Vibrant Climate

Added on Mon Aug 30 2010

Being in the film business is sort of like being an insurance salesman, a circus monkey, or a CIA agent, in that you must be ready to pack a bag and move anywhere for months at a time, and assimilate as much as possible. Some destinations (such as Santa Fe) make this easier than others (such as Shreveport) but I always find the elements of a great lifestyle, even if it takes some digging. I always see it as a challenge, an anthropological experiment aimed at finding my home wherever I land. This means hitting the ground running, armed with nothing but Google, and an open mind.

For the last three months, while shooting my new film, Cowboys & Aliens, I have resided in an adorable adobe cottage steps away from the always hopping Plaza in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. Within a few weeks I had become a local, the kind that says things like "You know you're right, Betty, the weather does feel a little dryer than usual. We'll have to hope for rain this week or my tomatoes will never ripen!"

It doesn't take long to reach this level of familiarity in a place as cozy and welcoming as Santa Fe. This might be due to the fact that everyone here seems to have come from somewhere else, desperate for a reprieve from the big city and eager to discover their inner cowgirl / gallery owner / wheel potter / yoga master / chocolatier.



Whenever we had the chance, our jolly posse of cowboys from the film would gather for a meal, and more often than not, we would end up at my favorite spot, Café Pasqual's, the James Beard award winning, mouth watering, and organic restaurant in the heart of downtown SF. Always packed and pulsing with life, this lovely and warm corner café serves truly excellent food and wine in a fun, festive atmosphere that, to me, exemplifies the greatest quality of this town: casual vibrance.



The Tea House, on the famous art gallery strip of Santa Fe, Canyon Road, is another place I'd like to unplug and relocate to my neighborhood in LA. But of course this gorgeous and tranquil spot belongs here, where patrons allow themselves more than 10 minutes for a meal, without balking at the polite request to buss your own table in exchange for your hassle free, peaceful, lazy afternoon on their warm cushions (not to mention their free wifi.) I was sent here by a blogger who recommended their homemade veggie burger, and was delighted to find much more than that on the menu to entice me, and bring me back on days off to sample the extensive tea list, and soak up the sun in their garden.

I have really enjoyed my experience in Santa Fe, and there is so much more I could write about (maybe I will) but for now, consider this a love letter to the above mentioned ingredients to my happy summer in my latest home away from home.

Read more than just these excepts on Olivia Wilde's Blog at: wildethings.org/thank-you-santa-fe