We had a nice little sleep in this morning then My Honey googled some places to have breakfast.
Out of all the options he found, this is the one I chose.
We got ready and headed out.
This is our view from the hotel.
It's nice here, I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it.
The Toyota we ended up getting for our rental.
It had New Jersey plates on it and when we were getting into this morning this couple walked by and yelled out that it was so nice to see some fellow folks from home.
We got a kick out of that.
The breakfast place ended up being very close to our hotel.
The Grove Cafe & Market
Looks like it's been voted the best lunch spot.
It was a nice place inside, kind of one of those hipsterie type places.
You ordered at the counter then they brought your order out to you when it was done.
They had these chocolate chip cookies that looked chewy and delicious so I just had to try it.
We shared it and it was just as delicious as it looked.
There was a lovely outdoor seating area and when you come from the land of snow & ice to a nice warm spot like this, you always take advantage of the weather and sit outdoors.
Waiting for our meal to arrive.
I had the salmon which came on homemade english muffins instead of bagels and instead of cream cheese it Creme Fraiche.
It was an interesting twist but I do prefer the bagel and cream cheese version.
It was loaded with onions and capers which made me happy and the dressing on the greens was just fantastic.
My Honey had a breakfast sandwich which was also good and this Kale salad he got as a side was scrumptious too.
Seasoned just perfectly.
They had a sweet potato curry soup with mustardy sauce on top.
It was very good too.
I can see why it was voted best lunch spot.
From there we headed over to Old Town because they had a trolley tour and we wanted to go on it today if we could.
Most of the places here are these adobe style which I think suits this landscape beautifully.
We saw this symbol around lots and I only learned later that it's actually on their state flag.
We got to the hotel where they sell the trolley tour tickets and there was a truck there unloading chilis.
They are huge on chilis around here - the state question is 'red or green'?
They were unloading them to hang in the hotel lobby as decor (they are quite beautiful).
It was a beautiful hotel, more like a resort really and I was really loving some of the hardware they had there like these gorgeous handles.
I have a thing for lanterns and thought these were very nice.
This is another interesting light fixture but you would have to have a really high ceiling in order to hang it.
It fit here perfectly.
There was a beautiful lobby area and I tried the couches out and I can report that they were super comfortable.
More cool fixtures.
They were hanging up the new chilis while we were there.
I wouldn't do this at home but it fits here.
We purchased our tickets for the trolley.
We couldn't get on the first one as it was all full but we got tickets for the second one at 1 pm
We had some time to kill so we checked out the gift shop in the hotel lobby.
(I just love the shape of these doors).
My Honey found a cookbook for sale in there that his mom has had a copy of for as long as he can remember.
We thought that was kind of cool.
The grounds of the hotel were very nice too - lots of green.
It was the Hotel Albuquerque we were at and I think if we ever came back again, I would try to stay here.
There were lots of these prickly pear cactus around.
(We learned later on the trolley ride that you can actually eat the fruit they bear, I had no idea)
I understand where they get their name from, they are terribly prickly and sharp.
We started walking in the direction of Old Town.
This place looked like it had lots to offer but we never did make it over there to have a look.
We found Old Town.
There was this huge statue there as you walked into the area.
More adobe style places.
Some were even for sale!
There was a realtor right there - I love these wooden posts.
We happened upon 'The Christmas Shop' immediately and you know I had to check it out.
It was full of Christmas stuff and I always pick up a tree ornament on our trips so it was perfect.
We bought a couple things here actually.
The woman working there was an artist, very friendly and talkative.
Said she'd gone back to university very late in life and had loved every minute of it.
There were balloons of all shapes and sizes everywhere.
Balloon Fiesta is big business here and it starts this weekend so everyone was getting ready.
We checked out a few shops, this one had nice furniture for displaying their wares.
I loved this idea of using the ladder to display the jewelry.
These folk artsy chickens caught my eye - strangely enough, I didn't end up buying one.
