Scottsdale, Arizona.

I was first introduced to Old Town Scottsdale by friends who said we absolutely MUST have dinner at Frank and Lupe’s Restaurant. We make it there at least once every winter, even though it’s a 45-minute drive from our house in Buckeye. Either before or after lunch, we would walk north of the restaurant and check out the upscale shops and stores that Scottsdale is known for. On nice days, (almost any winter day), it’s lunch or dinner on the patio behind their indoor seating. But, this is not a ‘foodie’ blog. I leave those restaurant reviews to my son and fellow blogger, Josh at http://potandpanhandler.com.

There is a museum or two, lots of art galleries and a free “trolley” that you can hop to get you to various areas in the Scottsdale downtown area. Until this visit, we’d not bothered with the bus, preferring to walk. This morning, wanting to catch some shots before the sun got high in the sky, we got there before much of anyplace was open yet. No problem, we were interested in featuring the design of the buildings. My friend, Fred Mast, accompanied Lynn and me on our tour.

Even this early, there were other tourists walking around and snapping pics. Though the shops and stores were closed, there are things to see, and you don’t have to thread your way through tons of tourists. Once the stores open, it gets much more crowded, and the bright midday lighting makes photography less attractive. Then it is time to join the sightseers and simply enjoy the people watching.

After a leisurely walk north and west, we headed south again. We found a Panera and stopped for a refreshment and then headed east and south to discover a part of old town that we had not visited before. This area is much more “touristy”, certainly less upscale and with shops opening, we got the illusion that this area is much busier than on the north side of Indian School Road where Frank and Lupe’s is located. Of course, during our visits to the more upscale shops north of Indian School, I can attest that it is just as busy when the shops are open. I submit for your review, a gallery of images captured on our morning visit to Scottsdale’s Old Town. Click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

Beauty Parlor

Breakfast on a nice winter day.

Reading anyone?

Flowers on the median.

Colorful courtyard.

Lots of fountains.

Native plant display.

Shops on the walkway.

A horse on the roof.

Buskers at work.

Frank and Lupe’s patio for lunch.

Downtown Scottsdale’s free trolley.

Upscale trinkets for sale.

Street vending in front of the store.

Centerpiece fountain.

More shops on the walkway.

Wagon Wheel benches.

John Steiner