Start with Part I here -
And away
we
GO!
(Billy on the Street? Anyone? Anyone?)
Wednesday - Sommelier Throwdown and Geronimo
What a fun and, if I'm being honest, bougie day. I mean let's be real folks, Jordan and I are doing fine and all, but we're a quarter of a million dollars in debt and don't often get to do things where the word "sommelier" features prominently in the title.
This was actually a really cool setup - the week we were there was the Wine and Chile Festival, so all over Santa Fe were sommeliers and wine masters. If you haven't seen Somm on Netflix (which is a mistake you should remedy RIGHT NOW because it's so amazing and will suck you in even if you hate wine), which is where all my knowledge of sommeliers comes from, the highest title in the game is Master Sommelier. To earn this title, you basically have to be a Rainman-level genius who knows pretty much everything (not an exaggeration) that there is to know about wine. There are only 100 in the United States, so it was EXTREMELY cool that we got to meet four of them (!!) that week.
The structure of the event was: two wines are poured - one having been chosen by the Master Somms to go specifically with the dish; the other, a similar, decoy wine. Audience tastes wines. Audience is served a course of food to accompany said wines. Master Somms introduce both wines. Audience votes as to which is their favorite. And then the "game" is: did the audience favor the wine the Somm chose? Meaning, did we have good taste?
Most of the time, the answer was yes!
That was probs way more than you wanted to know, but it was so cool that I had to write it down (mostly so I'd remember it in a year).
Here are some photos of the gorgeous food!
Okay but the most exciting part was yet to come. Emily and Parker immediately figured out that Fred Dame, the biggest deal in the somm world in the US, was one of the Master Somms at the event. On the way out, we happened to run into him. Here's a transcript of the conversation:
Me: Thank you so much, Mr. Dame! This was really fun.
Frank: Did you drink??
Me: (pointing to my belly) I sipped!
Frank: Ahhh, I see. How did that happen?? (Also points to my belly.)
Me: Too much wine!
Frank! (laughs, we high five) I know all about that. That's why I have an 11-year-old and I'm 64.
Aaaaaand scene, kill me, it made me so freakin' happy.
Fred's Dames - Emily and me!
Then it was time to walk around!
Sweater is from ASOS, runs a bit small and is available here. Maternity jeans from Target and are so comfortable! And the booties are Old Navy and are ALSO super comfortable.
Dinner that night was at a famous SF restaurant and was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Geronimo is so beautiful, so elegant, and so CRAZY FREAKING DELICIOUS. There were 4 desserts split among 6 of us at the end of the night. I say "split" as though it was even.
...it was not.
Then we all died of joy and fell asleep with our mouths open.
Thursday - Cafe Pasqual's and Meow Wolf
Okay, simple part first: we had breakfast, it was fantastic, Emily and I match.
Red stripe-y maternity shirt is from ASOS, available here!
NOW for Meow Wolf.
What the hell is Meow Wolf, you might be wondering?
I can't even explain it to you. I don't even know, still, and I was there for almost five hours.
Mom and Dad would only tell us that Thursday afternoon was a surprise. We knew absolutely nothing. I've never pulled into a parking lot, looked at a building, and STILL not been sure what it is.
This is us being unsure. Even after we were inside.
All I can do is upload my Snapchat story to you and let you see what this was. You're going to ask me questions like, "WHAT?!" And I have no answer. The best thing I can say is that it's an experiential, experimental art exhibit that spans an entire house and is basically like being inside someone's acid trip. Beyond that...well, just see for yourself.
Enter through the refrigerator:
I know.
I know.
I don't know.
I'm not kidding when I say we were there for almost five hours. I didn't even feel it go by. Could've stayed for another five. If you're in Santa Fe, Meow Wolf is a must. MUST.
Friday - Riesling Seminar and Lunch with Rick Bayless
And by "with," I of course mean that he cooked it. He didn't like, hang out. Which would've been the best ever.
So in continuation with the wine and chile festivities, we got to sit in on a REALLY cool riesling seminar in which some somms gave us three flights of three wines each, described them, and then let us taste them in a particular order. It's the coolest to get to taste different wines, all under the same umbrella of general name, and see how wildly they can vary. I sipped and spit (mostly, but I mean a couple were really good so I just sipped) because there were fancy spit buckets. BECAUSE I'M A PROFESSIONAL WINE TASTER NOW, Y'ALL.
After we (they) got good and sauced up, we ran off to our lunch plans with our old buddy Rick! Rick Bayless' restaurant Topolobampo in Chicago just won the James Beard award for Outstanding Restaurant, so we were in for a HUGE treat to have tickets to a special meal (paired with wines, naturally!) cooked by the man himself.
We also had some seriously charming company - Glenn and his wife Allison, the couple at the end of the table! Glenn, fun fact, was a writer for a bunch of awesome cartoons like Doug, Scooby Doo, Adventure Time, The Smurfs, and a couple others. Cool, right? He actually was nominated for an Emmy for Doug! Obvi I loved talking to my boyf Glenn.
The blue and white striped top is an Old Navy tunic button up in a large. Black maternity jeans are from GAP with stretch paneling in the sides so they fit any belly! Shoes are those Vince Camuto loafer mules that I'm now realizing are sold out, but you get the picture. Slides = the best.
That last photo is Mom and Rick! How awesome is that?!
After lunch, we drove around a bit per some recommendations and stopped by Tesuque Village Market for some pastry and to tour the sculpture gardens. Here's Parker making himself into an "F" so that he could spell the word 'fart!' Because we're CLASSY!
(It was my idea.)
And just like that, the week had flown by. We capped off the night by celebrating my dad's birthday a day early with the tres leches cake from our first day, hot tubbed, got takeout pizza, and soaked up the last rooftop experience by lighting a fire and enjoying each other's company.
Thanks, SF!! We love you so!
