After a lovely sleep in we go in search of breakfast. We didn’t bother telling our hosts about our dietary requirements, thinking it would all be in the ‘too hard basket’. So on our first night, it is a bed only, not breakfast (our hosts are horrified that we didn’t tell them though and are now planning an elaborate vegetarian feast for tomorrow).
I have made a list of a few places where we can try and find food. The first place we stop is advertised as a vegan diner. It is exactly that, featuring classic breakfast items such as bagels with (vegan) cream cheese. Looks good, but we are hankering for something extra delicious - we have been spoilt in Flagstaff and have high expectations. Unfortunately we wander around the university area of Albuquerque for about an hour looking for the perfect vegetarian/vegan meal but fail to find anything. Hungry and in need of a coffee we stop in at the local ‘starbucks-like’ chain, Satellite Coffee.
After a morning of chilling out at the popular student hangout, we decide to wander around this part of town. I have read that there are cool shops and galleries near by.
There is a real Mexican mixed with Native American presence about Albuquerque. The culture seems to be a total mish-mash, resulting in a very colourful, creative and energetic scene.
We wander through galleries, shops, cafes and diners. The streets are full of art and creativity. I get a bit snap happy, shooting a texture here, a sign there etc.
And then it happens. We stumble into the greatest shop ever. It is a Mexican folk art superstore! Masks y Mas had skeletons celebrating the day of the dead, it had lucha libre masks (watch this present space brother-in-laws!); there were Frida Kahlo posters, magnets, shirts, dioramas; Mexican folk art pieces were hanging on every wall; this shop was paradise.
After circle the store about four times, I had picked up a few pieces - well aware of having to somehow get this stuff home. I think I was pretty reserved - I know I could have easily gone nuts and bought EVERYTHING!!!! BECAUSE I WOULD HAVE IT FOREVER etc. I settled on two beautiful folk art pieces, one was a gorgeous wooden cross covered in tokens/charms that asked for good luck, and a metal heart topped with a cross. I left the shop glowing. Marty left shaking his head.
After taking a few more texture/object photos we head back to our hotel room - not before being given a 'we will cut you' death stare by what looked like a gang of bikies having a meeting. I was in a snapping frenzy and took a photo of a sign that featured cool typography, not realising that just below the sign the gang was having what looked like an annual 'get together and decide whose turf is whose' meeting. After innocently clicking away, the death stares started. We noticed the anger and quickly got out of there. Massive note on this: For the record I did not photograph anyone! The universe must have been looking after us though, because a few metres up the road we bumped into a Hare Krishna devotee who was giving away books - we had a lovely chat, told him where we were from and walked the rest of the way to our car with a smile on our face. Freaked out crisis averted.
Once safely back in the comfortable retreat of our B&B, we settled in to an afternoon of yoga - full practice :)
Feeling rather proud of ourselves, we went in search of a vegetarian restaurant I had found online a few days earlier. It sounded very promising - the menu was mainly created using ayurvedic principles.
Annapurna delivered. The restaurant was so inviting. The smell of incense and ghee floated lightly inside the air-conditioned, cool cave. The staff were so welcoming and the food was delicious. We had kitcharee and a lassi, followed by a vegan pecan pie. Marty is still dreaming about this pie (6 weeks on!).
Our bellies full, we head back to the B&B and relax into the rest of our evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment