Santa Fe, New Mexico

Bill and I had been here once before but long ago.  I couldn't remember much about it.  And the  critters had never been!  So...

Here are some photos from me Snooping Around in Santa Fe...

 And first thing I had to photograph was...Snoopy!  Well, some sort of resemblance anyways - Snoopy with a Swing.  Pretty cute!  Corrugated metal never looked so good!

That capitol building.  Very unusual design for a capitol building but maybe this is partly because Santa Fe is North America's oldest capital city (and the oldest European city west of the Mississippi), founded in 1607! And for you English-as-written professionals (Patty!), here's a test.  Did you notice, or already know, the difference between capitOL and capitAL?  Well, I thought I knew, but it turns out I didn't!  So, if you're like me, here's the deal.  CapitOL buildings are in the state capitAL cities.  Got it?!  And of course, capitAL also refers to wealth or larger letters, but we all knew that part, right?!  Isn't English screwed up?!!!!  Cuz, man, if that's not a spelling booby trap, I don't know what is!

 More of the capitOL in the capitAL!

 The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assis.

 The Loretto Chapel was built in 1878 as a Roman Catholic church.  It no longer serves as a church but is popular for hosting weddings.

 Cool quintessential Santa Fe design atop the Inn at Loretto.

 The Inn and Spa at Loretto.  A far cry from staying in an RV park!  But we still prefer the latter, with all our own comforts of home and, of course and primarily, our kids!!!

 The San Miguel Church, whose sign reads:  "Oldest Church structure in the USA.  The original adobe walls and altar were built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico under the direction of Franciscan Padres ca. 1610."

 And the oldest house in Santa Fe.  

 A fun-looking window in a boutique.  Fiesta!

 Ole`  Jesus!   (sorry, don't know how to work my keyboard to get the accent over the e!)

 Inviting store.  Too bad it's closed!

 Flores moradas, muy bonitas!

 Colorful cafe.

 The Hotel Chimayo de Santa Fe.  A pretty building and a pretty section of sidewalk.

 The town's center is a park, just like in Mexico.

 The zocalo of Santa Fe (not to be confused with the real estate development!).

 Cute casitas!

 Love the style.  

 Artsy-fartsy Santa Fe photo.

 Here was one of the more traditional, real, old places in Santa Fe.  They had a wall surrounding the entire estate (yes, I had to walk all the way around to find a spot low enough for me to peek over and get a photo!!).  Some men were doing work on the wall, so I asked them about it and the home.  They told me the home was very old (I think they said over 100 years old, but I can't remember - it may have been much older) and that they had to repair the adobe (house buildings and wall) constantly.  I can imagine!  While I find the typical Santa Fe architecture appealing, I REALLY like the authentic, real adobe houses the best.

Very nice!

 Another artsy-fartsy photo!

A mix of old and new on this little dead end dirt road.   Being such an old city also means very narrow, and often winding, streets - ones that were probably built for horses/mules/donkeys and carts and wagons!