Tuesday, July 22

Santa Fe, Redux

For Lester and me, the answer to the question where were you on September 11, 2001 is Santa Fe, NM. So, this trip was intended as a palate cleanser of sorts.  I believe it was successful. However, another couple of days here would be great.  But these a barnstormers have a date in San Antonio and we need to be moving on.

Today was a very relaxing day.  We strolled pretty much everywhere.  We visited Santa Fe Cathedral (recently named a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI) and the Loretto Chapel.  The Cathedral has simple interior and exterior decorations that are quite striking. One of the windows that really caught my eye was a stained glass dove that is very reminiscent of  the dove window in the Vatican. See for yourself.

Vatican Dove Window

Santa Fe Cathedral

The Loretto Chapel has a miraculous staircase.  The story goes roughly like this.  The good nuns needed a new staircase to the choral loft, they prayed for 9 consecutive days and a stranger arrived and spent the next six months building the staircase.  Once the stairs were completed the carpenter disappeared without seeking payment of any sort, neither for the materials or his time.  That is miraculous enough, but the structure is pretty fabulous too.  They are built with no visible means of support.  

Tiki/Ronde Barber look-a-like - story to follow.

As we walked through the Chapel, Lester noticed a man who looked like one of the Barber twins.  If you are unfamiliar with them they both played pro football, Tiki with the Giants and Ronde with the Bucs.  Tiki has a well-deserved reputation as a d-bag for abandoning his pregnant wife for a Maxim model.  Lester was trying to figure out which brother it was so he googled images of both men's wives.  The woman traveling with our mystery man was, let's say, no supermodel.  Ronde's wife is black, Tiki's is a hot Maxim model, as already mentioned.  Given Tiki's history as a flaming d-bag, then, it must have been Tiki we saw.

Now back to your show.

There is also a beautiful rosette window in the choir loft.

We wandered around and found a lovely mircobrewery. They had a kolsch on tap for Lester but no wheat beers for me so I ordered a glass of sparkling wine.  It came in a can with a straw and was made by Coppola vineyards, of Francis Ford Coppola fame.  Both drinks were actually pretty good, although I think Lester enjoyed his a bit more.

It appeared that the skies were about to open up and pour down on us so we headed for the Museum of International Folk Art.  It is definitely worth the stop even if you aren't seeking shelter from a storm (that never materialized by the way).

Santa Fe is an arty, foodie, scenic town with lots of public art

Part art, part doggie parking lot

This represents some variety of endangered river trout swimming in sand, meant as a reminder of how scarce water is in NM. 

Sumo frogs

But the biggest outdoor art surprise was at Gerald Peters Gallery.  We were driving down the road and three of Jun Kaneko's dangos were sitting by the side of the road, marking the entrance to the gallery.  The gallery will be having a Kaneko show starting about August 8.  All of the pieces in the show will be in their online catalog should anyone wish to go shopping.  www.gpgallery.com

We had dinner at "The Whole Hog".  Lester proclaimed the ribs the best E.V.E.R.  So, if you are in Santa Fe and looking for BBQ the Whole Hog is the place to go.

After dinner we took our blue bag chairs (see there was a reason to drag them with us... still hoping to use that tent.) and headed to the plaza for a free concert that is part of the New Mexico Jazz Festival.  The band was playing a tribute to Ray Charles which made the concert particularly enjoyable.

Beautiful flowers on the lamppost.

Drive to Roswell, NM (yeah baby) and Carlsbad Canyon National Park tomorrow.

A&L