Walk the Santa Fe Trail
Written: Jan 27 '05 (Updated Feb 04 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: History, architecture, great museums and food.
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: I loved Santa Fe. I think it is a great destination for anyone. There is much to do. Much more than could be in this review.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Santa Fe |
We spent several wonderful days in Santa Fe, New Mexico this summer.
About Santa Fe and what to do:
Formally founded in 1610 Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States. The area has been home to Pueblo Indians for more than 1,000 years. Spanish colonists came to Santa Fe in 1598 and soon after established Santa Fe as the Spanish Empire‘ seat of power north of the Rio Grande. Santa Fe‘ mountain setting, 400 year old architecture and the people who live here numbering 40,277 (or from another tally 55,900) make this city very special.
You will want to stop at the Visitor‘s Center located between Federal Place and West Marcy Street. There is metered parking there as well as elsewhere but you will also find a parking lot here as well as a Municipal parking lot on Water Street and a couple on Sandoval Street. Be very careful in this city. This was one of the two parking tickets we got this summer. I stopped to buy a hat making us (no kidding) one minute beyond the meter expiration. We had a ticket.
You will spend a great deal of time in the Plaza area. I love to shop especially through vendors. The Plaza area is vendor haven. All four sides of the plaza are filled with vendors selling mostly jewelry but you will also find souvenirs and artwork. Inside the Plaza, which is a park-like setting, you will see a baselisk monument in the center of the plaza commemorating the rich history and culture of Santa Fe. We took a tour of the city through Aboot. We normally do not go on guided tours but this was worth the $10.00
The Palace of the Governors which is an historical museum and the oldest building in the United States at 400 years old is where you will discover New Mexico ‘ history. The famous row of vendors is in front of this beautiful building. What is different about these vendors is the fact they have to prove they made the crafts and go before a bureau in order to get a license. Price compare but other than a necklace and earring I bought from a women at The Fonda Hotel this is where I bought my items.
Stop into La Fonda Hotel. It is beautiful and has restrooms. It is also the only hotel that has a non smoking bar. La Fonda Hotel located at 100 East San Francisco Street which is the end of the Santa Fe Trail is one of the oldest hotels in the U.S. having been built around 1925.
Back to the Palace of Governors. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. and is free on Fridays from 5:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. The fee is $7.00 otherwise unless you are under 16 then it is always free. We went on a Friday night and found that they put out food out such as cheese, nuts and lemonade! Much of the first building is a history/museum of the west. The Palace is quite large. We then went out into a pretty courtyard and found a bookstore which we went back to because we found an extensive exhibit called “Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico. “ Being Jewish we were fascinated. However there were others in the exhibit whom I do not think were Jewish who seemed to enjoy it as well. A volunteer was there to give a short talk and answer questions. We went back to the bookstore to buy a wonderful book called “Jewish Pioneers of New Mexico.“
This leads me to a gorgeous cathedral you will see. Saint Francis Cathedral was built in 1869. There is a Chapel connected to it which has its own history and stained glass windows everywhere. When I wrote my review of Aboot I mentioned that I could not find any information about the Hebrew letters on this Church. I am doing a presentation for a religious group we belong to on the Jews of New Mexico so I did more in depth research. A man named Abraham Staab made a generous donation to the building of this Cathedral. He could converse with Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy in his native French and so they were friends. Staab and other Jews gave him money for the Cathedral. Staab says that the Archbiship was so grateful that he ordered the Hebrew inscription on the front of the Cathedral. There is no proof of this except word of mouth documentation. The inscription contains the four consonants of the name for G-d in Hebrew Adonoi. This is an amazing site. The implications of it are stronger than can come across in this review.
