Continuing our journey south on I-25 past Trinidad, CO (most interesting place we did not visit), through the colorful, arid plateaus of northern New Mexico, winding our way down and around the Sangre de Cristo (“Blood of Christ”) Mountains to beautiful Santa Fe, it seemed like we were viewing the opening vistas of an epic movie as the Brahms Symphony No. 4 streamed from our satellite radio.
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| Shadows on El Farol |
Who amongst us does not feel at peace in Santa Fe, with its soft Pueblo-influenced adobe structures, natural environment, visual arts everywhere? It is love at first sight each visit. We drove a very narrow, meandering, famous artsy Canyon Road with a red sun setting behind us to the oldest restaurant and cantina in Santa Fe, El Farol. As we parked it became that time of night when the sun sinks, small neon signs come into view, indoor settings are lit, and time seems to stop like an Edward Hopper painting. After a brief pause to appreciate the mood we stormed the door and devoured tapas.
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| Breakfast at the St Francis's Table de Los Santos |
Hotel St. Francis is where we stayed, a beautifully restored historic hotel near the plaza in the heart of the city. Everything about it epitomizes Santa Fe, honors its cultural heritage.
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| Children getting along in front of New Mexico Capitol building |
The next morning, after a tasty southwest-style breakfast at Tabla de Los Santos in the hotel, we wandered the city visiting historic landmarks like the State Capitol (only round Capitol in the USA), Palace of the Governors, San Miguel Mission, Loretto Chapel. We drifted in and out of galleries, viewed Native American art spread out on blankets, and spent a couple worthwhile hours in the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Along with paintings were artifacts including Alfred Stieglitz’s fishing tackle box O’Keeffe used for her oil paint, palette knives, and drawing supplies, after he died.
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| San Miguel-Oldest church in the U.S.-1625 |
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