Lovely Desert Snow

Back Indoors....

for hot cocoa and marshmellows. This was taken from my second floor balcony in the back of the house.

Zuni Methodist Down the Street

Even the Sun Was Covered in Snow

Neighborhood Walk

Santa Fe-We Have Snow!

Christmas came early with morning snow.

Shoppers' Paradise

But VERY Expensive

Santa Fe Pics

Pictures From Historic Santa Fe

La Fonda Inn

The Inn at the End of the Trail which I think means the end of the Camino Real (the Royal Road) which goes from Mexico City to Santa Fe.

The Lensic Theatre

First Class productions in an intimate setting

Downtown Santa Fe

Art Mecca

In terms of Art sales, Santa Fe is second only to New York City. You can't walk anywhere without seeing beautiful sculptures and other works of art, from the most sophisticated to simple folk art made of recyclables. Surprising to me was the preponderance of a type of art called ethnographic. It is the art of various cultures and there are galleries everywhere that focus on art from Africa, Thailand, Indonesian, etc. .

Pictures From the Plaza

Santa Fe Historic Plaza

The plaza has seen everything from gunfights and hangings to bullfights and political rallies. The old adobe buildings proudly show their age and the architecure unique to this capital city. It was founded in 1680 by Spaniards who were later driven out by the Pueblo people who have lived in the area for 2,000 years. The city's name has been shortened from its' original La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asisi (the Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi).
The Palace of the Governors in the plaza is the oldest public building in the US (1610?) and has the distinction of being the seat of 4 regional governments - those of Spain, Mexico, the Confederacy, and the US Territory.

A Traveller's Heaven: The Travel Bug

Anything to do with travelling, free internet, an expresso bar with biscotti and other pastries all under one roof! It was tough leaving. One wall is dedicated to travel authors and every Saturday the store sponsors free presentations on travel. Another wall has every language dictionary imaginable. I found English-Mongolian plus languages I didn't know existed. One section has every kind of travel and hiking gear. Maps are everywhere as well as globes of every size. Christmas came early this year!

Parking at the Edge of the Universe

Santa Fe has about 68,000 inhabitants, but during the summer this doubles, with all the tourists coming in. Parking is impossible. With this in mind I waited for the coldest day (11 degrees with the wind chill factor) to venture into town to the historic area. Surely on such a cold day everyone will stay home. Wrong! I finally found a spot 10 blocks from my destination, but it was a beautiful spot, next to our Santa Fe river. For now the river is 2-4 inches wide and perhaps an inch deep, but in spring it becomes a real river from the melted mountain snows. Even now the area around the river is beautiful with parks and picnic tables - a lovely place to walk, even in the cold.

Fall in Santa Fe

Fall may be shortlived since winter can't seem to wait to get here. Last Sunday I saw beautiful sunshine on the drive to the local Borders. As I walked in the front door of the store and turned around, a blizzard came out of nowhere, with the snow blowing perfectly horizontal at 45 mph. In less than 5 minutes it was gone and the sunshine was back. The clerk told me, "If you don't like the weather in Santa Fe, just wait five minutes and it will change." (Much like when I lived in England!)
Since moving here, daily temperature highs and lows have been at least 30 degrees apart so it has been a challenge layering to anticipate the day's variety. Really need to buy gloves.
An additional thought; this blog is focused on travel, but it is hard to ignore the impact of the recent historical election. I couldn't leave the TV throughout the election process and as the results were announced, I watched with joy as crowds from all over the world cheered the news. As an international traveller during the last 8 years, it has been increasingly difficult to answer questions about the President and the war. The cheering international crowds have given me hope that we travellers will again receive the warm welcomes of previous days. I agree with the eloquent letter to the Editor that Tal Streeter wrote in todays' The New Mexican newspaper:
"As a result (of the election), Americans can walk taller both here and abroad as citizens of the world, preparing with renewed hope for the opportunity of sharing the responsibility for the good health of this precious little blue marble and its inhabitants, our home in the universe."

Santa Fe Opera Collage

The architecture of the new opera house is controversial but it was impossible to walk anywhere around the site without finding beautiful sweeping lines that jutted out to the surrounding mountains and desert. My favorite architect is Frank Lloyd Wright and the opera embodies one of his basic principles - that the structure should look like it came from the surrounding earth. It is almost an organic extension of its surroundings. When you walk around it, it feels just like that.

Santa Fe Opera Tour

The opera season here is almost the opposite of the New York season. It lasts for 8 weeks from late June to late August with 40 performances. The opera house itself is surrounded with buildings which house cast and crew in season. I can't wait for the season to start, but doubt if I can afford the opening night tickets that range from $1,700 to $3,000.

The Santa Fe Opera

Many consider the Santa Fe Opera second only to the Metropoliton Opera in New York. This is saying a lot for an opera in a town of 68,000 people but it is born out by numerous publications and guide books, and definitely by any of the locals. Everyone takes great pride in our opera and it is one of many reasons why I decided to move here. One of my first trips after getting settled was to drive north to see it. It took about 20 minutes to get there and the drive, once it leaves the city, is beautiful. It seems to change in the blink of an eye from conjested city to desert surrounded by mountains. An exit off the main highway takes you winding up a 2 lane road to the opera house itself. I was very lucky because this is not opera season and workers had left the gates open so I helped myself to a tour around the structure.

Xeriscape Santa Fe Style

Because it is part of the high desert, water is scarce and everyone is encouraged to let nature take its' course. Landscapes of naturally growing plants and trees are everywhere, because they have adapted to the dry conditions. Yards are typically rocks or sand with beds of lavender, sun flowers or other wild plants that require almost no water. A few die hards do have grass but they are the exceptions. This is the view of the arroyo from the living room of my house. There are magnificent mountains in the background and a walking path that follows the dry stream bed throughout the neighborhood. In the mountains the aspens are now turning to a brilliant gold as the cold weather approaches. Where did I pack those socks?

On the street where you live....

Almost all houses and businesses in Santa Fe look like variations of the original adobe houses that were here originally over 600 years ago. Building is tightly regulated to give the entire city a historic feel. There is a beautiful historic area in the center of the city, but even suburban developments like mine adhere to the building guidelines.

Santa Fe Casa

The inside of the house is filled with light, and there is plenty of light in a city that is almost 8,000 feet above sea level. The living room has 30 foot ceilings with pine beams running across the width. Most houses have the same type of fence outside made of bundled sticks. It is called a "coyote fence" for obvious reasons. The desert area has coyotes as well as mountain cats and other interesting critters.

Mi Casa in Santa Fe

To check out Santa Fe to see if it is everything the travel books say it is, I flew out. Checking out the different neighborhoods I found a small house on the edge of an arroyo (a natural valley made by a stream). Like all structures in Santa Fe it is adobe in a pastel color to match the surroundings. I fell in love and within 3 weeks I was moving in.