New Mexico: Land of Enchantment
It was a good start for 2013 for me since I was asked to go to Albuquerque New Mexico for a business trip. I was happy since unlike my business trip last 2009 where I was alone, I was travelling 7 other people from our office. Being my usual self, I finished packing for the trip the morning I was about to leave. My plan as to stay awake all night so that I'll be so tired, I'll just sleep throughout the trip. Well quite didn't work out that way although I was able to get enought rest. The flight to Albuquerque was a little delayed and we arrived around 8PM already. Being winter still, it was chilly weather.
The first that I did was to shop. We were given a clothing allowance so might as well use it already. I was missing 1 more slacks anyways so that gave me enough reason to go. One of the bigger and popular malls in Albuquerque was Coronado Center. There, apart from the retails stores, you have Kohl's, Sears, Macy's and JC Penney. They also have a foodcourt to satisfy your hunger after a busy day of shopping. Popular shops include Banana Republic, Hollister, Forever 21, Aeropostale, G by Guess, American Eagle and Coach.
On our first weekend, Gracey and I decided to check out Old Town. Our friends from the office Tanya and Cassie were kind enough to show us around the place and give us a walking tour. It was a cold day so after that, we decided to go inside Tanya's car and just tour the place by car. It was a fun since we had a lot of fun just talking and seeing the city in the comfort of a heated car. We stopped by the Sandia peak entrance and took some pictures. After which, we ended the day with some good 'ol New Mexican food care of Sadies. The portions were big and we were advised to put our chili on the side so that we can control the amount of spicy in our food. New Mexican cooking is hot!
The next day, Gracey, Margo and I decided to check out ABQ uptown mall. I liked the place because it was an open space mall with nice shops. We thought that the place opens at 10AM, but they open at 11AM. It was another cold day so we passed the time with some coffee at Starbucks. The shops are a little limited but it did include an Apple store, Mac and Gap. I got dad a nice shirt from The North Face, gor some good deals at Coldwater Creek, necklaces for my sister and mom and a good deal at Talbots and got mom a silk scarf. We ate at the Elephant Bar and Grill and it was a delicous lunch. After, we went back to Coronado for more shopping before capping the day at TJ Maxx for some more shopping, hahaha.
On my 2nd weekend, I visited my sister in Illinois since I haven't seen her in 3 years. last time we saw each other was 2010 when we had our vacation in California. Read about it here -
On our last Saturday, Gracey, Margo and I scheduled a trip to Santa Fe, mostly to visit the outlet mall. The trip will take an hour or so from Albuquerque to Santa Fe using the train. We planned on taking the first trip going there, but due to the taxi picking us late at the hotel, we were 8 minutes late for the train. As a result we just headed downtown first to do some sight seeing and catch the afternoon train from there. Since it was a Saturday at 9AM, the place was almost deserted. It was a cold morning so we decided we'll just hang-out at Nick's Crossroads cafe. Good friends and good conversation over coffee really passes up the time. Before we knew it, it was almost time for lunch, so we wandered around a couple of blocks before getting lunch at Q burger, which serves designer burgers. As expected, the serving was big (1/3 pound burger) so it took a while for me to finish my food. After lunch we waited for the train and we were on our way to Santa Fe.
The sceneries were nice and you can see the mountains and open areas of new Mexico. After an hour and a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. Ofcourse, first thing we did was take pictures and head out to the visitors information center and ask. We were advised that to get to the outlet, we needed to take the bus then ride a cab so it'll be cheaper. It was in the nick of time that we were able to catch the bus, and the good thing is that our train ticket can be used at the bus so we rode for free. The last stop of the bus was a mall and from there we took a cab. It was about 5PM already when we reached the outlets so we had 2 more hours to shop before it closed. The mall was small but it did have the popular brands one might look for: Ralph Lauren, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Guess and Coach. Within 2 hours, I was able to buy Nike shoes for dad and myself, Bass sandals for mom, polo from Ralph Lauren, accessories from Guess, Bags at Tommy Hilfiger and my mom's bag and my wallet at Coach. We were I guess the last ones shopping and it was a good thing that the cab was already there waiting for us. Instead of still taking a bus, we just had the cab bring us to the train station since we were tired and we had a lot of stuff. We were supposed to eat dinner at a restaurant near the station but since there was a 45 minute wait time, we just decided to wait for the train and head back to Albuquerque. The ride back was very dark since there were no lights at the open spaces except for the light that the train had. We got back around 9PM already and immediately crashed to bed.
