Santa Fe Church Visits Continue

Sunday, 12 July 2015
Santa Fe Skies RV Park — Santa Fe, New Mexico
Temps: Hi 85F (29C) / Lo 56F (13C)

A day of rest did wonders to rejuvenate my batteries.  Too many people; too much heat … draining for an introvert like me who prefers cool temps to summer heat.  Staying home yesterday also allowed me to process photos … always a good thing in my book.

Mui wandered off for a while to visit the Saturday farmer’s market — he needs people to recharge his extrovert batteries don’t you know :-).  He came back with a few goodies that I am sure he will make good use of over the next few days.

With a travel day ahead of us, we decided to stay local today.  We did a few chores, and then set off to enjoy a few more sites in Santa Fe and give Mui a break from the kitchen by having lunch at one of the many restaurants and cafés in town.

Our short stay in Santa Fe has somehow turned into a visit with a focus on churches.  You’d think we are especially religious people — we aren’t.  That said, we enjoy visiting ecclesiastical sites — be they churches, mosques, or synagogues — and appreciate the sense of quiet peace they afford.  Add to that the history that many of the churches in Santa Fe come with … well, let’s just continue the theme.

An Ecclesiastical Kind of Day in Santa Fe … Cont'd

Thursday, 9 July 2015 (Part II)
Santa Fe Skies RV Park — Santa Fe, New Mexico

In the previous post we had lunch in Historic Santa Fe and toured the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi (post here).  Let’s continue our a-wanderin’ of the landmarks near the city’s famed Santa Fe Plaza.

Scanned copy of the map we picked up from the Visitor Center (marked with an “I”). Marked up to show where we had lunch at Café Pasqual’s (across the Water Street parking lot), and the landmarks we visited (green stars). Starting to the right of the Plaza: St Francis Cathedral and City Park; Loretto Chapel; and the Oldest Church and House. Click for a larger image.

Our next stop was not far.  But before we leave the cathedral gardens…

A-Wander in Historic Santa Fe

Thursday, 9 July 2015 (Part I)
Santa Fe Skies RV Park — Santa Fe, New Mexico
Temps: Hi 72F (22C) / Lo 53F (12C)

The recorded high for the day might have been 72F (22C) … but it sure felt a lot hotter in the sun!  No matter; we found plenty of places in Historic Santa Fe where we could seek shade.

Santa Fe — meaning “holy faith” in Spanish — was established in 1610, making it the oldest capital in the US; and the oldest city in New Mexico … the Land of Enchantment as the state is nicknamed.  As such, there is a lot of history to enjoy … much of it preserved in landmarks in and around the city.

After a long travel day, we took it easy this morning, heading into downtown Santa Fe close to 11:00a.  Our first stop was the Visitor Center, across the street from the State Capitol.  Our goal was to get an idea of a few things to do in the immediate vicinity — both on good-weather days as well as rainy ones.  Turns out we didn’t have to worry about the 40% chance of rain forecasted … all the wet stuff we got today fell overnight and into the wee hours of this morning.