Waking up at 7:30 am (Eastern Time Zone) means 5:30 am Mountain. Always a challenge going from East to West. No matter, up early to write the blog entry from yesterday, some coffee, explore the hotel and head to breakfast at Plaza Cafe.

Art everywhere! The Plaza Cafe opened in1905 and the benefit of covid for them was outdoor seating surrounded by beautiful flowers. We enjoy the hummingbirds feeding on the flowers and the delicious food. Judy had the Huevos Rancheros and Shirley and I had the Blue Corn Piñon Pancake, (doesn’t look that appetizing, don’t let looks fool you) the only place I know you can get these pancakes.

Next we walk to The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral. It isn’t open so we come back later. Again, a must visit. Built from 1869-1886 by the Archbishop Lamy, designed after Notre Dame in Paris. Lamy also helped have the Loretto Chapel built. A statue of a Native American woman, Kateri Tekakwitha, the “First Indian of North America to be promoted to Saint” is prominently out front along with the statue of the Archbishop and St. Francis of Assisi.

The Virgin Mary Statue is used in an annual processional during the Fiesta de Santa Fe. Check out my blog post from 2019 that covers this event in much more detail of the fiesta. Check out Wikipedia for more information about the cathedral.

Fiesta de Santa Fe – 7-8 September, 2019

A fun thing to do is a City Tour on the Loretto Line shuttle around the downtown area. This tour allows you to learn about the rich history of Santa Fe, what is a true adobe house and what is fake, things to do around the city and beyond, and enjoy critiques of galleries and restaurants. Always good for a new visitor and to remind me of how much there is to see and do in this city!

To wrap up the touring day, the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. There is a major capital campaign for a NEW museum a block away. It is going to be much larger. They have raised 91% of the funds so it is well under construction. No matter how many times you go to this museum, it is worthy of another visit to enjoy her art. Enjoy!

The day concludes with dinner at Geronimo – another must. Located near the end of the Canyon Road gallery district, never disappoints!