This little Mariachi Band on the roof was cute.
This whole area reminded me a lot of old town in San Diego.
Just a random angel on this fence.
My favorite shade of teal/blue was everywhere.
More 'hot air balloons'.
I love this lantern - so pretty.
I really like these skeleton day of the dead ladies.
They look so cool.
More chili decor.
The colors in everything, like these flags, make it seem so festive.
These big clunky colorful benches are wonderful too.
There were restaurants all around but we didn't really have time to eat before our trolley tour.
We happened upon a candy store so we went in to get a treat.
The Candy Lady.
Turns out they made the 'meth' for the first couple seasons of Breaking Bad.
They had this area set up in the back where you could 'cook meth' with Walter & Jesse.
I couldn't let My Honey have all the fun!
Bagging it up!
We weren't die hard Breaking Bad fans but we did watch some of it and what we did watch, we enjoyed.
So this was kind of a fun discovery.
Another gorgeous bench in my favorite color.
I thought these doors were unusual and awesome.
More balloons - looks like they have scooters here too.
It was getting close to our tour time so we headed back to the hotel.
We came through the back way and it was very pretty.
Random statue.
This restaurant had these ornate metal sections as wells for their outdoor eating area.
I really liked them.
I like the fixtures they had out there too - I think these were just clay pots.
This chandelier was pretty cool too.
I really like the style of the place.
It was huge too, there were entrances all over.
I had to use the ladies and I really liked the mirror hanging in the bathroom.
The bathroom even had it's own lobby.
More cool fixtures in one of the hallways of the hotel.
We had a little more time than we thought so we popped into the restaurant there.
They gave us free chips and salsa (it was much too hot for me).
We just got deserts, chocolate chili cheesecake with pecans and caramel (yum).
And Tres Leches cake (double yum).
Then is was time to head out for the Trolley Tour.
When we went to the trolley it was basically full so we couldn't sit in the same seat.
I did get to sit right behind him at least so it wasn't so bad.
The tour guide was very enthusiastic, she knew a lot of information too.
It's so interesting here because there are regular houses with green lawns.
But there are also desert landscape lawns.
I love that there is so much green - I think it makes it so much nicer than just all dessert and sand (that's just my opinion).
I just love that huge tree - not sure if it was a Cottonwood but they seem to be the prevalent type here.
This was Jessie's house in the Breaking Bad series.
Apparently the weather and the landscape/scenery make Albuquerque a very desirable place to film movies and shows.
Saw this on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives.
Doubt we'll make it there though, My Honey doesn't like hot dogs.
Random murals.
Another - this was in the downtown Albuquerque area.
And another.
Some interesting architecture on the building.
It was hard to take pictures because I wasn't at the window seat but I managed ok.
I like the Sante Fe style of this building.
Random statue downtown.
This area is Albuquerque's version of Nob Hill.
There are restaurants and shops all along it - I most definitely want to get back to explore it more while we are here.
There is a famous architect that lives in the city and he built this kind of levered home.
He had some interesting sculptures out front.
He built this spaceship house too which he actually lives in.
Apparently William Shatner dropped by one day unannounced and asked for a tour and he was given one.
The tour guide didn't suggest we do the same though, ha ha!
My Honey and I.
Albuquerque has all different types of homes (and topography) and I think it makes it so interesting.
This is the spaceship house from the side.
This metal cactus is the only one of this kind - this variety doesn't grow in Albuquerque.
Teaching us the LOBO chant!
This mural had faded a lot over the years and they asked the artist to come and paint a new one.
He loved this one so much that instead of a new one, he just refreshed this one.
I really like this white color on the adobe style building.
Back to Old Town.
The story on this is that the artist spent a huge amount of time carving it by hand and the day after he finished, he passed away.
And then the tour was over.
It was about 2 hours long and we enjoyed it.
