The trip started off a little tricky as many area were having a Spring Snowstorm, because of this the drive ended up taking a lot longer than originally planned but we got to see some beautiful views (when you could see through the storms that was)!
We arrived in Santa Fe and settled into our hotel before heading off for our first dinner to a Mexican Restaurant. The restaurant was packed and a buzzing atmosphere which was great fun, although why so many people feel the need to shout at each other across the table is beyond me, a noisy buzz in one thing but really, people! A few margaritas later and we headed back to the hotel exhausted from the drive.
The next day we spent checking out the farmers market and Railway Yard area of Santa Fe. I love the buzz at markets and we couldn't resist buying a pot of Raspberry Chili Jam, delicious! After that we headed over to a Shopping Centre to buy a box of Chocolate from a local Chocolatier (Señor Murphy Candymaker) and visit a quirky little Bug Museum called Harrell House. The Bug Museum was quite something. It was started by a guy who had been collecting since he was ten. He had displayed the (dead) bugs in a really beautiful and artistic way and the collection was bigger than anything I have seen before. As part of the experience there was a section with live animals, snakes, tarantulas, scorpions and so forth. We spent a good hour or so wandering around here and at the end got to participate in a pretty much private handling session. We got to hold/ touch a hissing cockroach, whiptail scorpion, giant millipede and and beautiful and very tame tarantula. Ethan had an amazing time here. For dinner we headed off to the Ranch House where I had the most delicious Smoke Pineapple Margarita along with a great steak.
The next day, needing to walk off some of the weekends calories we headed over to the Bandalier National Monument. This is a super cool and beautiful place where ground dwellings sit alongside cave dwellings, and natural beauty. Its pretty busy on the main tourist trail but we also took some extra trails to get some peace. We sat up in complete peace by a stunning outlook to eat our lunch. This place is super cool as it has stations along the route telling you the history of the area or cave that is in front of you. Many of the caves have ladders so you can climb into them and see the rooms that people used to live in. We took the extra mile hike too which takes you to 140ft of ladders, you get to climb and climb and see some amazing views. A few nerves saw Ethan a bit shaky after descending but he absolutely loved the experience. We ended up spending a good four hours hiking and investigating and went back to the hotel to relax by the pool. At night we headed off to another mexican called Los Potrillos. As always, it looks like a dive from outside but was buzzing with locals when we went in. I had the most amazing Fajitas, fresh and spicy and of course... a couple of margaritas! What a great restaurant, fab service and quirky, funny decor.
The final day was all about exploring Santa Fe town. After breakfast we headed into the main town and wandered around looking at shops and soaking up the atmosphere. There is a wonderful Cathedral in the centre which we spent quite a lot of time in, its beautiful and serene and has that special feeling that cathedrals have when you are inside them. It really hit Ethan emotionally and he needed some private time just to sit for a while. The main square was lovely, with a real sense of history and benches and traders all around it. After that we went to the weirdest place I think I have ever been, its called Meow Wolf and is an 'immersive art experience'. It really is pretty much indescribable. It is inside an old bowling alley/ warehouse area. You begin by walking into a 'garden' outside a house (The House of Eternal Return), as you enter the front door you have multiple options of where to turn and it just gets weirder, crawling through washing machines into an alternate dimension, playing music on dinosaur bones and sitting in a garden created from a sofa. You can go into the fridges, truly go through a wardrobe into a wonderland and climb down ever shrinking staircases. If you ever go to Santa Fe, you just have to visit it, there really in nothing else like it. Oh and its the only art installation that you are encouraged to touch EVERYTHING! Just awesome! After that we spent the afternoon relaxing (recovering) by the pool before heading out to for one last delicious dinner (and margaritas of course)...
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