We arrived in Santa Fe to a sparkly blue, cloudless afternoon, happy for the opportunity to get out of the car.
On a plateau at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains-at an elevation of 7,000 feet-Santa Fe is brimming with reminders of nearly four centuries of Spanish and Mexican rule, and the Pueblo cultures that have been there for hundreds more.
Humorist Will Rogers said on his first visit to Santa Fe, "Whoever designed this town did so while riding on a jackass, backwards, and drunk." The maze of narrow streets and alleyways confounded us while in the car, but as pedestrians we delighted in the vast array of shops, restaurants, flowered courtyards and eye-catching galleries at nearly every turn.
We only had thirty six hours to enjoy our stay, so we had to make some decisions about how to best spend the time.
We had three goals.
- Food
- Shopping (I am hunting for a pair of cowboy boots)
- Sightseeing and visiting galleries
We enjoyed several delicious meals: breakfast at Pasqual's, lunch at Anasazi (wow) and dinner at La Choza. I honestly don't think you can get a bad meal in Santa Fe.
As for shopping, it's hard to know where to begin. I mentioned earlier, I am looking for cowboy boots. We stopped at several places to look, see and try on. Two spots sold boots on consignment, no luck. A few were big brand name stores, sold at retail, still no luck. Then we happened upon a shop named Back at the Ranch. Now we're talkin. This cozy spot in an old creaky-floored adobe is stocked with the finest handmade cowboy boots I've ever seen. They come in every color, style, and embellishment imaginable. I tried several pair: pink, turquoise, black, red, brown. Fell in love with each one, then reality hit and I decided not to be an impulse buyer. I'd keep looking, but the hunt had been fun.
Our shopping spree did not end empty. We stumbled upon a small leather goods shop. We spent some time visiting with the owner and designer of sterling silver belt buckles. NICE. Needless to say, I am now the very proud owner of a gorgeous leather belt with a beautiful silver buckle, hand made in Santa Fe. Grin.
Next we hit the galleries on Canyon Road, the city's art district. If you are familiar with a condition called "Stendhal", or "Florence syndrome", you will know what I mean when I tell you that the Santa Fe art district can be overwhelming. This small city boasts being second only to NYC in it's art sales. Dozens of galleries line the narrow streets and you can find anything from oil paintings of the stunning local scenery to mobile art to enormous sculptures of American Indian chiefs, deer and antelope. We spent the afternoon wandering in and out of these interesting places.
Local dress, and cuisine by the way, is "New Mexican". The blend of Spanish, Mexican and American Western plays out in both the food and the dress (at least for locals). While having breakfast at Pasquals we noted a local with his jeans, cowboy boots, western shirt and a vest studded out with turquoise. And of course a well worn straw Stetson covering long hair. The local ladies were quite chic and very well turned out in similar fashion to our cowboy. Their boots alone were in the $1,500-$5,000 range.
While the tourists were eclectic the Texas ladies stood out. Well tended, bejeweled to the nth degree and having the best of times as only those Texas ladies can. Truly black belt shoppers. The Hampton's crowd back home has a lot to learn!
Our hotel was in the Railway District, the Hotel Santa Fe, and while the room was adequate the location was great and hotel offered free shuttle service to all local points of interest. We learned long ago that when in a new city it's a good idea to take the local tour and then go back to places that struck our interest for more detailed exploration. One of those spots was the Loretto Chapel, a delicate Gothic Church modeled after Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Built in 1873 by French architects and Italian stonemasons, it is known for it's "Miraculous Staircase" that leads to the choir loft. The staircase contains two complete 360 degree turns and a mysterious carpenter who arrived on a donkey and built the 20 foot staircase-using only a square, a saw and a tub of water to season the wood-and then disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. No nails were used in the construction. Naturally, many of the locals at the time believed the legend that St. Joseph, a carpenter, had appeared to build the staircase.
The Palace of Governors was equally interesting as the old adobe structure had been home to three seats of government, Spanish, Mexican and American. Outside under the arcade facing the 400 year old plaza, Native American's laid out hand made jewelry on hand woven blankets. I bought a lovely silver and turquoise cuff bracelet after some modest bargaining.
Because we were in the Rail yard District our number one (hmmm, maybe tied with Grandson Jasper) rail fan longed to take the Rail Runner train to Albuquerque on the road bed of the original line that reached Santa Fe, the famous Denver & Rio Grande, but alas, with 36 hours, it wasn't to be (I could write the Sunday Times piece, "36 hours in Santa Fe!).
We loved Santa Fe and highly recommend a visit to anyone who is visiting this part of the country.
Next we ride into the sunset to see the Grand Canyon.
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