Santa Fe Weekend

Trip date: April 2023

I had never been to New Mexico so I asked my friend Gail if she wanted to do a weekend in Santa Fe. We used one of my Alaska $99 Companion Fare certificates and flew in Premium class after work on a Thursday. Unfortunately our flight ended up being 1 ½ hours late; fortunately we both have access to the Amex Centurion Lounge at SeaTac. 

We flew into Albuquerque and while joking with the car rental agent at Alamo about getting an upgrade, their manager offered us a brand new Chevy convertible for the same price as our basic car. Nice!

It was about a 1 hour drive to the Marriott La Posada de Santa Fe. Gail had stayed here before and was excited about returning but when we checked into our room we were in a very old room with 2 Queens and a tiny bathroom. We had been upgraded to a room with a patio but the only place for my suitcase was in front of the patio door so we didn't use it. It was really too bad as the rest of the property looked pretty nice and many of the rooms had wood fireplaces! We were both disappointed.

Because of our flight delay, it was too late for dinner but we had a couple of nightcaps in the bar, which also had fireplaces burning the local piñon wood which smells incredible. 

The next morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel. New Mexico is known for their Christmas sauce, which is both red and green chili sauce on your enchilada's. It is absolutely delicious, and much spicier than I expected! Especially at breakfast!

On the agenda was a visit to Ten Thousand Waves spa. It's about 30 minutes outside of the city, situated up in the hills. We chose to park in the lower parking lot and walk up the 90 steps to the reception. 

Modeled after a traditional onsen, they offer public or private baths, and also a foot bath. There are also meditation rooms, a sauna, and a great gift shop. We soaked in the foot bath and then the public bath before each having a massage. The masseuses each had their own little rooms they worked out of. It was incredibly relaxing and we both loved our visit here!

Back in town we hit up Coyote Cafe for a late lunch of nachos and margaritas. So good!

Afterwards we walked around the corner to Gruet's tasting room. We had reservations, and it was a good thing as it filled up right after we arrived! The tasting room is beautiful and their sparkling wines are delicious. What a fun afternoon!

On our walk back to the hotel we stopped at Joe's Tequila Bar which is inside the Inn at the Alameda. I was quite impressed with their selection and their service. It was the first time I had tequila served with orange and cinnamon and I liked it!

On Saturday we started our day at The Teahouse where I had a huge breakfast burrito. Then we made the hour drive to Bandelier National Monument. Wow! What an incredible area this is! 

We took the Pueblo Loop Trail, which is very easy and takes you past the remains of an indigenous village that had about 400 people living in and near around it about 500 years ago. Walking through the ruins was awesome but you could really see the layout once you walked up into the hills a bit.

In these surrounding hills are over a thousand caves that were dug into the soft rock and used as dwellings. Many of them are accessible by ladder, all of them are super tiny inside!

As we continued along the trail there were areas with ancient petroglyphs. You barely had to search for them they were so obvious!

When we got to the Alcove trail we headed toward the large cave which is located 140 feet above the floor of Frijoles Canyon. It is believed that around 25 Ancestral Pueblo people lived here between 1250 and 1600 AD.

We decided to climb up. Eek! There are a series of 4 wooden ladders as well as some stone stairs. I'm not the best with heights (fear of falling!) and there were a lot of people but Gail was a great coach!

It was much harder coming down, for me anyway. My arms definitely got shaky and I had a little vertigo, but once you are up there, there isn't any other choice but to also climb down. I've never been in anything like it before and I was super glad we did it!

It was a stunning drive back to Santa Fe, cold and sunny, we had the top down and the heat cranked up!

Back in town we had another late lunch, this time outside at the Plaza Cafe. Afterwards we did some shopping at a few of the pottery galleries.

We decided to do a little happy hour cocktail crawl starting at Secreto which is inside the Hotel St. Francis.

Drinks were good and it's quite a fun vibe; they have a nice little patio also but it was full when we were there. We walked over to La Fonda and for another margarita before heading back to our hotel for some tacos. La Fonda is known for the bar up in their bell tower but it wasn't open for the season yet.

Sunday was Easter and we hadn't made any big brunch plans so we headed back to Plaza Cafe for a last enchiladas with Christmas sauce outside in the sun with mimosas.

We spent the rest of our day touring through some of the art galleries, shopping for chili powder, and checking out the Loretto Chapel and its mysterious staircase. Spoiler alert... it's a spiral staircase that reportedly was built by a mysterious carpenter, without anyone witnessing him. 

