October 9

Light from the rising sun filled our room to awaken us. While we were cursing ourselves for leaving a blind open on an east-facing window, we were glad to get up a little earlier than usual in order to get a jump on the day. Our plan was to walk around Old Town Santa Fe to see as many sights and stores as we could.

We headed downstairs to have some breakfast. Upon smelling the potatoes frying, I remembered why we were staying at a B&B. There’s nothing that can create a vacation highlight faster than a fresh, home-cooked breakfast shared with perfect strangers. Not only did El Paradero provide us with that experience, but they also made great food. The menu that day was scrambled eggs, hash browns, and homemade biscuits. All of it was delicious. Eating it in a sunlight filled room while conversing with people from different parts of the world just made the experience better.

We had a lot to see that day, so we made a beeline for our first stop: the San Miguel Mission. This church, which is just south on the Loretto Chapel on Old Santa Fe Trail, was an interesting example of colonial Spanish architecture. We then went past the Loretto Chapel (which we thought about visiting again) to the Cathedral. I wanted to get there by 10 a.m. because guided tours of the structure are given at that time. However, a funeral was starting, so we figured that the tours would be cancelled.

With our Cathedral plans disrupted, we walked two blocks northwest to the Palace of Governors. I was really looking forward to touring this building because it is one of the oldest buildings in the United States (constructed in 1610). But, my enthusiasm became tempered by some of the unimaginative exhibits inside the structure. I tempered my disappointment by visiting some of the shops around the Palace and purchasing some momentos.

We headed west to the Sanctuario de Guadelupe on the western edge of downtown, only to discover that the structure was closed from noon until 1 p.m. Since we weren’t hungry yet, we decided to walk back to the cathedral to see if another guided tour was being offered. It wasn’t, but there was a friendly docent who gave us some interesting facts about the stained glass and the baptismal font. We spent about 45 minutes listening to him and taking pictures of the interior.

We left the cathedral and proceeded to do some shopping in some of Old Town’s stores. It became apparent to us when our arms were filled with shopping bags that we probably should go back to El Paradero to drop off our purchases before continuing our explorations. On our way back, we decided to take a look around the state capital building.

The state capital building doesn’t look like most state capital buildings. I’ve been to several state capitals (Sacramento, Montpellier, Jackson, and Atlanta) and all of them have the same basic look: a semi-classical square building with a rotunda. The New Mexico capital is a large round building with no rotunda. However, the change from the other capital buildings didn’t seem like an improvement to me. While I don’t find state capital buildings particularly striking, this one seemed quite plain on the exterior. I found that my impressions of the exterior carried over to the interior. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the interior. It was simply that there was nothing distinctive about it either. But, what most astonished me was the lack of security in the building. We were visiting just one month after September 11th. Yet, while the rest of the country was being subjected to body cavity searches at other public buildings, the only security presence at the New Mexico State capital was two sleepy guards who didn’t even look like they could catch a fly. I don’t know if it was a statement about the safety level in New Mexico, or a statement on the probability of terrorist actions in Santa Fe. Still, it seemed a little out of place given the mood of the country. While the lack of security was interesting, I still can’t recommend a visit to the New Mexico capital building. There are just too many other things to see in Santa Fe that must be seen before visiting the capital.

After our brief visit, we made it back to El Paradero. We dropped off our packages, and took a short rest. We then left and headed up South Guadelupe Street to make another attempt at seeing the Sanctuario de Guadelupe. Before we made it to that church, our growling stomachs reminded us that we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and that it was now 2:30 p.m. So, we stopped at the Zia Café. It turned out to be a great choice. The Café is decorated in a style that makes it look like a diner. However, there’s nothing diner-like about their food. In addition to the obligatory Southwest dishes, there are several entrees that were standard American cuisine. I had a pastrami sandwich on rye bread that came with french fries which was absolutely delicious. Best of all, the prices were reasonable (my meal cost $7.95). I recommend a visit to the Zia Café if one is looking for good food that isn’t too exotic.

After our filling lunch, we continued up Guadelupe Street to the Sanctuario de Guadelupe. This time, it was open. So, we paid our $1 admission price and entered. We immediately had the same sense of disappointment that we had experienced at the Old San Ysidro Church. The sanctuary’s interior was gutted except for an incredible painted altarpiece. As was the case with the Old San Ysidro Church, the structure had been converted to a museum/performing arts center. And like the Old San Ysidro Church, the conversion only detracted from the history of the building. I really wonder why New Mexico residents allowed such conversions to happen. Maybe the thought was that by converting these churches to another use, they would continue to serve a function in the community. However, what actually happened was that the historical/cultural significance was stripped out of the building. Without that soul, there turned out to be no reason to visit these buildings. I regretfully have to recommend that people avoid the Sanctuario de Guadelupe.

Given our disappointment, we decided to visit something that seemed likely to be enjoyable. So, we headed to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. It turned out to be a good decision. The quality of the art and the arrangement of the works made for an educational visit.

We did a little more shopping after our visit to the O’Keeffe Museum and then headed back to El Paradero. El Paradero’s owners had made batches of two different cookie varieties for the guests. We grabbed a few cookies and headed up to our room. After our snack, we sorted out our shopping and began relaxing. Outside, clouds started rolling in and a breeze picked up, indicating a storm was blowing into the area. We figured that would be a good time to take a nighttime stroll of downtown Santa Fe. We quickly put on our shoes and set off for our walk. The night brought out very interesting qualities in the old town. The coming storm had chased most of the people off of the streets, so the area was slightly desolate. Yet, the lack of people only heightened the presence of Old Town’s ghosts. One could feel the presence of history mixed with Catholicism and culture in the air. The whole scene vividly reminded me of old Quebec City. I’ve been to several places in the United States with a distinctive atmosphere, but I’ve never been anywhere in the United States that had such a foreign feel as existed in old town Santa Fe.

It started raining just as we made it back to El Paradero. We went back to our room, spent a couple of hours listening to the rain, and then went to sleep.

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