Santa Fe

So, we began our journey of Santa Fe at the Capitol Building. Lee Ann was our guide and it was really nice because that's basically what she does for a living. So it was really like an inside tour.

The Capitol Building is circular and it was really hard to get a good picture because there are trees blocking the view right from where I took this photo.

Right outside the area was this piece of art that was a dedication of all the native Indian tribes
that were original inhabitants of New Mexico.

This sculpture, that is right outside the Capitol Building, was created by the same person who designed the Sacagawea gold dollar, a New Mexican citizen.

Where the actual business is done....

The circular rotunda reminded me a lot of Texas.

The New Mexican symbol as seen on many different things. Each quad represents four things meaningful in our lives. The four directions, four seasons, four times of the day and four steps in our life cycle.

So all over the building it almost fools you into thinking it's an arts museum. There is art EVERYWHERE. New Mexico decided to put 1 or 2% of their budget into this collection. Interesting...what do the citizens say??

We also got to see the Office of the Governor which does not exist at the Texas State Capitol. Very interesting. Throughout the year the governor will host private meetings where you can speak with him for 5 minutes. The receptionist said he holds tight to the 5 minutes but that he will stay there all day and night until each person has had their chance to visit with him. VERY IMPRESSIVE....

Across the street from the parking lot, Lee Ann said we just had to see this gallery. I guess we were in a very artsy mood then.

Of course it was in an original adobe building.

While walking in the entrance gate you can see the original adobe blocks.

BEAUTIFUL!! I think I can make these and sell them in craft fairs :)

The coolest part of the gallery was the sculpture garden. The weather was like 75-80 and the breeze was magical. This was definitely a fun time. I wish I could have had time to sit and read or listen to music.

I like to call this sculpure... "Brandy Alexander" lol

Now, this wasn't just any sculpture garden. A very large part of the center was the pond where there were even DUCKS!

Then, I got to pick where we ate lunch. I looked at my websites and found there was Zia's Adobe Diner as featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Woohoo!!

We sat on the porch because the weather was sooooooooo awesome!

I was feeling so good I ordered a coconut margarita. Oopsie, won't do that again. But it was very cute.....

So, Guy Fieri named three dishes as the must-haves here. One was the salmon quesadillas. I'm a fan, for sure!

And the chile cheese fries were also featured so I got some for the whole table. I thought there would be regular meat chili but it was really GREEN chiles. Nice....

But the adobe building we ate in was a National Historic Place...can't beat that!

One more view of the diner......

Then we headed to the Plaza, a general meeting group for people to shop, eat, and chill out in the park. Here I found this great plaque representing the Santa Fe Trail where the city gained it's popularity and usefulness.

The park area was great for this fantastic weather we were having! If I had been here alone I would have stopped and journaled like a nerd lol.

Lee Ann showed us where their historical plaque once had something to the affect of 'here men defended their homes against savage Native Americans' and someone came and scratched out savage! Lol I was surprised to hear savage was once there, though.

So the plaza is most famous for the Indiand Market. Here local tribes line up each morning to set up a 3 foot by 3 foot Indian rug and put different jewelry and crafts on to sell. If they get there too late, then they don't get a spot. Here I found a lot of turquoise jeweley. I actually ended up getting a cross necklace with a turquoise piece in the middle. I've had lots of compliments.

Next we went to the Basillica de Franscisco de Assisi.

It was really hot so we actually ended up at the La Fonda hotel bar.

I had me a DELICIOUS prickly pear margarita.

Beautiful street we were on.......

Took another picture of the market. Note: you have to take it from across the street because the Indians consider it rude and get upset to take their picture without permission.

SHOPPING!! Found a cute Christmas ornament for Santa Fe.

Then we were off for Taos and you know I have to show you my fav, the MOUNTAINS!

While we were on the way we stopped to see what the Santa Fe Opera looks like. I will be here seeing a show one day. Ticket prices start around $250. Yikes......

The beautiful Rio Grande River flowing through the mountains.....POSTCARD! And these cliffs were beautiful too. We actually pulled over at this point to take pictures of the beautiful scenery.

Hola from New Mexico! Haha you can't even see the pig-tails because they blend in with the surroundings. Lol nice

POSTCARD! I love photography. Thank you camera :)

Then we got to Taos and stayed at the Sagebrush Inn. GREAT CHOICE!!!

We had a drink on the back patio. WHAT A VIEW, huh???

And the room was huge. It was actually a deluxe suite because of Lee Ann's travel hook ups. I actually slept on that huge chest at the back of the room. Lol ok, ok, it folded down into a very comfortable bed. I was really happy with this place. So after a few drinks it was sleep time so we could get ready for our busy day of TAOS, NEW MEXICO!