We slept in today. Between the long drive and the wind yesterday we were pretty worn out. As we were working on breakfast I realized that today was the end of the Premier League season, so a quick search of the TV and we found the Liverpool game. Our morning was set, we sat back enjoyed our coffees and watched the game.
After the game was over we decided to head into the old town in Albuquerque. When we parked Scout on a side street we saw an interesting place up the street called the Sawmill Market. We decided to check it out and it is a historic building that has been converted into a bunch of restaurants and small food shops. It really reminded Ton of similar places we have seen in Europe, particularly one in Lyon, and another in Turin. We were tempted to try a couple of the restaurants but were holding out for a special dinner we had planned later.
The town was founded by the Spanish in 1706. The old town is built around a typical Spanish colonial square with small roads branching off of it. The old town is full of artist galleries, tourist stores, and restaurants. It is a nice walk and the old adobe buildings are interesting to look at.
We popped into the Catholic Church which was built in the 1790’s. It is a Spanish Mission style church made of adobe. The walls of the church are over 5 feet thick to help keep it cool during the hot summer. While it is small compared to the giant cathedrals we have been seeing in Europe, we were quite taken with it.
One of our friends in Oregon takes care of our mail when we travel. She lived in Albuquerque about 25 years ago, and when we told her that we were visiting Albuquerque she told us her favorite Chinese Restaurant in the US is here. As she is from Taiwan we took that as a good recommendation. We had planned to go there for a late lunch but they did not open until 3 pm, so it turned into an early dinner. When we arrived a little before 3 we were the only customers, but the waitress was very friendly and handed us a large book like menu. After we told her our friend had recommended the place she grabbed the book, took one laminated page out of it and said this is the menu for Chinese people. After consulting with her we picked duck and a seafood hot pot. Ton pronounced it the best duck she has had in the US, and the seafood hot pot was excellent. Thank you Miriam for a great recommendation you were right it is one of the best Chinese restaurants we have been to. If you are ever in Albuquerque check out East Ocean Restaurant