Old Town

Friday, October 14…

By law, the vendors must actually
create what they sell.

Today began with a routine Walmart run. (Well, not completely routine - I bought 24 Halloween cards for grandkids because we won’t be hosting our annual pumpkin carving/chili feast.) Later in the morning, though, we drove into Albuquerque Old Town. After a few minutes of mindless wandering (Greg had printed a map but not the accompanying list identifying the 70 or so venues), we settled on a La Placita for lunch and were quite pleased with our entree choices. I also liked the history of the place. The original home, which featured an inner courtyard (placita), was constructed before 1880, with many later additions. In the 1930s it became a restaurant, La Placita Dining Rooms (all those additions). Despite multiple dining rooms, there are only 2 small restrooms, and the women’s is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a young girl that appears in the mirror. Apparently an owner’s little girl died in this room (a bedroom then) during the late 1880s.

Tummies full, we re-entered the main plaza. Greg slipped into a little shop to pick up some postcards. I followed, and by the time we left we'd spent more on "stuff" than we had on lunch. To be fair, we have NOT spent much at all on "stuff" over the previous 9 months, but I still felt a little irresponsible. (It gets worse.) The next half hour or so we spent in the park enjoying local dancers of all ages. (I also met and chatted with 2 separate women from Maryland, one of whom attended college in my childhood hometown - what are the odds?) After the music we found a great little ice cream shop, then an art gallery (where I made another purchase), and a Celtic shop where I bought Death by Haggis, a novel with a very interesting genesis. (This "purchase" was actually a freebie cuz I used old gift cards. 😄)

Shops on the fringe of Old Town

Blue Bicycle Chain Torso
(Please admire. Do not touch.)

(I think Greg found this old Rat Rod more interesting than the blue torso.)

Youngest dancers - they were delightful.

Having mentioned freeways as a negative,
I must confess that the terra cotta
interchanges are really quite attractive.

BlogThought... I wish everyone could have a chance to experience the Balloon Fiesta, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Old Town today. But Albuquerque is a big city with major freeways crisscrossing it, half a dozen Walmarts, and not a lot of trees. I like Santa Fe much better. (However, I suspect the SF atmosphere comes with a much higher price tag.)  






As promised, here are a couple more of yesterday's balloons.