May 18 Tourist Day
We spent the day at leisure in Santa Fe. Long history here as it is the oldest European city west of the Mississippi established in 1610 by the Spaniards who built their post here on the site of a Pueblo ruin. The Spanish ruled the area for roughly 200 years until Mexico gained it's independence in 1821. It became a US territory at the start of the Mexican American War in 1846 before finally gaining statehood in 1912. It makes for a very diverse culture.
It's the state capital but only the 4th largest city in New Mexico. The old town is known for their adobe buildings and narrow winding roads. There is a very active arts community and extensive galleries. We wound up spending most of the day at the New Mexico Museum of History which was very informative. So much we did not really know about this part of the country. We could have spent more time there but wanted to take in the New Mexico Museum of Art also. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi built between 1869 and 1887 overlooks the town and has been the sight of a church since the towns founding. Church was designed with spires but funds ran out before they could be added. The church houses the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the US which was brought from Spain in 1625. Unfortunately, the building was closed.
So we headed to the Loretto Chapel which was part of an all girls school run by the Sisters of Loretto. Now a museum, it houses the "miraculous" staircase - a wooden spiral staircase built around 1878 without a center support post. Legend had it a carpenter showed up to build it answering the sisters prayers and left when completed without being paid. It makes 2 complete turns while going up over 20' using 33 steps. Then some dinner at the Plaza Café before driving around to explore a few other areas of town and finally landing at Bosque Brewing for a few samples.
Food here is very Southwestern -i.e. Mexican food is everywhere. In particular they take their chile sauces very seriously. Red and/or green chile sauces on everything served. On the plaza downtown the light poles have strings of chiles hanging from them rather than the typical flower pots you would expect. Even their license plate shows a red and green chile with the proclamation "Chile Capital of the World". We enjoy an occasional Mexican meal but most of it has been just too spicy for us. What can I say - we're wimps !!
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