Today we took a drive down south to Albuquerque. It’s a large city, with an historic “Old Town” featuring a grand old church, surrounded by several blocks of adobe structures hundreds of years old. Like Santa Fe, the Old Town buildings are filled with art galleries, shops and restaurants. We wandered around some of the galleries and shops. Many have a tourist feel, with lots of Route 66 memorabilia. About the only nod to Breaking Bad, an AMC television hit, was a couple of shops had pork pie hats, Walter’s hat of choice for his Heisenberg alter ego.

We strolled across the central square, being guarded by a couple of 12 pound mountain howitzers, a relic of the Civil War. When the Confederates out of Texas invaded New Mexico, they brought these guns with them. After a defeat, the Texans retreated, and buried the guns near the church. Twenty-seven years later, a Major Teel, who led the Texans, returned to Albuquerque to show where he had buried them. Recently restored and placed in “Mountain Carriages” they now guard the square from marauding tourists.

The Church of San Felipe de Neri was founded in 1706. A flood wiped out part of the church and it was rebuilt with five foot thick adobe walls to prevent any further flood problems. It’s still in use, hosting services many times a week. The interior looks much more modern than the Cathedral in Santa Fe. There are no impressive stain glass windows, but it has an impressive feel to it anyway.

We only stayed a few hours, and didn’t explore the modern Albuquerque much. We drove over to the University of New Mexico, looking for their iconic entry statues, but we couldn’t find them! Drove all over the campus, but no luck. (Turns out I was confused – they are actually at UNM in Taos!)

On the road back to Santa Fe we stopped into a couple of pueblos, but neither allowed photos to be taken. We found Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument on Cochiti Native Indian land. It’s a strange world, with oddly formed “tent-like” rock formations. It’s in the desert, with posted warnings to be ware of rattlesnakes! We hiked up the trail and saw pretty spectacular views. It takes a couple of hours, but a neat walk into the desert.

I have to mention dinner. We went to a Spanish tapas restaurant called El Meson in Old Town Santa Fe. It was one of the best meals we’ve had in a long long time. Wonderful wonderful food. A delightful hostess. A terrific waiter, knowledgeable and helpful. Very nice live music. A magnificent experience.