Day Tripping in Albuquerque

As you can probably guess, the airport in Albuquerque is pretty small and as long as you have no checked bags, you can get out quickly and shuttle to your car rental within 15 minutes.

Old Town is the most popular area to visit and see the artifacts, many of which are imported in from Mexico.

We spent only a few hours before making the road trip for a one night stay in Santa Fe. This place brought a warm energy to my heart as it has a homey and vibrant feeling that gets everybody. They don’t call this place the land of enchantment for nothing.

What to See:

Peruse through Old Town, and make a stop in the quirky shop, Guerilla Graphix, which is a great place for awesome souvenirs, trinkets, and unusual things that bring memories to your favorite episodes of Breaking Bad.

The architecture throughout New Mexico is a sight to be seen. The Pueblo Revival architecture is an adobe (mudbrick) construction and the walls are usually painted in earth tones. Wherever we visit in the world, we always admire old church structures. We took a walk through San Felipe de Neri Parish, the oldest church in Albuquerque. The original structure actually collapsed after a rain storm in 1792 and then this one was built the following year.

Where to Eat:

There is a new area called Restaurant Row, which we heard about from a local, but we decided to stick with the nostalgic icons of Albuquerque and went to The Frontier for classic Mexican eats. This restaurant first opened in 1971 and it appears the owners want you to feel like it is still 1971. The establishment is well maintained and the washrooms were well kept. Side note, my mom always told me to visit the washroom of an establishment before dining and if the washroom is well kept it’s a good indication that they operate with high standards in the kitchen. Anyway…the place really is a down to earth casual style. You order your food at the kitchen counter, step aside and wait for your order number to be called. The restaurant is huge, the food was cheap and the place was packed. We took our food to go and we were in and out in about 15 minutes.

Our next stop was a little wacky, but a lot of fans of Breaking Bad take a drive to the house where the show was filmed. An older couple has purchased the house as their dwelling and are forced to deal with dozens of cars that stop by to take a picture every day. They have even put up an iron fence to gate the home and pitched a sign that reads “take your photos from across the street”. Just as we pulled up, the couple decided to sit outside and stare at us and the others that pulled up for photos. They are obviously annoyed, but we got our pictures and didn’t need to linger for too long.

I’m sure there is more to discover in Albuquerque, but we ended there and ventured out to Santa Fe.

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