As the last stop on our way home from our epic one month Pacific Coast Highway road trip, we stopped and spent two nights in Santa Fe, New Mexico, another city we hadn’t been to yet in our travels.
We arrived fairly late in the evening, one of our only drives that ended after dark of the whole trip, and checked into the La Posada de Santa Fe Resort and Spa. The hotel is fantastic – the property is made of small houses, and is 100% Santa Fe architecture. The rooms all have an exterior entrance, and almost all of them have small courtyards with tables for sitting outdoors. Our room even had this beautiful fireplace, which is functional and serves as the heating source in the hotel on cold nights.
When we checked in, the front desk let us know that the restaurant and bar was still open for a bit longer, so we decided to walk around the property and check it out. The Staab House Bar is a super cool spot. It almost makes you feel like you’ve gone back in time sitting at the bar. We had some local beers, and grabbed some of their homemade queso as a late night snack before heading in for the night.
Day 2:
On Day 2 we slept in a bit and then got up to head out and find some lunch. We walked around the city, taking in the incredible architecture and the beautiful weather.
We decided on Thunderbird Bar and Grill, which is located right on the Santa Fe Plaza, with a beautiful balcony and front courtyard for perfect people watching. There was also some live music, which added to the enjoyment. We had the green chili burger and the Frito pie, both of which were absolutely incredible. They also have quite a list of beers and cocktails to choose from.
After eating, we walked around the shops in the Plaza and the surrounding streets. The whole city is absolutely beautiful, and it’s super walkable. We could easily have spent a whole weekend here enjoying the town.
We made reservations at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, which was only allowing a few people in at a time due to COVID. The museum is small, but allows you to get up close to all of her incredible artwork. It’s a must stop if you’re in Santa Fe.
Afterwards, I tried to check out a local bookstore that had great reviews – I always try to visit at least one independent bookstore in every city I visit – but unfortunately it was closed due to COVID.
Instead, I stopped at the Hervé Wine Bar, which had a beautiful patio in one of the alleys. I wanted to sit outside, but there weren’t any seats, and I’m glad that happened, because the inside of the bar is BEAUTIFUL. The windowed ceiling makes you feel like you’re outside, and the entire space is spacious and bright.
I grabbed a custom flight of wine, and spent some time enjoying the drinks while reading.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at The Shop, A Christmas Store, and checked out all of the incredible decorations they sell year round.
Back at the hotel, we changed into something a bit fancier for dinner, and stopped back at the Staab House Bar for some espresso martinis before dinner. This time we sat outside by the fountain and the fire to enjoy the last bit of sunlight for the evening.
After doing quite a bit of research on the best steakhouse in town, I settled on The Bull Ring for our dinner reservations. We had to make sure we had a good meal on our last day of our month-long vacation. We were able to sit outside on the heated patio, and enjoy some fantastic food. We decided to split a large steak so that we could enjoy multiple appetizers and sides. The escargot was fantastic, in addition to everything else we ate.
Day 3:
After a great nights sleep, we hit up Starbucks near the plaza and started making our way back home to Denver! The trip was incredible, and we were so lucky to have been able to spend a month on the road seeing so much of what the western half of the US has to offer. Be sure to check out the full Pacific Coast Itinerary here!
Now that we are in Denver, we want to take even more road trips. Got any good ideas for our next one? Let me know in the comments!
