New Mexico holds a special place in my heart.  Family vacations were spent in nearby New Mexico, and as a teenager, I worked summers near Santa Fe.  Needless to say, I was excited to be going back, and even with the many changes, I wasn’t disappointed.

First stop was the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

This statue in front of the Saint Francis Cathedral honors Jean Baptiste Lamy’s installation as the first Archbishop of Santa Fe.  He was responsible for the construction of the Saint Francis Cathedral between 1869 and 1846.  Since he was from France, he had the cathedral built in the Romanesque Revival style and used French architects and Italian stonemasons.  The cathedral is dramatically different from the other adobe missions and structures in the area.

The La Conquistadora Chapel is the only remaining part of the original adobe church.  The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary dates from 1626 and is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States.

The stained glass windows are from France and depict the twelve apostles.  The Stations of the Cross were done by a local folk artist.

This statue of Saint Francis, the patron saint of the diocese, was brought to the cathedral in 1967.  I felt a sense of awe and wonder while visiting the cathedral.

Lunch time!  The Mrs. knew the best restaurants.  Oh, how we enjoyed eating outside under the trees at la Casa Sena.  It was wonderful.

I was really taken by the blue corn muffin.  See the yellow kernels of corn in the muffin.  I so want to try to duplicate this.

I think friend BB was the winner with her mushroom tamale.  This is going under Eli!  The tamale was both beautiful and delicious.  They even fanned some of the mushrooms.

Then it was time for the “Material Girls” (Thank Pappa Gibson for this label) to shop.

Native Americans from nearby pueblos still sell their beautiful wares in front of the Governor’s Palace.  Be still my heart!  I loved shopping here.  Be warned.  The turquoise and silver jewelry isn’t cheap (but none of it is in Santa Fe or anywhere for that matter), but most of what I saw was of excellent quality.  The good news is some things have changed, and they now take credit cards.

I bought a silver bracelet from this nice lady.  I think I have worn it every day since I bought it.  Don’t like it much do I?

Aren’t these the perfect shoes to wear in Santa Fe?  The Mrs. found these in a little shop around the plaza.  Too cute!

Shopping around the plaza was fun, but overwhelming at times.  I don’t think I have ever seen so many high end  shops in one area.  It was unbelievable.  But then I don’t get out much!

At the end of the day we visited the Lorreto Chapel and its miraculous staircase.  The staircase never ceases to amaze me.  There is no center support to the staircase, and they aren’t sure who built it.  When it was first built, there were no banisters.  Can you imagine?  Only on my hands and knees could I have climbed the steps, and then I would have been afraid and cried for Momma.

Again, the town closed down (we are queens of closing down towns), and there were still things to see and do.

We headed back to Chimayo for supper at La Tiendita Rancho de Chimayo.

From what I hear La Tiendita is famous far and wide.  We sat inside, but some people were out on the two tiered patio.  Looks good doesn’t it!

When the food came, we couldn’t believe the bigger than huge portions.

No doubt about it, the food was delicious, but words can not begin to describe how much food was on the platters.  If I ate a third of my nachos, I would be lying.  Consider sharing if you go.

Have you ever thought about stuffing a sopapilla?  Great idea – if I made sopapillas.  Trust me.  That is a big platter of food, but oh, so good.  The queso covering the entire plate made me weak in the knees.  The guacomole was as good as it looks.

By far, the best part of the meal were the giant sopapillas.  I liked them, I loved them, I want more of them!.  Let it be known that the sopapillas were divine.  No “free” chips and hot sauce (you can order them), but I will take sopapillas over chips and hot sauce any day of the week.

Tired, weary, and waddling we headed back to the cabin to fortify for another day.  It is a wonderful life, and I am blessed!

Blessings to you and yours,