Cinco de Mayo in Santa Fe

Santa Fe, New Mexico: Boy, am I happy I don't have to type Albuquerque any longer. Oops.

DT and I were up early, exercised, Leo's cookies were shipped and we were on the road to Santa Fe - about a one hour drive north of Albuquerque. (Dang it.) We checked in at the Santa Fe Skies RV Park at noon and went immediately into town for lunch and a stroll.

Inside the La Fonda Hotel, just off the main square in Santa Fe, is the pretty La Plazuela dining room - just the perfect spot to get ourselves reacquainted with charming Santa Fe.

sn't this just a delightful room? It must have once been an open courtyard with a fountain in the center, but is now covered with skylights. Every window pane is hand-painted to resemble stained glass. So pretty.

DT ordered Huevos Rancheros and I had a margarita (Cinco de Mayo!) and a bowl of tortilla soup. The bread basket was filled with sopapillas - a fried dough - and we split one... you know, for "research". Really a very nice lunch.

After our meal we walked around the square, poked our heads in a few shops and admired all the art in Santa Fe. Art is everywhere! The architecture is strictly controlled, so the entire town looks like a pueblo and the buildings are all some shade of "sand".

Town Square

Items for sale in Santa Fe

Santa Fe Art Museum

Day of the Dead ceramic skulls

Loretto Chapel - and the Mysterious Staircase. (We did not go inside the church today,
the staircase photo is from our 2002 visit.)

Interesting items for sale in Santa Fe

FYI: Here are some facts about Cinco de May, which simply means May 5th in Spanish: It is the day the Spanish army (4000 soldiers) defeated the French Army (8000 soldiers, led by Napoleon's nephew, Napoleon III) in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. However, the victory was short-lived, as a year later the French took control of Mexico and installed Maximilian as the ruler of Mexico. By then, the US Civil War was over and America began assisting Mexico. Not wanting to get into a war with America, the French fled Mexico in 1866. The French forgot to take Maximilian with them, I guess, because he was executed by the Mexicans. The Battle of Puebla marks the last time a European army attacked a country in the Americas... never mind that whole Falkland Island thing... which was versa-vise-ish.

Please thank me when you win Jeopardy.

After a nice rest back at the ranch, DT and I dined at the Anasazi Restaurant in the Inn of the Anasazi Hotel. We had such a lovely meal here TWELVE YEARS AGO, we thought we would give it another try.

We were not disappointed. The dining room is so inviting, the servers are so friendly and the menu is so Southwestern-Chic. My Driver ordered the prix fixe menu and chose a salad with Roasted Baby Beets and Goat Cheese, Beet Crudités, Goat Cheese Mousse and Watercress, followed with Organic Petaluma Chicken Breast & Cepes Boudin, Sweet Corn Purée, Wild Mushrooms, Albufera Sauce. The boudin sausage was also made with chicken.

I chose two appetizers for my meal, starting with the Alcade Heirloom Tomato Salad, Sorrel Sorbet, Mozzarella, Tomato Gazpacho Pearls. The tomatoes were grown in New Mexico and I was served at least five different varieties of tomato on the plate. The most intriguing item in the salad was the sorrel sorbet. It looked like guacamole... if guacamole came sweet and frozen! "Gazpacho Pearls" are somehow made via science and looked like pink caviar, but were somehow made with tomato gazpacho and gelatin.

I chose the Duck Enchilada Mole, Pico de Gallo, Sour Cream with Green Chile Pearlsappetizer as my entree. Yep, more "pearls" - this time scientifically created with green chiles. Though but one small enchilada, this baby was packed with all sorts of flavors goin' on. I could taste the corn in the tortilla, the duck, the spices in the mole, the cilantro... everything was so well balanced - and it was exactly the right amount of food... especially since DT's prix fixe meal came with tiramisu... that I may have tasted.

This was a great foodie day in a great foodie town. Stay tuned and loosen your belts - we will be here several days.

Pedometer: Just barely 10,000 steps today. A bit surprising as I ran this morning and we walked around Santa Fe for quite a while this afternoon. Blame it on a "travel day". Still, goal attained.

Until my next update, I remain, your Cinco de Mayo correspondent.

RV PARK: Santa Fe Skies RV Park - Medium-sized park with Big-Rig-friendly sites. 30/50 amp, full-service gravel pull through and back-in sites. Club house, shop, laundry bathhouse. Free wifi, 3/4 walking/jogging path. We are paying $40 per night.