In Love With.. New Mexico

I know.

Random, right? 

And pretty outdated.

But last year I went to New Mexico simply for the hell of it,

and... actually enjoyed it. 

I spent a few days in Santa Fe,

and then squeezed in a day in Albuquerque, because I'm a Breaking Bad fanatic, 

but more on that later. 

Below are a few foodie recommendations along with some overall travel tips,

in case you decide to visit any time soon.

Please try not to judge the quality of the photos too much... 

I decided to leave the giant camera at home this time. 

Never again. Promise. 

Let's start with logistics - 

we flew into Albuquerque, rented a car, and drove straight to Santa Fe right around sunset. 

The colors during this time of the day are amazing,

and the scenery made the 70 mile drive super easy. 

In Santa Fe, we opted to stay at the Buffalo Thunder Resort,

a giant Hilton property, complete with a casino, and even a club. 

The location is not in city center, 

but the proximity is close enough,

and I didn't mind because the resort is pretty awesome. 

We did explore around "downtown" quite a bit

and here's what I suggest. 

Grab a seat on the outside patio of Draft Station,

and consume as much beer and pizza as you can. 

I opted for the lobster, shrimp, applewood smoked bacon, mushroom, green onion, truffle oil & four cheeses with alfredo sauce on blue corn crust. 

Holy foodgasm! 

From there, walk to the Georgia O'Keefe Museum and take in some vagina paintings. 

Bonus points to whoever knows where that reference is from.

Be sure to stop by the Loretto Chapel and check out the spiral staircase,

aka the "Miraculous Stair". 

Two mysteries surround the spiral staircase in the Loretto Chapel: 

the identity of its builder and the physics of its construction. 

I won't go into details, but be sure to check out the episode of Unsolved Mysteries that it was featured in.

Or just watch this. 

Take a break and try some local favorites at Santa Fe Spirits. 

This place is awesome, 

but warning, the drinks are strong!

The Scotch Lassie was my favorite, as far as I can remember. 

If you're looking for souvenirs,

or just in the market for something weird,

visit the Santa Fe Flea Market. 

Made me feel like I was on set of True Detective, not gonna lie. 

After a few days of exploring around Santa Fe,

we headed back down to Albuquerque for a night before flying home. 

I was there around October, 

and the colors of fall were SO beautiful!

We pulled over quite a few times to...

have a photoshoot. 

Hah!

So what is there to do in Albuquerque besides stalk Breaking Bad locations? 

Well.. we couldn't find a whole lot, 

except for eating and drinking, 

cause we all know I'm good at that!

I was pleasantly surprised with the microbrew scene.

Is it just me, or is it blowing up all over the country?

Either way, 

that night we had dinner at Nexus Brewery and um, the chicken and waffles?

Amazing! 

Dare I say it tasted better than Roscoe's?

Blasphemy! 

It was the next best thing, considering Los Pollos Hermanos is not real...

And yes,

I did creep Walter White's house. 

And Jesse's too.

And I even stopped by the car wash. 

Shameless. 

Finished the trip with a nightcap at the Canteen before flying home the following morning. 

All in all - a great time. 

Have I convinced you to plan a trip?