We wake up a little worried about the ‘special breakfast’ that is being prepared for us. We have explained to the B&B hosts that we are strict vegetarian and that means no eggs. I was going to continue to explain that I don’t eat dairy either but am not vegan ... but this usually just confuses people way too much.
So we look at each other, both bracing for what the meal is going to be and walk out to the dining room.
Our hosts are madly preparing something in the kitchen. Mr Host has his apron on and is running about the kitchen in a frenzy. He looks stressed out. We feel bad that he is going to so much trouble for us. We are ready to praise his dish no matter what. Mrs Host greets us and sits us down. She brings over a fresh fruit salad for each of us and pours us a hot cup of coffee. Mr Host is clanging pots and pans in the kitchen, working himself into a fluster. He is really trying hard for us. After some pleasant conversation, Mrs Host withdraws to the kitchen and soon comes back out, following Mr Host, who is nervously holding two plates. He walks over and cautiously places the plates in front of us. He has prepared baked polenta with scrambled tofu and green chill (a New Mexico specialty). He appologises in advance for the meal. We and Mrs Host assure him that it looks delicious and will surely taste delicious. We are so greatful that he has gone to so much effort for us. We get stuck in and are happy to confirm to him that the meal is delicious. I particularly enjoy the mix of textures and the subtle spiciness of the chilli. The scrambled tofu completes the dish. Thank you so much Mr and Mrs Host :)
After breakfast we have a few hours until checkout so we decide to have a wander through Old Town - this is the historic and touristy part of town and we happen to be staying right on the edge of it.
The architecture in old town is very Mexican meets Native American meets USA settlers.
Apart from a beautiful old church - that we spend some time in, wandering through the gardens - Old Town is mainly souvenir and ‘old time sweets’ shops. We pick up a few souvenirs to commemorate our Route 66 adventure so far and then head back to the hotel.
We check out and head off to Santa Fe. The drive is pure bliss mainly because it takes us only one hour to get there. After the last few trips where we have been driving for up to eight hours, this short trip is pure bliss.
We head straight to the Santa Fe branch of Annapurna for lunch. We get into a conversation with what turns out to be the owner of the restaurants and discover that he lived in Byron Bay for about 20 years before moving to Albuquerque to start his restaurant. We tell him that he is desperately needed back in Australia!
After a delightful lunch we are still too early for check in to our next hotel so we drive into the historic part of Santa Fe and have a wander. Take away coffees in hand, we walk up and down streets ‘paved with gold’ ... shopping gold.
Santa Fe is a tourist paradise. There are souvenir shops selling Native American products, there are hundreds of galleries featuring beautiful pieces and there are cafes everywhere.
We wander through the plaza and stop to watch the commotion caused by a film crew. We can’t work out what they are filming though, they just seem to be hanging about, yelling at each other. We walk through the plaza and into ‘The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi’. The old church is beautiful and peaceful. We learn from an old man (not sure if he was a priest or church volunteer) that the church has stood on these grounds in some form or another for more than 500 years.
He tells us about its history and the wars fought around it. When we tell him that we are amazed at the fusion of cultures that seem to be everywhere in New Mexico he tell us that some of the first immigrants to set up residence in Santa Fe were actually Greek and that some of the best Mexican food in town is made by a Greek family-owned restaurant.
After walking back to the car, and having our photo taken with a burro, we head out to our hotel. We specifically picked Sunrise Springs Inn and Resort because it is out of town and seemed to be a bit of a rural retreat. We have gotten to that point in the trip where we need a holiday from the holiday.
We are a bit apprehensive about the place because of the reviews it has received on TripAdvisor. Most of the reviews were in agreement that it had the potential to be a really great place to stay. One other review called it an experience similar to The Shining. Both opinions turn out to be true.
We check in and then drive to our casita. There doesn’t appear to be anyone else staying here at all. But, the room/casita is huge and clean and peaceful. It is exactly what we are looking for.
After a bit of a chat with the hotel staff we find out that the GFC really took its toll on America. We have seen snippets of this all over the country. We have driven through Ghost Towns, where houses and businesses have just been abandoned. We have seen major parts of city left empty because no one had the money to spend to support business.
We are sad for the way things went in America but after talking to quite a few people about it, it seems that the general attitude was, rather than stick it out until things recover, to just drop and run. This seemed to have been the attitude that then left hundreds if not thousands of over-valued houses to banks to deal with in an economy that wasn’t buying. The chain effect was that everyone lost a lot because no one wanted to see it through. This is probably a very general view of what happened, but it was interesting talking to Americans about it and hearing their opinions.
Shining aside, we are happy in our little retreat and prepare to settle in for a couple of days holidaying from the holiday.
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