R, L, and myself took a long weekend a couple of weeks ago to visit our friend V at her new place in Santa Fe. Our mutual friend K was also there which made it all the more special. R and I had never been to Santa Fe before, but this trip was more for us all to get together again and have time together as it has been years since we have been able to do that.

Spoiler alert: a special time was had!

If you ever make it to Santa Fe, we did some things that you might enjoy.

I have been to New Mexico before while I was in college, but it was a different experience entirely as we were mapping, hiking, and camping. I will tell you, waking up in the trees at elevation with the nip in the air and an elk bugling will remain one of my favorite memories. I am a Texas gal through and through, and no skyline will beat the great state for me, but I do like a full spectrum experience!

V bought her house in the historic district of Santa Fe about a year ago and it has been under construction a work in progress ever since. She has been doing a lovely job of restoring it to its glory and it was really fun to see her in her element giving us a tour of the house and explaining all of her plans.

We arrived at the house midday on Thursday after flying into Albuquerque, renting a car, and making the short drive to Santa Fe. After we unloaded our bags and got settled, we had sandwiches for lunch at the house and made a plan for the coming days.

The first thing we did was explore Canyon Road. Canyon Road is full of art galleries and shops. We began at this art store where they make their own paints and then worked our way down.

The street views were quite pretty and there it a lot to explore. It always fascinates me how different every city and town is. No two are the same even in the same state, much less the same country.

In addition to the main Canyon Road, there are little side streets and alleys with shops nestled here and there. You could really spend quite a bit of time exploring if you wanted. There are galleries of all kinds (some with live music) and shops galore.

None of these pictures show it, but the fall colors and leaves were quite pretty. If we had come a little sooner, there would have been more yellow leaves. Many of them had already fallen. On the flip side, if we had delayed our trip a little later…we could have experienced a white Santa Fe. V just sent us some photos of Santa Fe covered in snow, and it looks nothing short of magical. While I am most drawn to more green landscapes, I think Santa Fe is probably the most pretty under a fresh, heavy snow.

Rachel and I did buy ourselves some jewelry while we were exploring.

We found a wine bar in the back of one of the galleries and enjoyed some local red wine as we explored their courtyard patio. The people were very nice everywhere we went and there are dogs everywhere! You can see one here in the wine bar. As you can imagine, I missed my Merley bob. Luckily, V’s two dogs at the house made me feel better.

I probably broke a rule by taking this picture, but I wanted want it really bad. Who does this look like to you??? Maybe only long time readers will be able to name it, but this looks like my Lito as a baby! Thank you to Gregg Albracht for taking this stunning and inspirational photo! If I was made of more money, I would have purchased it to enjoy for the rest of my life. Gregg, if you’re feeling charitable, I would love this for Christmas!

The city has a strong Spanish Catholic history and there are Saint Francis statues everywhere. I even bought myself a little Saint Francis (and a Christmas ornament) at one of the consignment antique stores we went to. Do yourself a favor and see the chapels at night and go to the store called The Raven. You will wish you had a lot of money and a house to fill. This is a common problem for me.

On Friday, after a leisurely morning talking over coffee while it lightly snowed, we went and explored Meow Wolf. There is no photo evidence of this as it is meant to be experienced, but it was definitely an experience! An art installation experience. I was very impressed even though I was overstimulated and got a little claustrophobic. I would definitely recommend going, but maybe try and go when there might be less people? I am not sure how you accomplish this, but I think there were too many people there and it took away from the experience for me. Meow Wolf was started in Santa Fe by Santa Fe artists and there are now installations in Vegas, Denver, and Grapevine, Texas. There is one to open in Houston sometime in 2024.

V, L, and K had to retire early to go sit in the cafe while R and I continued on. When we felt we had explored enough, we met them in the cafe and sat for a little bit with coffee before we left to head to lunch. It was also snowing very large flurries at this point. None of it stuck, but it was a precursor for what was to come after we would be back in Texas.

We were able to get into La Choza for lunch and if you ever make it to Santa Fe, you MUST go here. The food is AMAZING. They have goofy hours and do not take reservations, but it is worth it. Go here.

On Saturday morning, we hit up the farmers market. This was my favorite part as you can likely imagine. When I went to France, my favorite day was when we went to the local farmers market. It is my scene and you guessed it, this is a must do!

I did wish we could have had a another day so I could have purchased some local foods to cook a fun meal, but alas, we did not. We will have to do this next time. About a third of the market is art and the rest is local produce and foods etc. I bought a few gifts here as well. The weather was really amazing as you can tell by these stunning blue skies.

I really loved all the wreaths made with the chilies and I almost bought some to bring home, but I did not want to have to carry them on the plane along with my other purchases.

After the farmers market, we grabbed a quick lunch before going to see the Loretto Chapel and the Plaza.

The Loretto Chapel is another must in Santa Fe. I am not going to share pictures of the inside because, to be honest, it felt kind of wrong to take them in the first place. Even still, I did get some very special ones to share with a friend who has a connection to the chapel. There are pictures on the internet to give you the feel, but you really should go and experience it in person. This is another one I would suggest trying to go to when there are less people. I am not sure when that would be though. I would have liked to sit and appreciate it more.

Do not hate on me, but to me the Plaza is a skip item for me. I was shopped out at this point and maybe I would feel differently at another time, but I just did not feel like it was worth it. I am also not a big shopper and especially not for big name labels. I would have rather done Canyon Road again. It looked like there was a nice place on the square with a patio to stop and sit and have a drink or a meal, but I was also very distracted and uncomfortable as a protest was going on.

After the Plaza, we went back to the house for a little rest before a very fun evening to come.

If this fits your budget and schedule, GO DO THIS.

I did not ask many questions when both V and K said this is quintessential Santa Fe. I knew I wanted to go.

The Flamenco Dinner Show was very special. Partly because it was all of us together, yes. But the food was amazing. The drinks were great. the flamenco, well, that was moving!

Drinks and a three course gourmet meal capped off by magical Santa Fe flamenco music and dancing. Now do not get me wrong, the food was fabulous and not to be missed, but this was all about the performance.

The musicians and dancers change I think from dinner to dinner according to V and K, but here is a little taste. I do not want to share too much video to take away from the experience, but I was very impressed and our whole group agreed.

I have not had very much exposure to flamenco previously. I knew it was passionate. What dancing and music and art is not? What I did not know though, was how varied flamenco dance can be. I very much enjoyed each of the ladies’ versions and feelings during their dances.

This show was more than just a few songs and some dancing. They all left their feelings out there on the stage. The performance began with each dancer dancing an introduction to a short song. Then each dancer got to tell a complete story on center stage. This is the part that really got me. I felt like I had a history lesson of flamenco in addition to a passion lesson! Each dancer’s style was as unique as their look. At this point, I thought that would be the end of the show, but there was more! The dancing was then in twos as each dancer danced with each of the others. The finale was the perfect ending of all three dancers dancing together. The audience was enthralled and completely captivated for the entire performance from start to finish and there was not an empty seat.

We were the last ones to leave the restaurant and we were sure to thank the performers on our way out. They thanked us for our attention and participation!

We were all exhausted at this point and were happy to get tucked into bed before our early departure back to Albuquerque. I myself was ready to get back to Texas and my animals.

I will be back to New Mexico one day. There is quite a bit to explore outside of Santa Fe and we all hope to have a reunion once V is finished with her house. And one day, Lito and I will go there to ride in the mountains. One day.

Walk in love, dear readers! Have you gotten your Christmas spirit on yet???