Work and Play in Albuquerque

After a long season of limited travel, both personal and work-related, due to Covid, I was ecstatic when my boss sent me to a conference in Albuquerque!

Not everyone may share my excitement for work-related travel, but I love the opportunity to see new destinations. Especially when the bulk of the travel expense is on someone else’s tab! And Albuquerque is not some hole-in-the-wall destination. There is so much to explore!

I knew there would be plenty of potential for both work and play on this trip.

Added bonus, my co-worker Delyte was traveling with me and she was up for adventure as well!

Since I know you are wondering, YES…we actually attended our work conference! But since this isn’t a blog about school health, I’ll leave the work-related details out and get to the fun travel-related stuff!

Be Happy at Embassy Suites

Our boss selected and booked the hotel so he had the ultimate say in where we stayed. The travel planner in me (read: control freak) initially wished I had gotten to select the accommodations myself, but both Delyte and I ended up being thrilled with Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque.

Our room was plenty spacious and the view of the sunrise over the mountains was spectacular!

I also appreciated the complimentary breakfast and took full advantage of its vast offerings. We spent three nights in Albuquerque so I was able to feast on savory breakfast options one morning.

And indulged my sweet tooth at the waffle station the next morning. YUM!

But what really made us smile…was happy hour!

Complimentary drinks and appetizers are a great way to wind down after a full day of conference sessions and will make anyone feel like they are on vacation.

If you are staying in Albuquerque, whether for work or play, you can’t go wrong with Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque.

Get Out and About with Uber

In order to really see what Albuquerque has to offer, we needed to spend some time outside of our hotel and the conference sessions. Since we flew to Albuquerque and didn’t have a rental car, Uber was our ticket to exploration.

Both Delyte and I are accustomed to using this ride-share service, but we know each city functions a bit differently. Having just returned from a trip to Las Vegas I was used to Uber appearing almost instantly after requesting my ride. Vegas has a plethora of Uber drivers!

Albuquerque was a bit different, and we often had to wait 20-30 minutes for our Uber to arrive. Once we realized this and planned accordingly, we didn’t have any issues.

I love the flexibilty and ease of using Uber in unfamiliar cities and much prefer it to navigating the roads and parking all on my own…and springing for the exorbitant rates for a rental car!

Wander and Shop in Old Town

While there are lots of great areas to visit in Albuquerque, Old Town is an absolute must-see. We loved this area so much, we ended up coming back a second time during our trip to see even more.

Here you get a true taste of the southwest as you meander through the historic adobe buildings. Old Town Albuquerque is the perfect melding of old southwest culture and today’s luxuries.

Old Town includes over 150 shops, restaurants, museums, and more. While Delyte and I barely scratched the surface of what Old Town has to offer, we loved wandering in and out of numerous shops with something for everyone.

What stood out most to us was the knowledge and passion of the shopkeepers and sales staff. Everyone was gracious and really took their time to share how items and goods were made and how their products were uniquely local.

Delyte is the coffee fan in this duo, and she thoroughly enjoyed tasting unique coffee blends at an upscale gift shop in the heart of Old Town. Also a tea fan, she had a hard time deciding which of the many diverse flavors of loose-leaf tea to purchase at the Old Barrel Tea Company.

We both purchased beautiful suncatchers in the shape of hot air balloons…a significant symbol of Albuquerque. And I picked up a beautiful pair of turquoise earrings from one of the local artisans at an outdoor booth near the grassy square.

The one downside to Old Town is that many of the shops close early. So my advice is to get there early in the day if you can. (I can neither confirm nor deny if Delyte and I snuck out of our conference a little early one day so we could experience a bit more of Old Town!)

Go Wine Tasting

I have a knack for finding wine-tasting venues just about everywhere I travel. Albuquerque did not disappoint in this area, with two fabulous wineries right next to each other in Old Town.

On our first excursion to Old Town, we bellied up to the chic wine tasting bar at Sheehan Winery.

Our sommelier was clearly passionate about their product and shared several insights into their wine-making process. She had been in the vineyard fields earlier that day in the sweltering heat, yet still had a smile on her face. She was clearly committed to her craft!

As per usual, I indulged in a variety of sweet wine samples, enjoying every single one. The only downside was that Sheehan wines are not yet available for purchase in or shipping to Indiana. And I was not prepared to haul wine home in my luggage on this trip.

Delyte was also thrilled with her samples, especially the Blueberry Lavender Lemonade.

She purchased this tasty cocktail and was kind enough to share it with me. I concur that it was divine!

On our second trip to Old Town, we popped into Noisy Water Winery. There was a very different feel in this spacious winery compared to Sheehan Winery, but they were both charming in their own ways.

Another round of wine tasting produced two happy co-workers. Hailing from Indiana, I often refer to Hoosier Hospitality, but Albuquerque dishes up its own brand of customer service and that was evident yet again at Noisy Water Winery.

We enjoyed the lively banter with our sommelier almost as much as we enjoyed the wine!

While we didn’t linger too long (we had shopping to do!), Noisy Water has the perfect vibe for those wanting to wind down with friends or colleagues over a couple of glasses of wine.

Dine at Local Establishments

Food is often the highlight of my travels, and while the conference food was tasty and plentiful, it was our evening dinners that were truly memorable. And delicious!

Not yet aware of the awesomeness in store for us in Old Town, we ventured downtown for dinner on our first night in Albuquerque. Given that it was fairly early and a weeknight, several of the restaurants and bars that we spotted on google maps as potential options were not open. But we were up for an adventure and wandered around downtown for a bit.

We eventually ended up at the 505 Central Food Hall and it was the perfect option for us. Forget the old food courts full of typical chain restaurants. This was a hip and trendy food hall complete with unique cuisine and a variety of adult beverages.

I may be a little late to the game, but this is where I learned about Liquid Death. For anyone else not yet versed on this refreshing beverage, it’s not alcohol, it’s good old H2O, but in a super cool can!

To be honest, I can’t remember what Delyte ate because I was so enthralled with my chicken slider variety meal, complete with a fresh salad. And since we were both sans kids, we saddled up to the bar at Moonwalk with our food and ordered a round of adult beverages.

Night two brought us to Old Town where we ventured to the second story above the wineries for dinner. We were actually enjoying another adult beverage (thankful that Uber was doing our driving!) at The Hidden Tap, which is the flagship location for Downshift Brewing Company.

We loved the casual hip vibe and decided to linger even longer when we learned we could order and have food delivered right to our table from Fat T’s BBQ.

I gobbled up every bite of my brisket quesadillas dipped in tangy bbq sauce. Delish!

Back in Old Town for our final night in Albuquerque, we decided some authentic southwest cuisine was in order. We wandered down a side street and stumbled upon Church Street Cafe.

It wasn’t Tuesday, but it was still the perfect night for tacos, complete was a variety of salsas, rice, and beans.

Full bellies make for happy travelers!

All good vacations, even work trips must come to an end. Before we knew it our Albuquerque adventure was over. It was time to takeoff with some in-flight snacks…

and a little TV as we headed home.

Yet we were already discussing who we might want to bring back for another getaway to amazing Albuquerque!

Do you travel much for work? How do you turn work trips into mini vacations? I’d love to hear your tips! And whether work or pleasure takes you to Albuquerque, it is sure to be an awesome adventure!

Wherever the road takes you, make it a joyous journey,
Traveling Tanya