Shed for dinner. This was basically the theme of the trip: wander around, stop for a drink, wander some more, stop for another drink, eat something delicious. Repeat.
Our second day, we woke up early to head out to Bandelier National Monument, stopping in at Cafe Pasqual's for a fortifying pre-hike breakfast. The place was already mobbed at 8:45am (we weren't the only ones who thought spending the long weekend in Santa Fe sounded like a good idea) but we eventually made it in and had a terrific breakfast of huevos rancheros (me) and griddled polenta with chorizo (Kinzie). They take their breakfasts quite seriously in Santa Fe. After our hike, we dusted ourselves off, napped, and headed back in to town for margaritas at the Pink Adobe and dinner at Taberna. We ended the evening curled up on the couch watching old episodes of Sex and the City - truly, a girls weekend.
Monday was the last full day of our trip and we spent the better part of it at the spa at Ojo Caliente. We both got massages and took mud baths and paddled around in the mineral springs. The sky was absolutely blue, with the occasional fleecy cloud; the sun was hot and direct but there was a breeze that made you shiver when you stepped out of the water. In other words, it was heavenly.
When we got back in the evening, we headed straight to the rooftop bar on the top of the La Fonda hotel to watch the sunset (and drink margaritas). We followed this up with a terrific dinner at Joseph's of Santa Fe - a seriously charming restaurant on the outskirts of town.
Really, it was such a great trip - some wonderful time spent with a dear friend and a chance to explore a truly lovely place. I hope everyone had an equally delightful Labor Day weekend!
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