Albuquerque/Sante Fe - Day 4

Santa Fe Plaza
Snow storm we almost got trapped in, in Santa Fe

Pat and Lisa got up around 7:30AM and ate breakfast. It was raining and cold. We left for Santa Fe about 9AM. We got to Sante Fe and started looking for a place to buy a coat for Pat. Pat likes coats. There was a light snow falling at this time which created a beatiful desert winter wonderland. We went into a place called Trader Joes and bought some pinon coffee. We paid 5-6 dollars a bag for it. We saw it later in the plaza for up to $13 per bag. We finally stumbled upon a Big 5 Sports and Pat bought a fleece type coat. Then we headed to the Plaza. First we stopped and ate at Thomasita's. Lisa feasted on cheese enchilada, pinto beans and rice. Pat selected chile relleno with refried beans. It was all ok. Then we walked around the plaza. It was freezing cold but that didn't stop Lisa from shopping the outdoor Indian jewelry vendors. Pat and the Indians were all freezing, but Lisa continued to inspect each piece of jewelry. Then we went inside St. Francis Cathedral. It was very beatiful. After that we continued to walk around the plaza. Around 2:45PM we headed back to Albuquerque. We took the Tourqoise Trail highway. This is a scenic venue that somewhat parralells I-25. We took several pictures along the way. We got back to Albuquerque around 4PM and headed to Old Town. We were disapointed in this place and decided to head to the Artichoke restuarant, another spot recommended to us by Peggy Engels. For an apetizer, Pat had ahi tuna tar tar. It was really just some raw tuna with some spices wrapped in a thin slice of raw salmon. For the main course, Lisa had free range chicken over a polenta garnished by brocolini. Pat picked the filet wrapped with smoked bacon on top of celeried mashed potatoes and garnished with a hybrid asparagus. It was delish. Pat's favorite part of the trip was John's retirement dinner. Lisa's favorite part of the trip was getting to see John and Peggy. We leave for the airport at 4:45AM.