In a word, an orgy of eating and shopping. We had a terrific week. 4 nights at Inn of the Anasazi -- a wonderful, beautiful little hotel around the corner from the Plaza. Then 2 nights Taos at Hacienda del Sol B&B, 3 nights back in Santa Fe, La Posada, also a nice hotel, 3 blocks from the Plaza (but not, in my opinion, as nice as the Inn of the Anasazi). Very memorable dinners -- Inn of the Anasazi, Santacafe, Pauls, all in Santa Fe; Joseph's Table and Lamberts in Taos; Great lunch - Embudo Station, right off the low road to Taos. Markedly overrated and very disappointing dinner at Rancho de Chimayo. Ate breakfast every day in Santa Fe at Plaza Cafe -- a nice, reasonably priced diner, right off the plaza.

What did we do? Shop, shop, shop. Hit every art gallery in town (or so it seemed) and bought something in numerous places -- hot tip -- bring lots of money. The artwork will amaze you. I was not tempted by Indian art, jewelry or crafts, but we fed ex'd an awful lot of stuff home anyway. Can't wait to see the Visa bill.

Apart from art gallery hopping, we did less of what I thought we would do, ancient culture-wise, but would highly recommend Bandelier, Los Alamos (the Manhattan Project exhibit), white water rafting on the Rio Grande with Far Flung Adventures (ok, so what if it was the lowest water level in history), and a memorable performance of the Santa Fe Chamber Orchestra right in the Museum of Fine Arts theatre. We took the Turquoise Trail from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, stopping at Madrid along the way, and had a delightful lunch at the Mine Shaft Tavern (was that its name?); we also took the high road from Taos back to Santa Fe and stopped at a few galleries in Truchas along the way. All the way, we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were not in a foreign country. Between the Mexican and Indian influences, it really felt like we weren't in the U.S.

Finished the week with 2 days by the pool and spa at La Posada, a wonderful way to unwind (as if that were necessary). Now back to reality.

Thanks for the report ! We had to postpone our trip to NM from this spring till 2003, and your comments will come handy .It's very helpful !

Glad you had a great time.
Madrid is like the coolest place out there, and the Lost Mine Tavern is simply a wonderful place. To those who haven't been there, be warned: It's a dive, with a capital D, but the people there are a hoot and the food is good. My wife swears they have the best blue cheese burger in the world. And the place gets quite lively on Friday night.

Inn if the Nasazi is a great place, well worth the money.

Obviously, that's Anasazi , not Nasazi.
Oopps.

Santa Fe for a week and all you did was shop. All that history and beautiful country and shopping was all you did. To each their own....imho this symbolizes our country right now.