Wednesday in Santa Fe started off sunny and cool, by the standards of a desert dweller, but a beautiful day! By now we have internet access at the house so decide to have coffee there and start our explorations at lunch time. I still need a map! Leslie takes me on a driving tour around the newly renovated train station where we stopped for lunch at the Railyard restaurant. It turned into another cool, rainy afternoon. From what I’m told this time of year the weather can be in the mid 90s so I guess we’re pretty lucky. By early evening the rain had cleared and we headed to Amavi a beautiful restaurant tucked away on a little side street. Just so happens that Leslie’s son works there! We had a wonderful Yukon gold and leek soup and shared the shrimp appetizer. That, with the basket of assorted fresh breads was a perfect dinner and on Wednesdays bottles of wine are half price! After dinner there was time for a brisk walk around the plaza where Leslie pointed out more great restaurants, shops and historic buildings:

Origins — original clothing on San Francisco Street,

The Sleeping Dog Tavern – another Gerald Peter’s spot,

American Country Collection — great looking outdoor furniture, but always new stuff

Collected Works Bookstore – expanding and moving into the old location of Foreign Traders

The Plaza Cafe -  great old fashioned diner on the plaza

We made our way over to La Fonda for music and dancing. On Wednesday and Thursday nights the Bill Hearne band plays and it is theplace for 2-steppin’. I’m not much of a dancer but my friend is and she was pointing out the finer points of 2-steppin and the ones that were particularly good, which it turns out was most of them as long as I was not on the floor! Just to give you an idea of how kind and tolerant Santa Feans are I was actually asked to dance a few times!

It’s “only”  been about 4 1/2 years since I’ve been to Santa Fe as a tour coordinator. Driving up Route 25 I realized just how much Santa Fe had expanded, however once we got into old Santa Fe I assumed that I would be able to orient myself without too much difficulty. Ummm, not exactly. While old Santa Fe has not changed much, seeing it as the tourist is much different than “seeing  it ” while taking care of a tour group. Thank goodness for Leslie but I need a map to help me get my bearings.

When you travel how do you go about finding the great local eateries, shops, galleries that are the real soul of a city or town, especially if you don’t know someone who lives there? When groups go to Scottsdale they can arrange with my company, Ultimate Art & Cultural Tours for in-depth tours and workshops but, to the best of my knowledge, most towns don’t have anything like that. Fortunately I’ve got my own personal guide.

So here are some great local finds for the next time you travel to the lovely town of Santa Fe.

We got into town late Monday and opted for dinner at the Shed with Leslie’s son. Very good Mexican food and margaritas! They were also very accommodating when I told them I was a sissy and didn’t want it very spicy.

For good free wi fi and inexpensive, good casual breakfast, our first morning we went to the Santa Fe Baking Company. You can sit there as long as you’d like doing computer stuff. Due to multiple technological traumas of our own doing we were there for breakfast and by the time we left the lunch crowd was thinning out! Later that day I was given a private drive around town while we ran errands and such, best way in the world to really experience a town! Then we walked around the historic plaza, in the rain, checking out the best local clothing, shoe and antique shops. Leslie also showed me the  historic La Fonda  Hotel, where the “Santa Fe Trail Ends”. This was a Harvey House was designed by Mary Coulter  the same architect who designed the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon as well as other Harvey Houses.  Downtown Santa Fe is very walker friendly. We walked from the square down to Del Charro at the historic Inn of the Governors where we “found” (Leslie knew about this) nicely priced, ok cheap, appetizers and drinks that were plenty for dinner. From there Leslie took me to another one of her favorite spots, Rio Chama Steakhouse for a night cap. This is definitely one place that unless you know about it, you’re not going to easily find it. It is right on the Old Santa Fe Trail. There is a little sign over an arched opening which you walk through back to this restaurant and beautiful bar where it seems everyone knows the bartender, Rob. End day one.

Ace Bailey