We stayed in a house that my lovely mother found. This couple has two houses in Santa Fe. One they rent out and one they live in. We ended up staying in the one they live in because they were on vacation. And a funny development as of today, the couple was actually in Boerne, TX today and called my mom to ask her some questions. How random is that?
It was a pretty legit house and is conveniently located within walking distance on downtown. Here is a virtual tour of part of it:
The greatest part about the house was on the outside it didn't look like anything special. Seriously, you had to drive down a dirt alley to get there and it is surrounded by other adobe houses that look very unkempt. You would never guess that you were about to enter a million dollar home. So fantastic. Here is a pic of part of downtown. Literally all of the buildings look like this:
living room/kitchen
back patio. Fire place to the left of the pic
We met up with some great family friends, The Foersters, for the entire trip. Every day consisted of sleeping, some form of shopping, walking alot, people watching in the square downtown, and then stuffing our faces with mexican food every evening. It was wonderful.
New Mexico is just that, a newer Mexico with some Native American traditions mixed in. I used to thank it was the strangest place ever. I still think that but I have also come to appreciate it. Turquoise, tourists, adobe, dirt streets, and mexican food are a wonderful combination.
Christmas Eve we made reservations at 3 different restaurants before finally deciding on a 9:30pm at an Italian restaurant I have already forgotten the name of. Before dinner we walked down a street with about 30,000 other people looking at christmas lights and other things. The restaurant ended up being unbelievably fantastic. We also had free entertainment because and elderly lady who was apparently a regular had enjoyed several glasses of wine and was telling lots of stories with elaborate hand gestures. When she left she apparently wrote a note for her waiter and a waitress read it out to the entire restaurant. It was awesome.
Christmas day consisted of the usual presents and brunch. Then lots of laying around the house. Right before sunset we all hiked up to the spot my parents were engaged at about 14 years ago. They hadn't been there since. A special family moment.
The happy couple
It was so nice to be in a place where we could all walk where ever we wanted. It was also fun to be there with The Foersters. They are some of the funnest/greatest people I know and always bring the good times.
Santa Fe is also the land of turquoise. I have never been a huge fan but I like to look at it and I even walked away with a nice ring. People come from miles around to set up shop on the sidewalk to sell their goods.
The people watching in Santa Fe was my absolute favorite. You could sit in the square for hours and watch children, homeless people, sweet old couples, engaged couples, rowdy teens, japanese tourists, lumberjacks, indian chiefs, and much much more. Some seriously good stuff. I wish I had had a camera to document it all.
Our last night in town we decided to build a fire in the outdoor fireplace and smoke cigars in honor of our last night in crazy New Mexico. We being my dad, my sister Mary, me, and Shelton Foerster. So we did. It was a special moment really. My dad gets a kick out of smoking an occasional cigar with me and I love it too. I'm a sucker for a good cigar. Definitely a great way to end the trip.
I am now back in Boerne, TX eating as much Tex Mex as I can get my hands on and enjoying the 70 degree weather. One thing about coming back is the more you are away the more you appreciate the things you knew you always loved but you didn't know how much you actually liked them.
Here's to family!
(not the best pic ever but you get it..)
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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