I was much more interested in going inside the Cathedral but as it was Easter weekend it was open for mass only. 

Before heading to the airport for our evening flight home, we drove to Happy Accidents cocktail bar in Albuquerque for one round. It's super fun, has a huge selection of tap cocktails, and a wonderfully nice staff. I highly recommend a stop if you are in the area!

It's an 8 minute drive to the airport from there. Easy peasy!

All New Mexico photos here. 

36 Hours in Marseille

 Trip date: September 2022

After a week in Paris, I headed south with my friends Forest and Cliodhna, for a little weekend in Marseille. Even though we had a 7:30 am train ( SO EARLY!) out of Gare du Lyon, I was excited to return to Marseille; my last visit had been in 2010! 

It's a very pretty 3 hour train trip down to the oldest city in France, and the weather was lovely. We brought mimosa makings on board and had a little breakfast picnic. Once we arrived at the main station it was an easy walk to our Airbnb in the Opera neighborhood, which is right near the old port. It was only 11am but we were able to leave our bags at the key pick up place until check in.

You don't go to Marseille without eating bouillabaisse and we were headed to the 70+ year old family restaurant Chez Fonfon to have ours for lunch. Fonfon is in the tiny port of Vallon des Auffes which is just a short Uber ride away. We somehow scored a very posh Cadillac SUV Uber that was decked out with party lights and leather pillows on the seats! Fancy! 

Bouillabaisse is serious business in these parts and there are traditions that are followed religiously by local chefs. Typically the dish must contain 4 species of fish, one must be the bony rockfish rascasse, and all fish must come from the Mediterranean Sea and caught that day. 

First, you are served a bowl of the broth, heavily flavored with saffron, which you eat with rouille, a spicy aioli which you spread on toasted bread and float on the bouillabaisse. Then they will bring you your cooked fish and more broth so you can have it all together. It's not the prettiest dish but oh my it is delicious!! 

After lunch, we walked around a bit and had some wine at a little bar overlooking the Mediterranean, watching the swimmers and sunbathers on the rocks. It was a lovely afternoon!

We headed back to check into our Airbnb and grab our luggage. The space was very pretty and the location was just perfect. We walked that evening to the speakeasy Carry Nation for cocktails.

This spot was a big hit with all of us. Sometimes speakeasies can be quite pretentious but the staff was wonderful and the drinks were great. Also the menu had a Ramos Gin Fizz on it, and if you put that on your menu I am 100% ordering it without apology.

It was a stunner!!

From here we headed to Copper Bay; a favorite of mine in Paris so I was very happy to check out their Marseille location. No surprise that the cocktails were fab!

The next morning we walked along the old port; the area has been spruced up quite a bit since my last visit, there's now a mirrored roof over the fish and flower vendors, lending an arty vibe. 

On the other side of the port there are lots of little kiosks selling local products and souvenirs. It's all very cute and bustling. And right across the street was our lunch destination, La Caravelle

Inside the adorable old bistro, we scored a window table with incredible views of the cathedral across the harbor. Pastis was ordered, and rosé, and we had an absolutely wonderful lunch. My salad of melons, feta, jambon, and olives was crazy good and only €15!

After lunch we continued our walk all the way to the end of the port to the Saint John Fort and the MuCEM (Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée). Walking on the ramparts around the fort give you amazing views of the city in all directions. 

Once you've made your way around you'll see the MuCEM, it's an absolutely stunning building! We didn't go inside but we walked across the (high and slightly scary) bridge and had a drink on their terrace. 

This is a great walk! Highly recommend!

From here we walked back through the port area of town and made our way to the Intercontinental/ Hotel Dieu. It's a gorgeous grand old hotel and Capian Bar turns out very delicious martinis. 

We chose to have ours on the terrace with another great view of the cathedral. It's really a beautiful spot for a drink.

The entire weekend had been very sunny and warm but as we walked back to our Airbnb the skies turned dark and the wind kicked up. It was pretty dramatic!

That evening we had a very good dinner at Ourea, a charming neighborhood restaurant filled with locals. 5 courses for €52! 

As we were finishing dinner a MASSIVE rainstorm happened! The streets started flooding and Forest and I remembered a similar night in New Orleans years ago! Even though our apartment was just blocks away, there was no way we were braving that in our dresses and heels! Thanks Uber! Our walking in Marseille was officially over.

