I spent the last weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico!
I’ve been part of a moms group that meets on Zoom for over a year and I met 7 of the other women from the group in Santa Fe for a long weekend adventure. It was the first time I met any of them in person and it was wonderful to be together and also to explore a city that was new to me.
I’ve never been to New Mexico before! I was expecting a warm desert, but Santa Fe is actually a high desert – actually over 7,000 feet high! It is apparently the highest elevation of any US state.
And quite cold at this time of year but that didn’t stop us from having fun. 🙂
The architecture was interesting to look at – everything is adobe, which means adobe in Spanish. Rows of pods of dried red chillies also hung in front of many houses and shops.
The red chili ristras apparently serve as a symbol of welcome and good luck. It was fun exploring downtown and visiting some of the shops as well.
If you ever find yourself in Santa Fe, the Keshi store pictured above is a good and ethical place to shop – they focus exclusively on Zuni Pueblo art and buy direct from the artists. Her sister organization is a charity that also benefits the Zuni.
Santa Fe food
We had some good meals in Santa Fe! One of my favorites was breakfast at a really cute spot just around the corner from our Airbnb called The Teahouse.
As soon as we arrived it started to snow! It was wonderful. Here is the view from the window:
Someone saw me taking a picture out the window (I got there just before my friends to secure a table for us, so I was alone) and offered to take one of me in front of the snowy window, so here I am!
While waiting for my friends to arrive, I had a really tasty carrot and orange muffin that I forgot to take a picture of at the beginning, and then for the main meal I enjoyed their bacon, eggs (on polenta) and balsamic Cauliflower.
It was delicious and pretty, too!
Another great meal we had in Santa Fe was at a place a few of us had stumbled upon while sightseeing and shopping in downtown Santa Fe.
It was called Apothecary and we immediately loved the atmosphere – soothing and gentle and with a delicious and nutritious menu. Apparently it’s also an oxygen bar, but we didn’t try that!
They even had kombucha on tap! I tried the berry flavor and it was great.
The cold weather made me want soup, so I ordered a chicken soup with bone broth, vegetables, and noodles. It was super spicy but really tasty and hit the spot.
I also had two delicious meals at the onsite restaurant at Ojo Santa Fe, a lovely spa where the ladies and I spent the day on Saturday. We had all massages scheduled and spent the rest of our time hanging out in the various outdoor hot tubs and pools.
It was lovely and the contrast between the super cold air and the hot water felt really good!
We had heard that you had to be there as soon as it opened to get a day pass, so some of us decided to have breakfast there so we were already there. I had their avocado toast with eggs, salad and fruit.
The bread was delicious and I loved that the salad had truffle oil in it, but I felt like the avocado situation could have been more interesting – mashed or sliced and with some spices.
For lunch at the restaurant between my massage and my soak (I know, best day ever) I had a roasted poblano peppers stuffed with quinoa and a side of salmon.
It was delicious and came with a really tasty (not pictured) smoky cashew-based red sauce. I also loved their blue cornbread!
As for dinner in Santa Fe, I met the group the first night at a restaurant called Tomasita’s in northern New Mexico, right after I got out of the airport.
I forgot to take a picture in all the excitement of meeting everyone but I had some chips and guac and then got their tortilla soup which was really delicious… I wasn’t in the mood for a huge meal, as I had nibbled all day on the plane so it was just the right amount and super cozy and comforting.
For our other two dinners we all decided to stay home and be cozy and order food! One of the nights we had an Asian dumpling feast (I forgot to take pictures but it was delicious) and the other night we ordered a whole bunch of tacos from a place called Fusion Tacos.
Yummy!
Running in Santa Fe
I went for two morning solo jogs in Santa Fe and both were amazing – despite the fact that I was at over 7,000ft I felt really energized and having a great time, a little bit more of the neighborhood and the views to explore and see the mountains in the distance.
It was fun to just wander around and go where I felt like it without having a specific agenda or route in mind!
Even running up rolling hills I was definitely out of breath like I would at sea level at home, but I kept it casual and went for a run/walk and really enjoyed being out there.
I always love walking in new cities – a great way to explore them!
And I like running in cold weather, so the 20 degrees didn’t bother me. 🙂 Although one of the days I ran was cloudy and the other sunny, I naturally preferred the sunny weather.
I’ve discovered some pretty neighborhoods:
And found this beautiful path along a creek:
I loved this poem:
A closer look:
I also loved this raven sculpture:
I wanted to do a hike while we were in Santa Fe but the reports I read online said all the trails were still quite snowy and icy. Too bad – I bet the trails in the mountains around Santa Fe are beautiful!
I ended up doing about 2 miles one morning and about 3 miles the other and it felt just right.
The only downside to meeting in Santa Fe was that it took forever to travel there – I had a long layover of 3+ hours in Dallas on the way there and back, so I spent about 12 hours on both Friday and Monday needed for the trip. But it was worth it!
I was sad to say goodbye to everyone on Monday – it was so nice to be with them in person instead of on the computer. Until next time, friends!
Oh and one last thing – have any of you ever seen/tried this Farmer’s Fridge situation in an airport? There were a lot in Dallas, and I also saw one at the Chicago airport last month while I was traveling. Their website also shows hospital locations, which is a cool idea.
It’s a vending machine but with really fresh food. It was so good! I want one in my house… 😉
I had this salad (the “green goddess” with quinoa, lettuce, chickpeas, feta, pickled onions, celery, and candied pecans with Greek yogurt herb dressing) on one of the days and another on the way home, plus her chia pudding with pineapple on both days.
Everything was super tasty and really fresh, and I loved eating something tasty but nutritious that didn’t feel heavy when traveling.
Have you ever been to Santa Fe? Or somewhere else in New Mexico?