Reunion in Santa Fe
May 7th-10th
Santa Fe is the quaint capital of New Mexico as well as the home of two good friends of ours we met while living in Prague, Kristen and Joseph. Actually, we met Kristen in Prague and then Joseph came after. Kristen had warned me that it was a little tricky finding their house, and our GPS took us on a small adventure through some dirt roads lined with beautiful adobe homes. When we finally found their house, I was sure it was theirs…Buddhist prayer flags in the back and a cat staring out through the window.
The last time we had seen each other was almost six years in Prague and we had lots to catch up on. They had cold Pilsner Urquel (Czech beer) and snacks waiting for us so we sat and talked and met Domino, one of the cats. Fabien and I’ve spent a lot of time “just the two of us” over the last couple of months and it was great to talk about some of our experiences with others and to reminisce about the Prague days.
For dinner, we went to Maria’s, a Mexican restaurant. I had the blue corn enchiladas, a Southwestern specialty and a yummy margarita. It was Saturday night and the restaurant was packed. After dinner, we went for a stroll around the central plaza and some of the historic buildings. Joseph was born in Santa Fe and knows the city very well, particularly the art galleries, so he gave us the Joseph tour by night. It was great to be in a new place and not have to navigate ourselves.
After a late night on Saturday (anything past 10 is late for us now), we all slept in on Sunday morning. After breakfast, we took advantage of the pretty weather and went for a hike near Kristen and Joseph’s place. With our blood warmed up, we went to the Museum of International Folk Art, which had a great exhibit of folk art from around the world. We had fun trying to identify the countries in different exhibits. Back at home, Joseph whipped up some homemade guacamole before we went for drinks in the old town and out for another southwestern dinner.
On Monday, Fabien and I ventured out on our own for the day. We walked down to the plaza and visited the St. Francis Cathedral with its French stained glass windows. There were Native Americans selling jewelry and art in the plaza. We wandered up towards the old railway station (Fab’s dad is a train fanatic) so we always check out the trains and in to some used bookstores. For lunch, we ended up at a little cantina near the main plaza. We had a huge meal, with chili stew and posole, a Native American dish made of corn kernels. We were the last customers left in the restaurant after lunch, and the cook asked us where we were from. When Fabien told him he was from France, he told us in broken English that he plays football with some French guys, the kind you play with your feet and not with your hands. Apparently, he used to be a professional soccer player in Mexico. We talked with him for a while in a mix of Spanish and English. After lunch with we went to a the Oldest House, the oldest adobe style house in Santa Fe and the wandered up Canyon Road, with its myriad of art galleries (Joseph had actually worked in several of them as an art dealer.) We met up with Kristen at a tea shop where she was working on her memoir, which focuses a lot on her time living in Thailand and in the Czech Republic. I had a Cowboy chai to revive.
That evening, our last in Santa Fe, we went to “open mike” at a classic Spanish style bar/restaurant on Canyon Road. Kristen has been reading regularly there from her memoir. This evening she read the part from her first days in Prague, when we met. It was great to hear her work and to be reminded of that amazing time. She’s just a few months away from finishing, and I can’t wait to read the final work.
Our Santa Fe visit ended with breakfast at a real French bakery and cafe on Tuesday morning. A great send-off for a great stop.
Tags: BIG TRIP 2011, In English 2005-2006, New Mexico
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