A Colorful Journey… Beautiful Santa Fe

So often my domestic travels take me to beautiful places throughout the United States, but rarely do I travel domestically for pleasure.  It seems it’s always for work and we all know what happens when you travel that way.  It’s difficult to enjoy and really experience the location you’ve traveled to.  Not this time, this time I had the opportunity to spend time in one of the Southwest’s most beautiful places, Santa Fe, New Mexico.  It has been years since I had been there, and for the life of me I don’t know why.  It’s fairly close, not too expensive to get to, I really should go more often.

What I like the most about Santa Fe is the history that surrounds it, the architecture and the culture of the people.  Oh yeah, I love the southwestern art.  I have grown up surrounded by this type of art, kachina dolls, pottery, rugs, silver jewelry and amazing folk art.

Santa Fe (meaning “holy faith” in Spanish) The city’s full name when founded was La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís (“The Royal Town of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi”) The city of Santa Fe was originally occupied by a number of Pueblo Indian villages with founding dates between 1050 to 1150. One of the earliest known settlements in what today is downtown Santa Fe came sometime after 900. A Native American group built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today’s Plaza and spread for half a mile to the south and west; the village was called Ogapoge.  To learn more about Santa Fe you might want to visit here.  I am not here to give you a history lesson but to share a bit of my trip.  My favorite thing to do when I travel is simply to walk around and visit those places that I am drawn to.

Old Santa Fe was laid out to emanate from the Central Plaza (Park).  On one side you have the Palace of the Governor’s while on the eastern side you have the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Frances of Assisi.  If you have not been to Santa Fe before spending the day around the plaza is a must and by all means take your time and do a little street shopping around the plaza.  Santa Fe is also very well known for it’s public art, whether it’s old tree trunks that have been carved along the Santa Fe River to the beautiful art that is for sale along Canyon Road.  A lovely little road filled with Art Galleries that hold some of today’s most important artists.  I have tried to capture for you in photos the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Frances Assisi, Loretto Chapel, Public Art and some of the beautiful Santa Fe Architecture.  I hope you enjoy the photos and you find some time to make your way to Santa Fe.

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Frances Assisi

Loretto Chapel

Art & Architecture of Santa Fe