You will be going into (I can almost guarantee it.) Loretta‘s Chapel. It has been on the television show Unsolved Mysteries because of the mystery of the staircase. This staircase is considered miraculous because as the story goes a carpenter appeared and built it in answer to the Sister‘s of Loretta‘s Noveno and then vanished without getting paid. It costs $2.50 just to go in and see the staircase so if you plan on doing that and the tour then wait and see it with the tour because that is included in the $10 charge. You will learn a lot about this staircase and it is quite interesting. The staircase by the way is only used for weddings. The staircase has 33 steps in two full 360 degree turns. It has no center support, nor is it held from its sides. Legend says that a mysterious carpenter appeared to construct this staircase that was needed to get to the choir loft from the chapel. When the staircase was done the carpenter disappeared without payment. You will find this Chapel at 207 Old Santa Fe Trail.
The State Capitol was interesting. It is located at 411 State Capitol. The side street is Old Santa Fe Trail. The Capitol is known as the roundhouse. The building is New Mexico ‘ fifth State Capitol to be built. (The Palace of the Governors was the first State Capitol.)
You might want to go to the Museum of Fine Arts located at 107 West Palace Avenue. It costs $7.00 to get in and is open Tuesdays through Sundays (closed Mondays) 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. It is free on Friday nights from 5:00pm to 8:00p.m. The Museum dates back to 1917 and was built to preserve and promote the art and artists of the Southwest. Look for special exhibits. When we went there was a special exhibit of Nicholas and Alexandra. This was a highlight of this museum truthfully. I was not all that impressed with the rest of it. The second floor has nice photographs and a small area dedicated to modern painters such as Andy Warhol.
Santa Fe has so much to see and do even off the beaten track. On Cerillos Road (which is not off the beaten track in fact it is the major road it just is not in the Plaza area) we went into Jackalope. Located at 2820 Cerillos Road this is one of their four locations. Your children will love Jackalope where they truly do sell “everything under the sun.“ You will find pottery, rugs, jewelry, glassware, baskets, and folk art. The store is jam packed from floor to ceiling with “stuff.“ You will see artisans at work and hear music playing. Just one word of warning. Jackalope is the ultimate in stimuli overload so if you or your children get over stimulated by looking at too many things this might not be a stop you want to make.
Other recommendations include Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery which I rated 4 stars if you want Mexican/Southwest type food this is a good choice.
Longevity Cafe which I rated 5 stars was one of the best vegetarian restaurants in which I have been. A favorite of mine for soup and salad is Souper Salad in Santa Fe, New Mexico and as you leave you might want to stop at Petroglyph National Monumentin Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I am keeping track of the reviews I am writing chronicling our 3-month cross country trip. Please feel free to leave a question or comment about this review, any below or traveling cross country. jo
Applebee's in Ohio
Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky • Bella Notte This is a restaurant in Lexington, Kentucky
Buckstaff Bathhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas • Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas
Bicentennial Mall State Park in Nashville, TN • Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, TN • Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN • Rippy‘s Smokin‘ Bar & Grill in Nashville, TN • National Civil Right Museum in Memphis, TN • Graceland in Memphis, TN • Rum Boogie Cafe in Memphis, TN
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma • Oklahoma City National Memorial in Oklahoma
ABout About Tour in Santa Fe, NM • Blue Corn Cafe & Brewery in Santa Fe, NM • Longevity Cafe in Santa Fe • Souper Salad in Santa Fe, New Mexico • Petroglyph National Monumentin Albuquerque, New Mexico
Petrified Forest National Forestin Arizona • Slide Rock State Park in Sedona, Arizona • Sedona, Arizona
Taste of Thai a San Diego restaurant • Handlery Hotel in San Diego, CA • Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Los Angeles, CA • Kan Zam restaurant in San Francisco, CA • Polker Gourmet Burgers in San Francisco • Holiday Inn Express in San Francisco, CA • Las Margaritas in San Francisco, CA • Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma, CA • Beringer Vineyards in Napa Valley, CA • The Coffee Gardenin Sonoma, CA • Yosemite National Park
Antelope Island State Park in Salt Lake City, Utah • Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah
Yellowstone National Park
Mount Rushmore in South Dakota • Badlands in South Dakota
Montreal Holocaust Museum in Canada
Recommended:
Yes
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Spent one glorious day on the beach. The sun came out!
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