Travelled: December 2012.

SEE.

Chinati Foundation. Obviously. Arrive for your tour a little early to poke around all the art books. I preferred the exterior pieces to interior, but the history of the buildings the art is housed in is strange and fascinating too.

Prada Marfa. Such a trip. It's about a 40 minute drive from Marfa and completely worth it. On the way there you go through Liberty, TX which feels like it could be an art installation in of itself. Note how the entire town is a little ramshackle except for the library...made me smile.

Marfa Court House. A gorgeous building and completely bizarre. A huge seat of opulence and power in a tiny place. Have a walk around the square.

Marfa Lights. We went to the observation deck and sat for about 20 minutes but didn't catch anything. Worth a shot though!

EAT.

Lunch at Fat Lyle's food truck. So incredibly delicious. Hopefully they'll have the deep fried peach pie on the specials...whenever I think about that pie the world stops around me like I live in a culinary The Matrix.

Pizza at Pizza Foundation. All whites and blues, an old Gas Station that's been turned into a bare bones pizzeria with a wood oven. Really yummy and good value. You can grab a beer or a housemade limeade and belly up to a scrubbed bench with the locals. There's an art space in the back too.

Dinner at Cochineal. Really outstanding. Read about it here.

Food Shark. Everyone goes nuts about it, I am yet to sample.

Lost Horse Saloon. I didn't get here but really wanted to. It's owned by basically the coolest guy on the planet (a cowboy with an eye patch, a lovely dog and a penchant for a nice cup of tea). Please go and report back.

DO.

Freda. A beautiful little lifestyle shop around the corner from Pizza Foundation. Small but perfectly formed. Get some Marfa Brand soap- yummy.

Vintage shopping. There's a little place above the laundromat that you can call the owner and she will open up for you. I didn't get to go but it looked so cute. She has flyers up around town so you can get her number.

Hotel Paisano. Gift shop is a typical hotel gift shop, but they have information about the history of the area and Giant. It's a nice place to get respite from the heat by dabbling your feet in the fountain or lazing in the shade.

...STAY.

El Cosmico. Seriously, nowhere else. It's just such a wonderful place. I don't think I've ever seen a larger sky. We stayed in the Imperial Mansion (a converted airstream) which was $150 a night. A little steep but really, really worth it. Make sure you leave some time to check out their shop too, some really beautiful locally produced pieces and fun, kitsch design bits typical to the style of the company. Free coffee as you're checking it out, too!