The time change allows for an early morning wake up and an opportunity to wander downtown Santa Fe with few people and traffic. It’s a beautiful morning – 75 degrees, sunny, blue sky with a few clouds. Perfect for walking around. The history is one of the reasons to come to Santa Fe. Older than St. Augustine, you can learn and discover so much every time.

First stop, the oldest church and across the alleyway, the house in the U.S.A. – circa 1620’s.

The architecture around Santa Fe hasn’t changed much and in the historic areas it is legally required to be traditional adobe construction. Other areas choose to have the same look but not necessarily exactly the adobe construction.

I wander various streets finding some interesting art and fun touristy stuff in the windows.

The Museum of Contemporary Art is one of my favorite adobe style buildings.

The Cathedral Basilica St. Francis of Assisi is the French Romanesque style church completed in 1869. Made of stone and one of the few non-adobe structures. The stained glass windows were shipped from France. Another church had been on the site a mission adobe style church built in 1714. When they constructed the stone cathedral, they kept this portion of the adobe mission church and named it Our Lady of Peace Chapel.. Inside the chapel is a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary made in Spain in the 1400s and brought to Santa Fe in 1625. Still amazes me when I hear this story. A replica of this statue is used in the Fiestas de Santa Fe and carried from the Cathedral to the Rosario Chapel as part of the procession of the La Conquistadors.

And don’t forget the statues around the church. In front of the church, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the first Archbishop (no photo), and the first Native American Woman Saint. In the church yard on the side is a statue presented on the 400 year anniversary of Santa Fe to represent the various European people who arrived and created Santa Fe as a city.

Then there is this man – homeless? or someone working on a big project?

A must stop – Loretto Chapel. Built 1873-1878 and now a museum. The incredible wooden staircase inside and the story fills one with awe.

Definitely have to experience the breakfast tradition at the Plaza Cafe. A historic place – opened in 1905 – the oldest continuous operating restaurant in Santa Fe.

From breakfast we went to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum This is a gem if you like her art. So much to see in one place!

An exhibit gallery within the museum contains art of the Native American people from the area where Georgia O’Keefe was inspired. There is an interesting video with the artists describing their art pieces on display in the gallery.

On the way back, Ann and I came across an opportunity to attend a concert as part of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. The concert was in the St. Francis Auditorium in the New Mexico Museum of Art which fit in perfectly with a day filled with adobe historic buildings. The auditorium was built in 1917 as part of the Museum to be able to hold concerts, lectures, and community events. WOW it was an amazing concert performance by Ran Dank on piano. There was a standing ovation for his incredible talent.

Dinner tonight will be at Coyote Cafe, a signature Santa Fe restaurant since 1987. Chef Mark Miller pioneered the contemporary Southwestern cuisine known today. I am looking forward to it as last year we never made it there for dinner.