the vortex or paseo paseo

last

Wednesday

I flew from Newark to Atlanta to meet my friend Mary 

and 

connect to a flight to Albuquerque 

apparently ABQ is considered an international airport 

but

 you cant get there from here 

without

 a connection

 actually

 I think its better to have two short-ish flights

 than one really long one

okay moving along

when we picked up our rental car 

there was a shortage of compact cars

 to save time

 the agent 'borrowed' one from another company

apparently 

3 companies are owned by the same megacompany

 we got a Chevy 

oy and vey 

no pick up 

would be an 

understatement

nevertheless it got us where we wanted to go

We were driving along on 25

 (not sure if it was a route or an interstate) 

when we spied our first sign of New Mexico's

 'enchantment'

 a dust devil

 it was so weird

 alas 

no photo because

 (a) camera was still packed in carry on 

(b) we'd gotten some momentum up and didnt want to lose it

we did stop at Santa Domingo Pueblo 

where the local Indians sell crafts and tamales

I got some of both

and

 possibly

 a touch of the 'Santa Domingo Cleanse'

a distant relation of Montezuma's Revenge

The exit we were to take off 25 was closed for repairs

so we drove to the next exit 

where

 I believe 

we entered 

the 

vortex

every left was actually a right

every right actually a left

all roads

 seemed 

to lead to 

Paseo de Peralta

 (I renamed it Paseo Paseo because it kept repeating)

after some U turns we drove into Santa Fe

as soon as we drove past these

 I yelled 

STOP 

Mary did

 I hopped out to get my first shots

Santa Fe Railyards are now a hub for both the

Railrunner

and

Santa Fe Southern Railway

lots of shops 

restaurants 

and 

the weekend Farmer's Market

(this train photo is for Suldog)

this is our hotel

The Chimayo

on Washington Street

this is the lobby

this is the walkway to the little casitas and loft rooms

we had a loft room

 it had a sweet little terracita

(with two small tables and 6 chairs)

after we unpacked

we headed out to get the lay of the land

St Francis Cathedral

where we stopped to rest

as 

do many birds and flying insects

(I missed a great shot of a hummingbird because I was so astonished to see one I froze!)

after more walking window shopping we looked in on La Casa Sena

it looked so nice we did some more wandering before returning for some refreshing drinks and some delicious 'small bites'

(that's the vegetarian sampler)

While we were relaxing 

Mary leaned back 

thinking her chair was going to tip

 she grabbed the table

 it started to topple over 

I grabbed it on my end

 saving my camera and wine 

but

 her margarita went sloshing 

everywhere

 suddenly

 three men were there righting the table

 cleaning up the spill 

 laughing with us

 that's how we came to meet Richard and his two partners

and

 were invited to attend Thursday evening's Diva Night 

our plan for that evening 

(Wednesday) 

was

to drive out to the 

Opera House 

and

 get some sunset photos

 because

 those early clouds boded well for a colorful sunset

well, the best laid plans dont always work out

waiting for the sun to begin to set we decided to grab an hour's nap

no we didnt over sleep

we got up refreshed 

drove out to the Opera House and got lost

yup

turned around again

by the time

we got to the Opera House

 the gates were locked

the sky was black

back at the hotel 

I decided to call it a day

the bed was so inviting I quickly fell asleep

 but 

Mary was hungry so she went in search of food

Bright and sunny and cool 

that was how

 Thursday

 began

 with 

a large inexpensive delicious breakfast at 

The Burrito Co. 

(just 2 doors away from our hotel)

the light

 in 

Santa Fe

 is amazing

 I totally understand 

why

 it is a mecca for artists

we did a lot on Thursday

we shopped 

at 

Mira

bought amazing chocolate 

made from recipes hundreds of years old

at 

Kakawa

got to visit San Meridith's gallery 

Convergence

 on West San Francisco

San is a blogger 

okay 

so she hasnt blogged

 in a while

 I think these are a good excuse

she used to do only abstracts now she's into sunsets

 I knew San wasnt going to be there

 because 

we emailed before I left NYC 

but

 I decided to stop by and peek in the window 

I got to do that 

and 

I got to meet her son Oakley

 who I felt as if I knew from San's blogging 

outside the gallery Mary spotted this license plate

we also browsed the Indian 'market' that is across from the main plaza

we wandered Canyon Roads many art galleries 

visited Lorretto Chapel and its Miraculous Stairway

all before

 heading back to the hotel

 freshening up for 

Diva Night

that's me with Bella Gigantia (aka Richard)

after

 Diva Night 

which was such fun 

every one of the performers had Broadway quality voices 

we went to a park that overlooks the city

(at Oakley's recommendation)

and got the sunset shots we were after

then we decided to do a little driving 

we ended up

having dinner

tapas

at Le Meson

the sunset

just to prove

 how 

enchanted

 this place is 

I got a moon shot! 

 Toonman said to title this 

Shine on Sliver Moon

Friday 

we breakfasted 

at 

La Fonda Hotel 

did a little more shopping 

before 

heading back to Albuquerque 

and 

flying home

I spotted these tee shirts at a small shop just past Burrito Co.

here it is being modeled by Toonman

and

to wrap up the trip 

here's Kokopelli

go on 

say it

Kokopelli

I love Kokopelli

love saying Kokopelli

I took a lot of photos

 this recap

 in as short a form

 as I could manage

 check out 

My Eyes 

for all the photos 

over the next week or two

I bet you need to stretch after all that

go ahead

I understand

thanks for wading through the verbosity!