Recovery Day

 

We took things slowly on Day One of the trip being as we were still very much recovering from the wedding and jetlag. The day consisted mostly of sleeping and eating. After waking up and having some great espresso we made some plans for the week, starting with a trip to Santa Fe Brewing Company. I don't recall that either of us has had their beer before, so we weren't sure what to expect. When we arrived we asked if they served flights, got a blank stare, and then ordered a “sampler” of all their beers. We were impressed! Our favorites were the heffeweizen, the pale ale, and the blonde. We also enjoyed a delicious and very cheese-heavy lunch; it was not as spicy as last night's green salsa pizza and as such was not a step up the spicy-ladder for Jason.

After the brewery we headed to Trader Joe's to get some milk and cereal for the week. This experience was not unlike Trader Joe's in Philly but with more room and a ton of wine and liquor. The City Different! We enjoyed ourselves very much.

In the afternoon we went to see The Guardians because of our love for owls. We thought we were seeing it in 3-D, but we were wrong. The movie was a bizarre mix of several stories and was essentially Lord of the Rings and Avatar acted out by some cute owls. It was pretty OK.

Then it was time to eat again! We went to El Farol, as Spanish tapas restaurant very close to our condo. We are coming to recognize Santa Fe as a great food city; this place was exceptionally delicious. We got a great bottle of a Torrontes/Chardonnay blend and started with a pear and idiazabal (Basque sheep's milk cheese) salad with a sherry and pine nut dressing. Then a delicious bleu cheese with honey and marcona almonds and a lightly fried avocado half with a lime cream and salsa sauce, our favorite of the dishes. Even though we were already feeling a bit full we then moved on to a soft and grainy goat's milk cheese with flat bread, roasted peppers, asparagus, and olives. Finally we had parmesan crusted artichoke hearts with lemon caper butter. Luckily we had walked to the restaurant so we had a bit of a walk home after all that eating.

The city is very quiet and also very dark, and it is beautiful and quiet at night. We walked home past many small homes on one paved and one dirt road and could see hundreds of stars. The walk was reminiscent of our quiet walks home in the Costa Rican town of Monteverde. Before falling asleep we heard a pack of coyotes hunting in the distance. We fell asleep excited for another day of exploring.