We had a few nightcaps back at ours and said our goodbyes to Cliodhna as Forest and I had a 9am flight to Corsica the next morning and would be out the door quite early.

I had been wanting to go back to Marseille for years, in fact Forest and I originally had a trip scheduled in May of 2020... we know how that went. It was so good to be back and so fun to be with these two lovely ladies! 

All Marseille photos here.

Other posts from this trip:

Paris For Free

Paris by the Numbers 

(Michelin) Stars in Paris

Exploring Corsica

Sky High Vail

Trip date: April 2020

When a friend with a house in Vail say's "come visit", the only correct answer is yes! I'd never been to Vail, hadn't seen my friend in years due to the fact that he lives in Australia and Covid, and was more than happy to get away for a weekend with friends!

Another friend Gail, decided to go as well so we used her Alaska Airlines companion fare. Unfortunately Alaska was having lots of staffing issues at the time and our flight got canceled a few days prior. I was able to call and get them to reschedule us on United for the same price but the different schedule meant we had a while to wait for our transfer from Denver airport to Vail. Luckily my Priority Pass covered us in one of the restaurants so we just did a little work with some wine.

The cost to fly into Eagle County Regional was ridiculous so we booked a shuttle with Epic Mountain Express which runs from DEN to Vail and other surrounding destinations. It's a 2 hour drive through the mountains and we were very happy to let someone else navigate the snowy roads. There was another couple in the SUV with us and we all decided since we were vaccinated that we were ok going mask free for the ride making it much more comfortable. 

It had taken a whole day to get out to the mountains! Our friend David met us at the transfer drop off and we headed to Deca+Bol for drinks and dinner. Deca is a nice bar/restaurant connected to Bol, which is a very swanky bowling alley. Very fun and delicious!

It was the last weekend that the ski resort was open, but none of us were skiing. Instead we spent the first day exploring Vail village. We also spent it trying to catch our breath!! I hadn't realized that Vail is 8150 feet in elevation. That is higher than Machu Picchu by over 1,000 feet! We were all really feeling it, even just going up and down the steps in the house!

It was a gorgeous day in the village, perfect for walking around in the warm spring weather. We had a pretty good lunch at Segundo Mexican and took a break from shopping for some wine on the patio at Pepi's. 

One of the better shops in the village is the high end western store Kemo Sabe. They have a pretty incredible selection of hats made specifically for them by Stetson as well as boots, clothing, and jewelry. David found a gorgeous new hat that they branded with his initials and I left semi in love with a diamond necklace. Definitely not a typical western wear shop!

We continued with some wine in the hot tub back at the house; such great views of the surrounding mountains from their deck! That night we had an excellent dinner at Slope Room. All our dishes were cooked perfectly, the wine list was great, and they even brought out a special dessert for David who's birthday had been earlier in the week.

After dinner we headed to the Four Seasons to check out their cocktail bar Remedy. It was incredibly basic and the bartender didn't have much of a clue about anything other than vodka or gin and tonic. Not recommended. 

The next day David drove to us to Beaver Creek Village to do some exploring. First up was Golden Eagle for lunch where I had some excellent elk tacos! I thought this village seemed even nicer with its outdoor fire pits, lots of public seating, and sculptures dotting the property. We did a bit more shopping before heading back to the house for wine and hot tubbing.

Before we went to dinner I decided I wanted to buy the necklace at Kemo Sabe so I texted the sales guy and arranged to stop in. When we arrived he invited us upstairs to their private bar for a few drinks! 

We had a great time at our little private happy hour! If you aren't in the market for expensive jewelry, the upstairs is able to be rented out for private parties. It's a cool space filled with taxidermy, antiques, and booze!

Dinner afterwards at Mountain Standard was very fun and delicious. But the gem of the night ended up being King's Club! As there were no Ubers to be found, we ducked into the Sonnenalp Hotel to have them call us a taxi. When they said it would be a while we grabbed seats at the bar and were treated to some live music, and great people watching!

I'd definitely head back here and make a full night of it next time! 

What a relaxing and fun weekend catching up with David and having him introduce us to a place he absolutely loves! Gail and I caught our Epic shuttle the next morning for our ride back to Denver. This time we were in a minivan packed like sardines; not a pleasant trip. But the scenery heading over Vail Pass, at elevation 10,666 feet, was stunning and I was very happy not to be driving!