The next day, I planned on doing some returns/exchanges to some items that I bought at TJ Maxx and Ross and cap the day at Sandia peak. At around 4PM, B picked us up at the hotel to bring us to Sandia. We were all excited since it was our last weekend and we were looking forward to the trip. We planned on going to the top at sunset and see the sun come down on the city. The ride will cost $20 and you can pick any of the schedules which are 15 minutes apart. Initially it was scary being suspended hundreds of feet about the ground but after that, it was just awesome. There is a guide with you at the trip that gives an overview of the place as well as interesting facts. I was just awed at the height that we were at. I was equally excited to have seen wild deer (or goat) run at the mountain. When we reached the top, to our dismay, there was an overcast so we can't really see below because of the thick clouds. Other than that, it was just cold and snow kept on blowing on our faces. To keep warm, we headed to the High Finance restaurant to get some nachos and drinks. After tha we braved the cold and the snow to take some more pictures. After an hour or so, we headed back down. Although we didn't see the sundet, we wree still happy. Going down and going past the thick clouds, were were happy to see the city lights of Albuquerque, it was very pretty.
To cap of our trip, we spent our last night at ABQ Uptown mall with B. Since it was a Friday night, there were a lot of people eating out. We decided to have reservations at both the Elephant Bar and Grill and at Bravo. We had drinks at the Elephant Bar while waiting and it was fun. Like what I mentioned earlier in my blog, good friends and good conversations over drinks is always fun. After a few 10 - 15 minutes, we headed out to Bravo since they were calling us already. Bravo is a very nice Italian restaurant and we enjoyed the food as well as each others company.
The first that I did was to shop. We were given a clothing allowance so might as well use it already. I was missing 1 more slacks anyways so that gave me enough reason to go. One of the bigger and popular malls in Albuquerque was Coronado Center. There, apart from the retails stores, you have Kohl's, Sears, Macy's and JC Penney. They also have a foodcourt to satisfy your hunger after a busy day of shopping. Popular shops include Banana Republic, Hollister, Forever 21, Aeropostale, G by Guess, American Eagle and Coach.
On our first weekend, Gracey and I decided to check out Old Town. Our friends from the office Tanya and Cassie were kind enough to show us around the place and give us a walking tour. It was a cold day so after that, we decided to go inside Tanya's car and just tour the place by car. It was a fun since we had a lot of fun just talking and seeing the city in the comfort of a heated car. We stopped by the Sandia peak entrance and took some pictures. After which, we ended the day with some good 'ol New Mexican food care of Sadies. The portions were big and we were advised to put our chili on the side so that we can control the amount of spicy in our food. New Mexican cooking is hot!
The next day, Gracey, Margo and I decided to check out ABQ uptown mall. I liked the place because it was an open space mall with nice shops. We thought that the place opens at 10AM, but they open at 11AM. It was another cold day so we passed the time with some coffee at Starbucks. The shops are a little limited but it did include an Apple store, Mac and Gap. I got dad a nice shirt from The North Face, gor some good deals at Coldwater Creek, necklaces for my sister and mom and a good deal at Talbots and got mom a silk scarf. We ate at the Elephant Bar and Grill and it was a delicous lunch. After, we went back to Coronado for more shopping before capping the day at TJ Maxx for some more shopping, hahaha.
