FAUST, DUCK AND A JAPANESE CHIN

The next three days were very busy ones. We went to the Hotel de Santa Fe to pick up our friends from home, Wanda and Morrie. They had taken the shuttle from Albuquerque and this was the drop off point.

After we picked them up, we immediately headed for The Shed for an enchilada fix. After lunch, we went to our little casita so they could get unpacked and we could discuss plans for their visit.
Our good friends from Dallas, Ann and Walter, had invited us out to their Santa Fe home that evening for wine. They are always such gracious hosts. While Wanda and Ann were getting acquainted,

the boys were discussing what they thought were more important matters, such as golf, fine wine and basketball.

Wanda's best new friend was Lucy, a Japanese Chin, who always comes to Santa Fe with Ann and Walter.

She is the sweetest little dog that you'd ever want to meet. I fell in love with her the first time I met her. If they every find her missing, they'll know where to look!
We had a lovely dinner at Andiamo and were back home around 10:00. Frank built a fire in the fireplace at our condo and we visited a while before we went to bed. I'm sure they were very tired. Traveling always does that to me.

We were up bright and early the next morning. We went to the pastry shop in the La Fonda for breakfast and then went to the Plaza so Wanda and Morrie could shop. They had certain items in mind, so we left them on their own so they could search for Santa Fe treasures (and there are always an abundance of those!) Our first stop of the morning was the Wine Shop in Sena Plaza.

Morrie is a wine connoisseur , so he picked out several bottles of wonderful wine for us to share while they were there. Believe me, when their visit was over, there wasn't a drop left!
While we were still in Sena Plaza, we went to the candy store there. You have never seen as many different elaborate presentations for candy in your life. They were all wonderful and it was really a feast for your eyes as well as your palate!

When I was in Santa Fe a couple of years ago, we were in this same plaza and I decided to go and look in the candy store. I saw a lovely, tall blonde woman with an adorable little girl go inside, so I decided to follow them and see just what the interest was. When I got to the door, this gentleman who was inside opened the door for me and I suddenly realized that I was face to face with Ben Kingsley! He was in the store buying this child a sweet treat.

He is a British actor and is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor.
I have always been a huge fan of his and for once in my life, I was speechless. Suddenly I blurted out, "I saw you on "Inside the Actor's Studio" last week and you were wonderful. It's not often that I'm at a loss for words, but I was then. He graciously thanked me, kissed my hand and left. I thought I was going to faint!
That evening they treated us to dinner at The Compound, which is a very exclusive restaurant on Canyon Road.

Our meal was indescribable! We started with champagne and then had wonderful wines which complimented our meal. I had halibut which was on a bed of mashed potatoes that had to have at least a stick of butter with garlic in the one portion. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Frank had duck that absolutely melted in your mouth!

The Sommelier introduced us to this amazing wine which is made in Napa California at the Faust vineyard. It was a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a very special bottle of wine and had an amazing flavor. It was like drinking silk.

After we finished our meal, we asked the the waiter to take our photograph so I could record this memorable evening. As you can see, we were all very happy and full of delicious food. It was an evening that will be long remembered.

The next day they continued on their shopping trek and we met them for lunch at Santa Cafe. This has always been one of our favorite places to eat in Santa Fe that isn't Mexican food.

We had a very good lunch and then I decided to be really bad and ordered warm double chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a hot chocolate sauce on it. It was to die for!

Being the wine connoisseur that he is, Morrie passed on dessert and drank the rest of his wine. I think perhaps mine was the better choice since I love chocolate :-)

Wanda has a friend who lives in Santa Fe part time and we went to see his house on the Old Santa Fe Trail. It is nestled on several acres and is a lovely place.

This is the view that he has from one of his decks. It was an amazing home.

We had the combination to the gate, so we were able to see the outside of the house and the grounds which were exquisite. I can only imagine what they would look like in the summer when everything is in bloom.

Since the owner was out of town, we didn't get to go inside, but we did manage to sneak a peek through the windows. I'm not called "Nosy Rosie" for nothing!

He also has what I would call an outside home as well. There were many portals which were completely furnished as living rooms and even a kitchen. You could literally live outdoors.

One wonderful thing about Santa Fe is that the weather is such that you can do this. It's much too hot and humid to do this is Texas!
Before they left for Texas, we managed to have two more enchilada fixes. The last night we ate at Maria's where Frank had me birthday party 2 years ago. the food was still as good as it was then and Morrie said that it was the best Mexican food he had ever had. They are famous for their Margaritas, so of course, we had to sample those as well.

All in all, it was the perfect time spent with friends. The accomplished their shopping mission, we visited lots of galleries and looked at fine art, and their last morning, we sat around the fireplace, drank coffee and ate almond croissants. I hope that their visit to Santa Fe was as enjoyable for them as it was for us.
We have one more day in Santa Fe before we leave for Raton. Stay tuned!
XOXO, Pcasso