We had Premium Class flights on Alaska Air on our way home, and half way through the flight they announced that the mask mandate was over. An end to Covid? Obviously not, but at least progress!

All photos from Vail here. 

PDX Post Covid Weekend

Trip date: March 2022

A full year after the start of the Covid pandemic, I had purchased tickets to see Chelsea Handler at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, and invited my friend Elisabeth to come with me. She lives in Portland and since we only get to see each other a couple of times a year we decided to make a full weekend of it. Roadtrip!

Sleeping: 

We stayed at the Marriott Bidwell Hotel which used to be called the Marriott City Center. Newly remodeled, our double queen bed room was very large and had a modern Scandinavian/ hipster Portland feel to it. The hotel has a little shop in the lobby which sells snacks, wine, and souvenirs. Parking is $45 a night so I left my car at Elisabeth's. The Marriott charges $25 a day for god-only-knows-why but they also give you $25 food/beverage credit to use at their 2nd floor bar/restaurant called the High Horse. We just had rosé and a shrimp cocktail during happy hour (which was very good) but others around us had cocktails and seemed very happy with them. 

I really liked this "new" Marriott and would definitely stay here again, the location especially can't be beat!

Seeing:

Besides attending the Chelsea Handler show, which was excellent, Elisabeth took me to the Lan Su Chinese Gardens. I didn't even know these gardens existed! It was a 10 minute walk from our hotel, and once we entered the gates I felt a world away! 

We had tea and veggie steamed bao while sitting outside next to the pond; surrounded by so many gorgeous plants and trees. It was really lovely with everything just starting to bloom in the warm spring sun. 

We also took in an awesome exhibit of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at the PAM. I have always found this museum to have excellent touring exhibits that are very in-depth. 

There were two floors of work from Frida, Diego, various friends and colleagues, outlining both of their careers and their relationship. It was super informational and really well done.

Almost everything was from the collection of Jacques and Natasha Gilman who were not just collectors but personal friends of Kahlo/Diego. The exhibit included paintings, photographs, sketches, and even some clothing. It's a wonderful collection if you see it touring near you I'd grab tickets!

Eating:

I was super happy to revisit some places and to try new-to-me spots. 

Tucked inside of Kachka, is the more casual eatery Lavka. For lunch you enter upstairs in the grocery/deli and order with the cashier. The menu is almost the same but smaller. We both had shots (of course!), pelini and then shared a delicious dark chocolate spread on toast. And we picked up some fun items from the shop!

Elisabeth introduced me to the absolutely lovely restaurant Coquine in the Mount Tabor neighborhood. Dinner was a 4-course menu that was very seasonal PNW and had thoughtful wine pairings. My main of braised lamb shank on a bed of spiced cauliflower was fantastic and served with a 2008 Tempranillo. 

Drinks and dinner at Eem was maybe the highlight of my weekend. This spot gets lots of love from locals, our Uber driver was very excited that we were going here, and for good reason. The food rocks!

We had mushroom friend rice and then I had the white curry with burnt ends. Holy hell! Those flavors are haunting! I feel like I need that curry again as I write this!!

I was really looking forward to brunch at Lazy Susan, but I have to say it was a complete mess. Maybe they were short staffed but it was almost comical at how bad the service was and how inconsistent the dishes were. YMMV.

Drinking:

Portland is always a hotbed of cocktail bars and post pandemic was no exception! I had big plans to get back to a few personal favorites but that didn't happen because of the new spots that held our attention. 

Finding Voysey was no easy feat but that was half the fun. Inside of Loyal Legion beer bar we made our way to the back where we found an unmarked stairwell and followed in down. 

We were able to sit up at the bar and absolutely loved our two rounds of cocktails. I'd say most of the drinks were pretty spirit forward, which is my preferred style, but the menu was super well rounded and had some interesting new-to-me products.

At Eem we had absolutely delicious tiki inspired drinks while we waited for our table. We had these outside in semi-private booths each with their own gas fire pit.

Over at Scotch Lodge in Southeast Portland, Elisabeth and I both felt as if we had gone to heaven in Tommy Klus' (of Multnomah Whiskey Library) den of whiskey. There's a massive list, from very approachable to incredibly rare, that you can order by the glass. And there's also a fantastic cocktail menu (not all are whiskey based). 

Additionally Scotch Lodge has delicious food, is in a super sexy space, and has Instagramable wallpaper. I mean, what else could you want?

Portland never disappoints and this time was no exception! 

All Portland photos here.