Santa Fe

 We have spent the past week in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  We have been coming here for more than 50 years and really enjoy it.

It was founded as a Spanish colony in 1610 and has at its heart the traditional Plaza. The buildings are made of adobe and often the windows and doors are brightly painted.

Grill work like this covers many old windows.

We walked along Canyon Road, lined with artists’ galleries.  I really like this sculpture of children playing.  We have seen similar creations—made by they same artist?—in other places.

I wanted to go touch these horses to see if they were sculptures or made of folded paper.  They were sculptures.

These horses were made by a different artist.

 

This sweet girl is playing her violin.

This sculpture of an American Bald Eagle was nearby.

This sweet girl is reading a book.

These creations outside were almost the only “normal” artistic creations we saw along Canyon Road.  Most were really weird, at least to our uneducated eyes.

The next day we drove to central Santa Fe for lunch at LaFonda Hotel on the plaza.  The hotel is old and historic and the food is always delicious.  We each had the beef enchilada plate with posole, black beans and Christmas (red and green) chili.

This is a view of the dining room.

Many of the windows surrounding the restaurant have these painted panels.

One of the lights hanging in the hotel lobby.

We saw these paintings in one of the galleries.  I wonder if this is where Hunter gets his inspiration?

Today we visited this the Traditional Spanish Market that has been held on the plaza since 1926.

Much of the art here was also traditional, not modern.  This is done in some kind of needlework.

We saw lots of jewelry and many santos paintings.  There was a Spanish band and we saw a mother dancing with her young daughter

and a white-haired mother dancing with her daughter.

It was a fun way to finish out our stay in Santa Fe.  We are glad we went to the market this morning.  As I write this blog at 2:30 pm, there is thunder, lightning and heavy rain at our RV park.

Santa Fe, Then Home

We have been busy settling in at our winter home in Gold Canyon so I haven't posted a blog for quite a while.  Our last major stop before coming here was in  Santa Fe, one of our favorite cities.

This fellow marks the entrance to Burro Alley, a narrow street lined with shops.

This is another narrow street, or alley, with shops and a restaurant.

The covered sidewalk along the side of the Governor''s Palace has long been where native American artists have offered their wares.  Many of them were selling jewelry.

I love the building style in Santa Fe.

Many of the sidewalks are covered, providing some shade for both pedestrians and the shops in the buildings.

                                           

The metal backs on several benches on the square are ornate, though not necessarily comfortable.

This small patio has displays from the surrounding shops.  They sure provide lots of decoration.

We did lots of shopping--or at least looking--but no buying during our visit to Santa Fe.  We enjoy the sights and sounds of the downtown area but we have been to Santa Fe and Taos numerous times over the years.  And we could buy many of the same things in Arizona, if we were interested. 

After a couple of hours on the Plaza, we went grocery shopping and returned to the RV.  The next day it was on to Holbrook, then the B-Line highway to Gold Canyon.

Scenes from Santa Fe

We have all heard of the Santa Fe Trail, a well-traveled route between Independence, MO, and Santa Fe in the mid-1800s. New Mexico had first been settled by the Spanish in the 1600s and finally became a US territory in 1850. Parts of the city of Santa Fe are very old. We love looking around the Plaza there.

Probably the oldest part of town surrounds the San Miguel Church, established in 1610.

We were there on Sunday and the Native American vendors at the Inn of the Governors had many visitors. The park in the center of the plaza had lots of visitors.

Small courtyards can be found around the square with numerous vendors.  Many of their wares are very colorful.

These driftwood angels are clever.

Two more courtyards.

In England--at least when we there years ago--these men would be called buskers.  I guess in this country they are street entertainers.

The plaza area has a new side, as well.

This fountain is in the Cathedral Park surrounding the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

The cathedral anchors one of the streets going into the plaza.

The doorman at La Fonda Hotel on the plaza.

Santa Fe

After we spent a few days relaxing at the NRA Whittington Center campground, we moved on to Santa Fe. Usually, we go a little further and stay in Albuquerque but since we had been there on our trip east in April, we decided to spend some time in Santa Fe. We have been there a number of times over the years. It is such an attractive town. No visit there is complete without lunch at the La Fonda Hotel on the Santa Fe Square. The food is always good and the portions are huge. John had the shredded beef enchiladas and I had chili rellenos. Both meals came with beans, salsa, pico de gallo and posole.

We walked along Canyon Road with its many art galleries. Not surprisingly, we weren't tempted to buy anything. Both the price tags--often $4,000 to $6,000--and the fact most items were contemporary art which we don't like, made it easy to resist making any purchases. In fact, we are at a stage in life that shopping--except for food or electronics--doesn't hold much interest for us.

We do enjoy the buildings and atmosphere of Santa Fe. That was one of the things that attracted us about our home in Arizona. Here are a number of photos of the doors in the old buildings on Canyon Road.

It's not just the doorways we like to look at. Windows are also interesting.

Although Santa Fe is a neat town, we decided our interests have changed. It is a destination for those who want to shop or go to the opera or eat Mexican food. We still like the food, but don't eat out often. And the shopping doesn't appeal any more. We will not be staying there again anytime soon.

We then headed to Gallup.