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Published: April 16th 2006
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(This post is almost 4 months overdue... After my US trip, I returned to Singapore, where my new university term started. Now, my term finally ended and I finally have the time to post this blog. I apologize for the delay...)
From Denver, I took Greyhound to Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico. I reached Albuquerque at around 4am. I planned to leave my luggage inside the lockers in Albuquerque Greyhound depot, and then I would take the 6:30am Greyhound bus to Santa Fe (without carrying my luggage). After visiting Santa Fe, I would take Greyhound back to Albuquerque in the late afternoon, where I would retrieve my luggage and proceed to Route 66 Hostel...
However, in Albuquerque Greyhound depot, I was shocked to see all the lockers being occupied except for one... But that unoccupied locker was faulty. The quarters that I inserted into the slot were stuck. (The locker required 4 quarters, but after inserting 2 coins, I was unable to insert anymore coins.) Out of desperation, I asked the Greyhound staff for help. All he did was to give me a piece of cardboard to "dig" out the stuck coins inside the slot... I expected
Museum of Fine Arts
Built in 1918, the architecture is an excellent example of the original Santa Fe style adobe. to recover two coins from the slot, but to my amusement, I dug out 8 coins from the slot!!! After digging out all the coins from the slot, I could see a piece of material that was stuck in the slot... I was not sure what exactly is that, but I strongly believe that it was an act of vandalism... In the end, I decided not to use the locker in Albuquerque Greyhound depot. I decided to drag my luggages with me to Santa Fe instead...
I took the 6:30am bus to Santa Fe, and I reached there around 8am. To my delighted surprise, the locker fee in Santa Fe Greyhound depot is only 1 quarter (instead of 4 quarters in Albuquerque). The best thing was, most of the lockers in Santa Fe were unoccupied!!! After depositing my luggage in the lockers, I quickly made my way to Cerrillos Road to catch the first bus into Downtown Santa Fe... (Well, the Santa Fe Greyhound depot is unfortunately situated very far from downtown.) Arriving at Downtown Santa Fe, I gasped with wonder. The architecture in Santa Fe is so unique!!! Most of the buildings were built with mud bricks and
The Plaza
The plaza dates back to the city's beginning in 1610, and it remains as the hub of the city up to now. they have round corners... (This is known as adobe architecture.) According to my travel guide, Santa Fe has a very rich cultural heritage, which is influenced by Native Americans, Hispanic settlers, as well as British colonial settlers. Nowadays, artists and hippies thrive in the city and they bring in a wave of vibrant and artistic culture.
I walked around the city and admired some of the fascinating architecture. Several buildings have a high historical value, as these buildings are some of the oldest buildings in USA. For example, the San Miguel Mission is considered to be the oldest church in USA, and the New Mexico State Capitol is one of the oldest capitol building and is the only capitol building that has a round structure. (Unfortunately, I was unable to enter the state capitol to view the interior, because it was Christmas Eve and the capitol was closed.) I also made a trip to the old Santa Fe Sourthern Railway depot, where I saw many old locomotives and train cars that used to serve Santa Fe. (Today Santa Fe is no longer part of the Amtrak network.) Later, I took a stroll along San Francisco street, the main shopping
Ice sculptures in the Plaza
These ice sculptures were part of Santa Fe's Christmas celebrations. Btw, don't be misled by the desert environment in New Mexico. Santa Fe in winter can reach below freezing temperatures, even during daytime! street in Santa Fe. I saw many interesting shops selling many interesting New Mexican items, such as cactus jelly, pepper candy, Native American jewelleries, cowboy costumes, etc...
In the afternoon, I made my way back to the Greyhound depot, where I retrieved my luggage and took the bus back to Albuquerque. In Albuquerque, I went to Route 66 Hostel, where I checked in for the night. In the evening, I walked to the Old Town Plaza, which was the historical hub of Albuquerque and contained many original buildings since the city's founding in 1706. According to online tourism information, Albuquerque would be celebrating Christmas Eve by lighting up thousands of luminarias (candles placed in a paper bag). I was looking forward to see the luminarias. When I reached the Old Town Plaza, I was amazed. Almost all the electrical street lights were turned off, and the plaza was illuminated with thousands of luminarias!!! The atmosphere was something that I had never experienced before! Luminarias lined the streets and pavements, as well as the walls and the roofs of the buildings. It was a magnificent sight! There were many people in the plaza celebrating Christmas Eve. There were choirs singing,
Palace of the Governors
This is one of the oldest public buildings in USA. Built in 1610 by Spanish officials, it housed thousands of villagers during the Indian revolution in 1680 and was home to the territorial governors after 1846. In 1909 it was converted into a museum. bands playing music, and Santa Clauses walking around and entertaining everyone. Unlike Singapore and Hong Kong, where Christmas is a commercial event with extravagant decorations, the atmosphere in Albuquerque was much more peaceful, pleasant, and natural. I really enjoyed the Christmas Eve in Albuquerque. (In fact, this was my first Christmas Eve in a foreign country outside Singapore and Hong Kong.)
When I returned to Route 66 Hostel, the staffs told me to join them for their Christmas Eve dinner. They had prepared a lot of Mexican dishes, and I was really touched. The Christmas Eve in 2005 was the most memorable Christmas Eve that I had ever experienced...
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