February 5, 2024, marked two auspicious events – a birthday and an anniversary, both with zeros and when added together, equaled 100. I won’t say any more about that, but for those of you who know me, the math should be easy.

We’ve tried to observe the date in special ways over the years, once they started getting big. In 2014 we spent a cold but enjoyable week in Paris. In 2019, it might have been a redo but COVID was coming on and it was still a mystery (although Italy by that time was in crisis.) Instead, we went up the road to Taos, had some great meals, visited Great Sand Dunes National Park, and generally enjoyed the winter landscape. This year, we’re pulling our regular European trip into mid-March as it’s just getting too hot to be in Iberia any later than that. So in the spirit of having a good time and keeping it easy, we decided to just head up to Santa Fe for an overnight and a nice dinner.

The City Different is a great place, a little bit of touristy medieval Spain mixed with Indigenous architecture and culture just up the road. Similar little shops and cafes on narrow streets, great people-watching, and world-class museums. To be honest, I don’t think we avail ourselves of the place often enough, because every time we head up for the summer grower’s market, we say the same thing, “Gee, a nice little cheap trip to Europe.”

We decided to stay at the La Fonda Hotel, the 102-year-old doyen of inns that sits right on the plaza. It’s entirely decked out in Southwestern Style, from the furniture to the architectural details. A real gem of the genre. I booked a king bedroom and a dinner at L’Osteria d’Assisi for Monday night.

There isn’t a lot to say about the drive up other than it takes about an hour, door to door. After negotiating an underground garage that was not designed for my car, we caught the elevator upstairs and went to check in.

We were greeted by Pete, sort of a classic Santa Fean, dressed in black, accessorized with a lot of turquoise jewelry, and sporting a crazy mane of white hair. He mentioned that he’d only met one “Brownell” prior to me, and that led to the discovery that were both grew up in Western New York, a mere hour apart. He noted that we had no notes on our reservation, so we added that it was both a birthday and an anniversary to which he responded, “I think that deserves an upgrade.”

Now, our room was pretty nice to begin with and for a single night, it would have been more than adequate. La Fonda after all, aims to provide that Santa Fe Experience. But an upgrade is always welcome – I figured we’d end up with the same king room but with a little sitting area. The next step up on the menu.

But no, Pete said, “Have you heard of La Terraza, our boutique wing?” Replying to the negative, he said, “I think you’ll like it.” (Note, checking later I discovered we were being upgraded to the $900 a night experience.)

He took our suitcase and said, “Follow me.”

Up a couple of floors, down an exterior corridor in the center of the hotel, and through a keycard access door, we were introduced to the concierge in a second small, private lobby. Our new room was spectacular – a small living room, a well-appointed sleeping space, and the kind of bathroom everyone blathers about on House Hunters. Genuine pieces of art on the wall by local artists and a patio that looked out in the Santa Fe Cathedral. Putting it mildly, a gob-smacking change of plans and one that reminded me of my days as an International Businessman of Mystery, spending my time in 5-star hotels and secret airport lounges.

It was almost too good to be true, but no one was complaining. We had a little time to kill before dinner so we went back out and took a spin around the plaza where the lights were just coming on. Most of the stores were closed so we did a bit of window shopping before heading back to our room to prepare for our evening out.

It was a chilly two-block walk to the restaurant. It was noisy inside – a political party was using the first floor for some kind of event so the greeter shuffled us upstairs to another dining room. Again typically Southwestern – carved furniture, beams, windows overlooking a patio, white linens, and big wine glasses on the table. Our waiter came over, took our wine order, and went off. Sometimes you think right away that you’re not going to enjoy a certain server’s company, and I felt this way about this guy immediately. Frequently it comes with fancy restaurants in fancy places, and I attributed my feeling to that.

But that was about to change.

MLW had Veal Piccata, and I had a duck breast served in a Lingonberry reduction. Both were excellent. Creme Brule and Tiramisu for dessert and another glass of wine to top things off. The server came back and while he was prepping the bill we got chatting, mentioning the purpose of our trip and this dinner. We mentioned “Corrales” and he said he’d lived there. We asked where, and he said on the eastern end of our street. Now it was getting interesting, from a 6th degrees of separation perspective. Asking why, he responded that his brother and sister-in-law had owned a small cafe on the corner, back in the day. Heidi and Greg – our favorite bakers from our favorite breakfast place long ago. That led to a long discussion about their famously delicious green-chile cheese rolls and how much a part of our regular life their cooking and their cafe had been. A few more words on this and that and he said he’d been part of Intel’s tech training program, back in the day. I mentioned my time there, and that our rescue daughter had been in that program too. “Oh, Kimmie,” he said, “I know her too.”

From dubious to best acquaintances just like that.

Traveling is a wonderful thing because you just never know what’s coming your way. A great trip to a place close by, with some cool people, delicious eats, and a very surprising connection with someone in a place you couldn’t have imagined. It really doesn’t get any better than that.