On my 2nd weekend, I visited my sister in Illinois since I haven't seen her in 3 years. last time we saw each other was 2010 when we had our vacation in California. Read about it here -
On our last Saturday, Gracey, Margo and I scheduled a trip to Santa Fe, mostly to visit the outlet mall. The trip will take an hour or so from Albuquerque to Santa Fe using the train. We planned on taking the first trip going there, but due to the taxi picking us late at the hotel, we were 8 minutes late for the train. As a result we just headed downtown first to do some sight seeing and catch the afternoon train from there. Since it was a Saturday at 9AM, the place was almost deserted. It was a cold morning so we decided we'll just hang-out at Nick's Crossroads cafe. Good friends and good conversation over coffee really passes up the time. Before we knew it, it was almost time for lunch, so we wandered around a couple of blocks before getting lunch at Q burger, which serves designer burgers. As expected, the serving was big (1/3 pound burger) so it took a while for me to finish my food. After lunch we waited for the train and we were on our way to Santa Fe.
The sceneries were nice and you can see the mountains and open areas of new Mexico. After an hour and a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. Ofcourse, first thing we did was take pictures and head out to the visitors information center and ask. We were advised that to get to the outlet, we needed to take the bus then ride a cab so it'll be cheaper. It was in the nick of time that we were able to catch the bus, and the good thing is that our train ticket can be used at the bus so we rode for free. The last stop of the bus was a mall and from there we took a cab. It was about 5PM already when we reached the outlets so we had 2 more hours to shop before it closed. The mall was small but it did have the popular brands one might look for: Ralph Lauren, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, Guess and Coach. Within 2 hours, I was able to buy Nike shoes for dad and myself, Bass sandals for mom, polo from Ralph Lauren, accessories from Guess, Bags at Tommy Hilfiger and my mom's bag and my wallet at Coach. We were I guess the last ones shopping and it was a good thing that the cab was already there waiting for us. Instead of still taking a bus, we just had the cab bring us to the train station since we were tired and we had a lot of stuff. We were supposed to eat dinner at a restaurant near the station but since there was a 45 minute wait time, we just decided to wait for the train and head back to Albuquerque. The ride back was very dark since there were no lights at the open spaces except for the light that the train had. We got back around 9PM already and immediately crashed to bed.
The next day, I planned on doing some returns/exchanges to some items that I bought at TJ Maxx and Ross and cap the day at Sandia peak. At around 4PM, B picked us up at the hotel to bring us to Sandia. We were all excited since it was our last weekend and we were looking forward to the trip. We planned on going to the top at sunset and see the sun come down on the city. The ride will cost $20 and you can pick any of the schedules which are 15 minutes apart. Initially it was scary being suspended hundreds of feet about the ground but after that, it was just awesome. There is a guide with you at the trip that gives an overview of the place as well as interesting facts. I was just awed at the height that we were at. I was equally excited to have seen wild deer (or goat) run at the mountain. When we reached the top, to our dismay, there was an overcast so we can't really see below because of the thick clouds. Other than that, it was just cold and snow kept on blowing on our faces. To keep warm, we headed to the High Finance restaurant to get some nachos and drinks. After tha we braved the cold and the snow to take some more pictures. After an hour or so, we headed back down. Although we didn't see the sundet, we wree still happy. Going down and going past the thick clouds, were were happy to see the city lights of Albuquerque, it was very pretty.
To cap of our trip, we spent our last night at ABQ Uptown mall with B. Since it was a Friday night, there were a lot of people eating out. We decided to have reservations at both the Elephant Bar and Grill and at Bravo. We had drinks at the Elephant Bar while waiting and it was fun. Like what I mentioned earlier in my blog, good friends and good conversations over drinks is always fun. After a few 10 - 15 minutes, we headed out to Bravo since they were calling us already. Bravo is a very nice Italian restaurant and we enjoyed the food as well as each others company.
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