Santa Fe Day 2

The method of narrate first then add pictures seemed to work so I will do that again.

Today we played tourist in Santa Fe.  We started out at the Basillica of St. Francis.  The garden beside the church houses the stations of the cross in bronze that are spectacular.  The faces of the statues are truly breathtaking.  We then went to the Loretto Chapel to see the miracle staircase.  It was built without center supports or nails by a carpenter that was believed to be St. Joseph.  We ventured to the other side of town to see the oldest mission church in the United States devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  We spent the afternoon browsing the fascinating galleries on Canyon Road.  Tonight's sunset was outstanding.

Interior Door of St. Francis

Some advise we should all follow

Baptismal Font decorated with beautiful calle lillies

Stained glass in St. Francis

Jesus

Jesus meets Mary, his mother

Jesus carries the cross while wearing the crown of thorns

Mary holds Jesus (like the Pieta)

Jesus entombed

Add captn

Miracle Staircase
Picture above is the angel at the Holy Water Font in Loretto

detail of the staircase

Altar at Loretto modeled after Ste. Chappel in Paris

stained glass in Loretto

looking through the courtyard of Loretto at the bell tower of St. Francis

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Side altar in Our Lady of Guadalupe

Bronze  fountain and wind ornaments on Canyon Road

Rock, Paper, Scissors

I thought this was neat

Pond outside Chalk Farm Gallery on Canyon Road

This picture is misplaced but I can't move it!

Santa Fe Day One

This is my second try at this blog.  I was just about to post last night after spending quite some time on the blog and I somehow deleted the whole thing!  UGH!!  I am going to try a new approach tonight. 

I just love the architecture of Santa Fe.  No builing is allowed to be taller than the churches and they all have to be one of 4 colors of brown.  I also like the preservation of natural and native american history that is crucial to this city.  The views are spectacular!  We were here last year and had lunch at the historic Plaza Cafe.  Shortly after, it was destroyed by a kitchen fire.  Now they are making it into a movie set.  "Doc" is a local that is still flashing back to the sixties, but insists that he has been in many movies.  We have always seen the signs for the largest ball of twine as we drove across Kansas.  Last year, I was bound and determined to stop to see it on a roadtrip to Denver.  The signs were gone!  Well, I thought I had found the ball of twine. 

Now for the pictures!

I feel so welcome!

vendors and shoppers at the Palace of the Governors

All vendors must be Native American and produce all of their wares with local materials

local architecture

I really liked this balcony

Plaza Cafe is no more.  Sad!!

"Doc" the actor

The ball of twine ended up being a ball of plastic bags.  What a disappointment!!

This reminded me of Autie!

Santa Fe Railroad Depot

The New Mexico Express that runs between Amarillo and Santa Fe daily

It snowed here Tuesday!!

This cute bunny was right by me!

Oklahoma City

I stepped back in time today by visiting my childhood home in Oklahoma City.  My family lived here from 1970-73.  It is amazing how much I forgot about the area!  I could have never found the house without a GPS!  The first picture shows the infamous street light-the one we had to be under by the time it was illuminated each night!

Our second stop today was the Memorial to those who perished in the April 19, 1995 bombing of the federal center.  We can all remeber where we were at 9:02am when the bombing occured.The 19 children would now be getting driver's licenses, graduating from high school, and buying their first legal drink.  The victims were robbed of one of the best times of their lives-retirement.  They will not walk their daughters/sons done the aisle, see them graduate, watch a spectacular sunset while enjoying a cabernet, wait for the dogwoods to bloom, or see their grandkids grow up.  All of this devestation was caused  by one bad seed.  Viewing this site was quite emotional, but I think my best tribute to these people is letting the pictures speak. 

And the most telling of all