NewMexico

SANTA FE
To View Other Travel Logs And Photos
Santa Fe, New Mexico

	Santa Fe was one of those cities where we almost decided to stay for a while.  If you ever get to visit (or if you have already been), you will understand why.  It is very charming, and has a laid back feel to it, almost small townish, yet it has the culture and benefits of a larger city.   It is located on the Southern edge of a bunch of national forests and you can see the Cimarron Mountain range from downtown.  To its Northeast and Northwest are a number of Pueblo villages and natural hot springs, to name only a few nearby treasures.  Even the weather was perfect, whether the sun was shining hot on or backs, hiding behind huge thunder clouds, or the crisp fall desert winds were blowing brilliant gold, orange and red leaves off of the trees.  

	And then there is the “Original Santa Fe and Canyon Road” districts, with beautiful adobe style architecture.  Smack dab in the heart of this area, is the Palace of the Governor’s, now a museum, which sits on a large square plaza known as “The Plaza.”  The Plaza contains lots of trees, benches, paths, vendors, and delicious food stands serving tamales and fajitas, among other Southwestern delights.  Along the perimeter of The Plaza are adobe style museums, cafes, restaurants (serving delicious Mexican and Southwester cuisine with yummy hot sauces and salsas), shops and more merchants, a lot of them Native American, selling beautiful handmade jewelry, baskets, blankets, chilies, and other wares.  Just off the Plaza, sits the St. Francis Cathedral, a beautiful old church, and around the corner, San Miguel Mission, the oldest church in the U.S.  And, since Santa Fe is the capitol of New Mexico, the State Capitol Building is also located in this historic area.  

	  Besides the food, the other highlight, for us, was the extraordinary number of art galleries and museums on just about every corner.  The Georgia O’Keefe Museum is just off of The Plaza, as is Canyon Road, which is a one way street, about a mile in length, with former homes-turned-art-galleries lining either side, and a few restaurants mixed in here and there.  As for lodging, there a ton of beautiful historic inns and hotels in this area, although we opted for the more frugal Travel Lodge (about four blocks outside the historic district), as the others were running about $250 a night.  We truly loved Santa Fe and will definitely be back!
TRAVEL LOG FOR US
NEW MEXICO
To view photos of
Santa Fe: New Mexico
To Continue To Read The US Travel Logs & View Photos