This is going to be a rant, so if you’re not in the mood, I totally understand. I haven’t had breakfast yet and that always makes me cranky.
But I think I’ve just about had it with people who denigrate Albuquerque because it has somehow become cool to do so.
The airport has been called cutesy – cutesy????? It’s filled with several million dollars worth of art and artifacts. It is one of the few in the country that has a definable decor — it’s pure southwest. Definitely not your generic, where-the-heck-am-I airport. It’s human scale and you can walk to all the terminals. We call it the Sunport because it’s your port into our beautiful sunny skies.
Even folks who earn a living pretending to live in the city think it’s cool to say it’s boring. Boring???? We have community theater running every weekend – take your choice of Broadway hit shows to the type of entertainment that would be categorized as off-off-Broadway (hey, I’m a New Yorker and that’s the way I think).
Friends who raved about Santa Fe finally were lured (by me) to Albuquerque and raved about our museums. And they should. We trounce anything anywhere else in the state, and having traveled extensively, we are better than many of the other cities of our size (about 500,000 in the city and about 800,000 in our metro area which includes Rio Rancho).
You want big name entertainment? We have it. The two casino hotels that border the city bring in the headliners. Oh, and yes, you can gamble there, too.
We have three distinct and equally engaging neighborhoods to explore. Old Town is the historic heart and is filled with nooks and crannies of shops, galleries, and restaurants. Each of the plazas was once a hacienda. Nob Hill is our eclectic a bit edgy area with more upscale as well as quirky shopping and restaurants. And Downtown is our compact “city” area. Truthfully, from the New Yorker in me, it’s not really a city-scape, but it has the KiMo Theatre – think pueblo meets art deco – and Skip Maisel for the best prices on silver and turquoise jewelry. It’s also the home of Sumner and Dene, my favorite shopping gallery. It’s filled with art that you can afford to bring home.
Hiking? Ohmygosh – do we have hiking. I won’t even get started on it.
Tours? How about ghost tours and trolley tours
Festivals? Oh, yes! The Gathering of Nations held here every April packs them in. If you want to experience native American culture, this is the city, and that is the festival. If you think you’ve seen hot air balloons, you haven’t. Not until you come to our October Balloon Fiesta when hundreds (yes, several hundreds) of these colorful behemoths lift off into the blue sky.
Take my word for it – people may not give the city the respect its due, but once you visit you’ll love it. Visit the Albuquerque tourism website – ItsATrip.org and see why.
But be careful. I visited Albuquerque (and Santa Fe), went back to New York, sold my house, quit my job and moved out here. And I moved to Albuquerque. It could happen to you.
Tags: Albuquerque