In July 2008, we spent a weekend in Santa Fe. Our trip started with a two-hour plane flight from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, and a drive of about 90 minutes to Santa Fe.
While Santa Fe has been inhabited since 1607, it was truly settled by the conquistador Don Pedro de Peralta in 1610. Santa Fe is the site of both the oldest public building in America, the Palace of the Governors, and the nation's oldest community celebration, the Santa Fe Fiesta. Peralta and his men laid out the plan for Santa Fe at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the site of the ancient Pueblo Indian ruin of Kaupoge, or "place of shell beads near the water."
Over its history, the city has been the capital of the Spanish "Kingdom of New Mexico," the Mexican province of Nuevo Mejico, the American territory of New Mexico, and since 1912 the capital of state of New Mexico. Santa Fe was the first foreign capital over taken by the United States, when General Stephen Watts Kearny captured it during the Mexican-American War.
We stayed at the Inn on the Alameda, which is a moderate walk from the main square. The hotel receives high ratings on tripadvisor.com; and, at the time of writing, was the highest rated hotel in Santa Fe. The hotel is moderately priced and includes a continental breakfast. We found the staff and service to be excellent.
We considered ourselves lucky with the weather. Our first day had some scattered thunderstorms, and our second and third days were cloudy.
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After we checked in, we walked over to the center of town for lunch. We ate lunch on the balcony of the Ore House Restaurant, which overlooks Santa Fe's historic main square. Below is a panorama that I took from the balcony.
Above left, Santa Fe Plaza has been the commercial, social and political center of Santa Fe since around 1610. The original Plaza was a presidio (fort) surrounded by a large defensive wall that enclosed homes, barracks, a chapel, a prison and the Governor's palace. Eventually the wall gave way to large houses built by high-ranking Spanish officers and politicians. In 1822, the Santa Fe Trail, a trade route from St. Louis, Missouri to New Mexico, ended at the Plaza. The obelisk in the center of the plaza is the Indian War Memorial. Above right and the panorama below, The Palace of the Governors, is claimed to be the oldest continuously used public building in the U.S. It was originally built in the early 1600's.
After lunch, we walked around the plaza and then back to the hotel. The pictures below were taken early the next morning.
Saturday morning, we took a drive to El Santuario de Chimayo, which is about 30 miles North of Santa Fe. Some people call this small adobe church the Lourdes of America. Click on the link above to learn more about this National Historic Landmark.
After visiting the Santuario, we drove back to Santa Fe and had lunch at the La Fonda Hotel. Above are pictures of the bar and lobby. The hotel was built in 1922, but a hotel has always occupied this site since the 1600's. The dining room serves authentic Southwestern food.
After lunch, we walked over to the Loretto Chapel to have a look at the "Miraculous Staircase." Legend has it that is was built by St. Joseph the Carpenter himself.
On Sunday, we headed back to Albuquerque via the Turquoise Trail, It's a back road that runs from Santa Fe all the way back to Albuquerque. The pictures below were taken along the way.
Above, some pictures taken in the town of Cerillos. Below, pictures taken in Madrid, the largest town on the trail. Madrid's latest claim to fame is that many of the scenes from the movie "Wild Hogs" were filmed there. It was a really terrible movie! :)
The drive-in to the right is on Route 66 in Albuquerque, just a short distance from the airport.
So that was our short weekend in Santa Fe. I hoped you enjoyed my pictures; and have a great trip if your planning to visit there!
About the chili pepper border... Dried chili peppers are often used as decorations outside of buildings in Santa Fe. Dried chili peppers are used as seasoning in many cultures, and I remember my Italian grandmother stringing and drying peppers in the exact same way.
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