Since we had such a long day of driving the previous day, we decided to stay in Santa Fe for another night. It was nice not having to worry about packing up and driving to another state.  We would get to enjoy the city for a full day.  We were most excited to sample some southwestern cuisine.  Several friends recommended we eat sopapillas.  After I read my dear friend’s blog post about sopapillas at The Culinary Chronicles, I knew we would definitely put sopapillas on our must-eat list.

We started our morning with a walk to Tia Sophia’s Restaurant, which was about 10 minutes away from our hotel.  This restaurant came as a recommendation of a friend’s friend who was from NM, and also received high marks on Yelp.  When we got there, we saw groups of people scattered near the restaurant, which we took as a good sign.  We waited about 20 minutes for a table and took in the sights nearby.

Our food was delicious. I had the Huevos Rancheros (with green chile) and M had the Breakfast Burrito (with red chile).

After breakfast, we walked to Santa Fe Plaza and made our way to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis.  I was most impressed with the interior architecture of the church and the beauty of the light shining through the stained glass windows.  Kid C enjoyed climbing in and out of the pews and did a great job keeping her toddler-voice down.  On the other hand, Kid A’s loud voice forced us to finish our time in the church and head out.

Thankful that we had such great weather, we took in some other sights on our walk back to the hotel.

We wanted to get the kids back to the hotel for a nap – the first stationary nap they would have in over a week.  That afternoon, they napped for three hours.  M & I seized this rare opportunity and got massages at the hotel spa.  It was a much-needed treat that left us relaxed and rejuvenated.

That feeling lasted about an hour.  Shortly after we we sat down to have dinner, our toddler (Kid C) had a meltdown that reached a carry-out-of-the restaurant-screaming level.  Here are some nice family shots before the meltdown.

We had dinner at Tomasita’s that night.  I found my dish to be a bit too spicy for my liking, but I think M enjoyed his meal.  The sopapillas were good, but I imagined them to be crispier.  (Little did I know, that I would have a better sopapilla experience the next day.)

After dinner, we walked back to our hotel and went through our nighttime ritual with the kids – bath, brushing teeth, story time and bed.  M & I were happy with our decision to stay in Santa Fe an extra day.  We would definitely come back for another visit.