Santa Fe Adventures

A few weeks ago, my mom and I were in Santa Fe with five other women. Let me give you a little history: In 2011, my mom and I took a mother/daughter trip to Italy before I got married. On our trip, we met two women from Minnesota (Judy and Bev), two women from Colorado (Hollie and Courtney), and one from Florida (Sandie). All seven of us instantly bonded and we spent a majority of our trip together touring, drinking, eating and laughing. Actually, the picture below is from the first day we all met. We buddied up in a small bar during a heavy rainstorm in Rome. The picture isn’t the best, but it depicts our group just perfectly. We have stayed in touch over the past four years via social media and try to reunite one time a year for a long weekend.

When we arrived in Santa Fe, we celebrated with cocktails on our rooftop, had appetizers for dinner, and caught up all night with a lot of laughs mixed in.

The first full day, we walked around the plaza downtown, went in and out of shops, ate lunch on the patio at Thunderbird, and had a nice dinner at The Pink Adobe. I had chicken enchiladas for dinner–how can you not when you are in Santa Fe?

The second day, we did a cooking class at The Santa Fe School of Cooking. The class was a Green Chile Workshop and was taught by Michelle Chaves. She is the lead instructor at the Santa Fe Community College’s Culinary Arts program and also a freelance caterer. She was awesome–she gave us tons of information on the history of chiles and New Mexican cuisine. She was super attentive to us in the kitchen and was really entertaining. Obviously, I love cooking, but this was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

That night, we ate dinner at The Shed. It was highly recommended by everyone–a local favorite. I had tacos–one chicken and one beef. They serve their tacos with pinto beans, rice, and posole (a Mexican stew with hominy, pork, and chiles).

The third day, we spend the morning at Ten Tousand Waves Spa. It was soooo amazing. I have never experienced anything like it. It was so, so, so serene. Before our treatments, we were able to sit outside, soak our feet, and relax. I did the Nose to Toes treatment, which is a blend of their unique services–it included a full body exfoliation, massage, Thai stretches, a sampling of the Yasuragi head and neck treatment, and a Japanese foot massage. I can’t get over how awesome it was. After our treatments, we rented a private hot tub and celebrated with mimosas. I would literally come back to Santa Fe just for this spa!

That night, we had our last dinner together at Geronimo. It is a very quaint restaurant located in the Canyon Road arts district. Geronimo is in a beautiful, small white adobe and all of our food was delicious. We split green chile mac and cheese and tuna tar-tare for appetizers–we all wanted to taste both. For dinner, I had Seared Scallops with House-Made Ricotta Cheese and Leek Ravioli with Meyer Lemon Veloute, Basil Oil and Reggiano Parmesan. UMMM, yeah–I am not even sure what all of the words mean, but I do know it was the best meal of the trip.

We used Uber everywhere we went and many of the drivers let all 7 of us cram into their cars. It was pretty comical throughout the weekend.

Obviously, I had a lot of great food. The picture on the left is of the chicken enchilada from The Pink Adobe and the picture on the right is the scallops and ravioli dish from Geronimo.

We spent a good amount of time relaxing at our place too. There is nothing like sweatpants, good snacks, and a glass of wine with friends. Judy even brought a bottle of Priest Wine that she bought in Florence at the winery we visited! How awesome is that?

Sandie surprised everyone with Magnificent 7 t-shirts. Mag-7 is a nickname we gave ourselves–we think we’re funny. This was our attempt of getting a group selfie in the t-shirts. As you can tell, we are really coordinated.

My mom and I stayed a few extra days. We did a jeep tour that went up into the Jemez Mountains and down into the Valles Caldera. We drove through different reservations and Los Alamos. Our guide was pretty entertaining and even set up a little picnic for us.

We also visited the Loretta Chapel, which is the home of the miraculous staircase. The small chapel was so pretty. The altar and stations of the cross were imported from Italy.

A few other notable restaurants we ate at were Cafe Pasquals and Cowgirl BBQ. I don’t know if it was because it was at the end of the trip and I was Mexican food’ed (is that even a word?) out, but my Chipotle Pulled Pork Quesadilla from Cowgirl BBQ was one of my favorite meals. I think that might be the Midwesterner in me coming out.

At any rate, we had a blast. Vacationing with this group of women is so much fun. I also cherish the time I get to spend with my mom. I am so lucky that she is willing and able to go on vacation with me. Plus, she knows hot to cut loose and have some fun. She is the best. I hope I can be like her when I grow up. 🙂