Since we were in the area, we decided to walk back over to Old Town again and explore it further.
More hot air balloons.
This was the best fixture yet today mainly due to that beautiful blue glass inside it.
We happened upon a plaza type area and they had a Noah's Ark balloon on display.
There was a beautiful fountain in the center of the plaza,
With a little bird merrily splashing away in the water.
I really love these colorful benches.
Two great things in one poster, we found a casino to check out and a craft show!
More cool sculptures.
I'd love to get one of these to take home with me - they are too big to fit in my suitcase though.
They are all over the place!
This color makes me so happy.
I love the whimsy of this place.
Funky!
These brick steps in this rounded shape are neat.
Big fan of the door!
The colors make everything feel so festive and happy.
Love the balloon dress!
Another awesome Day of the Dead skeleton.
Time for bite to eat.
Gobble This is the place we picked.
The menu.
These napkin holders were great.
It was really quiet in there, only one other table of folks.
There were board games to play if one was so inclined.
The windows were full of plants.
True dat!
I tried their Ensalad Fruit Juice and OMG - it was delightful.
So good I got a second glass of it.
We tried the Posole - it was fabulous.
We also tried the papusa.
In hindsight, I'm not sure why the place wasn't packed because the food was wonderful.
More wise words.
Day of the Dead bride skeleton.
Another fabulous door.
I really like those metal flowers.
Interesting wall.
I like how they painted the hollyhocks on the wall.
More awesome benches.
The colors on this one are darker but I still like them.
Love the blue around the door.
These little courtyard areas are so nice.
This store had lots of nice things, like these metal signs.
I really liked the birds.
Eventually we made our way back to the car and walking through the parking lot I noticed that there are several varieties of New Mexico license plates.
I just love the colors on this one.
This one is my favorite - I think just because it's so unusual looking.
This one was nice too but it was my least favorite of the three.
We went to find a Walmart to get a few things and the scenery along the way was pretty nice.
We made a wrong turn and had to turn around but ended up in this vacant field/area so we stopped and got out to take some pictures of the sun setting on the mountain.
There were some big creepy bugs running around all over the place - I only had my flip flops on so was worried that they would run over my toes (they didn't).
They say when the sun sets, it turns the mountains pink except for the trees so they call it the watermelon because that's what it looks like.
I didn't really think that it looked like a watermelon but it did turn pink and it was beautiful.
We ended up finding the Walmart but it was just a grocery store, not a department store.
We've never seen that before.
We did pick up a few things for the room, like a case of water and some snacks.
Then we headed to this mall where they had a Pandora store so I could get a charm.
On the ceiling in the foodcourt, they had an upside down Albuquerque.
It looked really cool.
There were even hot air balloons suspended upside down.
There was a little train that you could ride around the mall on - it was just shutting down for the night when we got there.
We decided to grab some supper before heading back to the hotel and found this place.
Potato Corner.
They had baked potatoes and several types of fries you could chose from that you could then have toppings added to or get seasoning added.
I picked the shoe string french fries with cheddar cheese seasoning and chicken fingers.
I think it was just popcorn seasoning they used and they just completely coated the fries.
It was the best new thing I've had in a while.
I'm totally going to steal this idea!
We saw the ladies at the table next to us eating some fantastic looking sushi so we asked what it was and My Honey ordered some of them too.
It took a bit of time because he made them from scratch but they were worth the wait.
Don't they look delicious?
It was green chilis in tempura batter with these sauces.
So good.
He got some avocado sushi too just because he likes it and they were pretty darn good too.
I was able to find the Pandora store and get a charm.
This is the one I got as a remembrance of this trip of course, the hot air balloon.
When we got back to the room, I was looking at Facebook/Instagram and saw Miss H had posted these cute pics of herself with Baby F.
This one is so sweet.
It was a good day and I'm looking forward to our adventures tomorrow.
That's all for today, until next time, be happy!
No comments:
Post a Comment