What's the Hype About Santa Fe

The highlight for us was the cool weather. We're originally from Phoenix, Arizona and when we left it was 107 degrees. New Mexico was 75 degrees. More than enough galleries. A little overwhelming. I would like to visit again, but take in water rafting and hiking.

Quick Tips:

Go to the heart of the city, Cordova Avenue and hang out at the local eateries and visit the Farmers Market on the weekend.

Best Way To Get Around:

We walked. The Plaza area (that included historic sites, galleries, museums, and high priced eateries) were all within walking distance. My suggestion is to get your walking shoes and enjoy the weather.

We like Indian food so it was nice to go to a place where we knew the menu. Service was excellent. My sister, the vegetarian, was right at home with the dishes and I decided to get the Tadoori Chicken. They had a special, $16, which included appetizer, entree (vegetarian or meat), rice, side and dessert. The choice of dessert with the special was rice or mango pudding. Glad I went for the mango pudding. There are, of course, other desserts and entrees on the menu, but we felt the special was the better choice on our budget.

This place is where the locals hang out. It is in the heart of Santa Fe (which means is it not walking distance from the Plaza). It's a greasy spoon that serves breakfast lunch and dinner from 6am to 8pm Mondays through Saturdays and 6am to 6pm on Sundays. If the weather is nice, there is patio sitting.

The menu consists of American food for meat-eaters, vegetarians, and those watching their weight. Our order consisted of a cheese omelette (Swiss, cheddar, and feta cheeses) with a side of fried potatoes, salsa, and English muffin and Huevos Rancheros with cheese and green peppers with side of black beans and spinach torillas. The food was excellent, filling, and affordable. Their menu is available online at www.santafebakingcompanycafe.com/.

This nonprofit museum houses a monumental artwork, carved and painted on hundreds of panels of wood by Jean-Claude Gaugy. Love and transcendence are its central themes.

Individual audios are available that tell you about the panels in detail. It's only about 10 minutes. After hearing the audio, we sat and took in the colors and vibe of the artists work. The museum also has a peace garden and a gift shop. I found some nice T-shirts for $8 apiece (including a sweatshirt for $8) and beautiful cards.

If you like art, this is a place to see.
http://www.theawakeningmuseum.org/default.htm

This is another local place. We decided since we were doing the "girlfriend getaway" with no children or husbands, we'd treat ourselves to massages. We made our appointments a week before our arrival and both went for the Shiatsu, which is a Japanese pressing techniques on Meridians to bring harmony & vitality to the body. Sounded good to us. My sister had a Master Shiatsu massage therapist which was $15 more ($85) I had the regular Shiatsu massage therapist ($70). My sister said she wasn't too impressed with the Master, but did enjoy the massage. The person I had did a very good job, but I enjoy the Swedish massages (with oil) better. The Shiatsu is acupressure and is done without any oils.

The site is cellphone free. I mistakenly took a call while checking in for my appointment and was kindly told that the building was a cellphone free zone and if I could take the call outside. The receptionist was very kind so it was no problem. After checking in, we were lead into a room which was tranquille just in itself...large comfortable chairs, water fountains and music. This is the place that the massage therapist retrieves you before going to the room.

The place also has a yoga studio, all-organic cafe, yoga and massage supplies including books, clothing, candles, essential oils and incense. We came back a day later and had a late breakfast at the cafe. My raspberry muffin and tea were excellent, while my sister had a vegetarian sandwich.

I like the high priced resort pampering at times, but when your on a budget this place will fit the bill.