Friday, August 29, 2008

TRAVELING THE SANTA FE TRAIL

Visiting Santa Fe quickly makes one know why they call New Mexico, "The Land of Enchantment."


We boarded a plane to begin our flight to the oldest capital city in America. Santa Fe, is rich in history, beauty, the arts and architectural heritage. New Mexico, with her bold mountain views and serene havens of tranquility is the 47th State added to the Union in 1912. The city of Santa Fe is a true vacation spot as well as home to very friendly and gracious local folks. Did I mention the great shopping yet? Unique shops line the old town Santa Fe with all sorts of boutiques, stylish markets and truly a shoppers paradise for every taste and shoppers experience. Jewelry, artwork, leather goods, fabrics, pottery and more can be found in great abundance.

Restaurants with just about every type cuisine, positioned between adobe buildings and most with outdoor dining, were all truly excellent. We even had our anniversary dinner on the rooftop of a Latin restaurant called Amavi ~ meaning, Love of Life. The food was incredible and the atmosphere divine.

Art museums that highlight the treasured talents from the area give way to culture on every corner. My favorite museum and highlight of our trip, was to visit the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. It was a joy to view the wonderful works of this great American Artist, specializing in modern abstract. The collection was the largest and foremost exploration of her work, life and vision. We later had lunch in the outdoor museum cafe.

Another joy during our week was to visit the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. We attended church there and it was a beautiful service and spirit filled hour. The local residents welcomed us to the area and wished us a wonderful stay.

The weather was picture perfect the entire week. Temperatures in the 80's with low humidity made walking around town all day a pleasant experience. The town square had daily concerts that we enjoyed with outdoor food stands for grabing a snack or even lunch. The time in Santa Fe went all to quickly as vacations always do, but looking back at our pictures, we already know, we will be going back again for a third time to enjoy the warmth and beauty, the arts, the history and the relaxation that beautiful Santa Fe has to offer. I hope you enjoy some of my pictures. I could not possibly show them all here, but I do have a few to share from along the Santa Fe Trail.

From the landing in Albuquerque we drove to Santa Fe and my picture taking began.



The Beautiful Cathedral, St. Francis of Assisi.

Concerts on the square, ethnic food stands and town adobe buildings.




The historic Route 66 runs right through Santa Fe.

Beautiful city buildings and the crowd gathers for the concert.


The great shopping included this darling dress shop called, The Pinkoyote, I had to take a picture of the pink fireplace inside, for all of us pink girls.


Just a few of the detailed and ornate sculptures that grace the city. The one with the bears is called, Two Pooped Bears. It is fabulous!




Resturants included, rooftop dining, garden dining, paris style outdoor cafe between the buildings and the O'Keeffe outdoor cafe.




Our adventure also took us for a day drive up into the mountains. It was beauty at it's finest work in God's creation. Along the way we ran into a few animal friends and this beautiful mountain art work in lifesize sculpting of a covered wagon and it's horse team. Gorgeous horses grazing in the desert mountains and a few sweet cows wondering who we were and if they should let us pass.





Lastly, I took a few pictures of Santa Fe's beautiful blooms.







Thank you for stopping by to view some of my pictures and for staying to the end of this long post. It was a great trip and one I highly recommend.
Till next time, I will be back in the studio, painting and working on a few new additions in the toile studio to share next post. Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend and Blessings always, Celestina

31 comments:

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Oh you bring back such wonderful memories for me! We visited Santa Fe about 10 years ago! We had the best time ever. Looks like you did too!
Hugs,
Penny

Anonymous said...

Celeste, the next time you go, I'm tagging along! It looks beautiful.

Diane

vickie said...

I feel like I've been on a relaxing vacation after reading this blog and looking at the pics! Sante Fe is a wonderful place. The bear sculpture is delightful. The horse pic is beautiful. The flowers,so pretty. Thanks for sharing. I loved it.

artis1111 said...

I love the photo of the cows. Would you mind if I painted it? Please let me know Thanks I like meeting other artist. Kathy

Charmingdesigns said...

Beautiful photos, its been Years since I have been there. I just got home late last night from our trip and a wonderful box of goodies were waiting for me. Everything is soooo beautiful. I will be posting about them hopefully today...Thank you SO much. Laurie

Ruey said...

Hi Celeste~
Thanks for your prayers...
Your visual tour of Santa Fe is amazing! I feel like I have been there. I will have to put it on my list of places to see. Thanks for sharing, Dear Celestina!
xxxoo Ruth

Cindy@Cutepinkstuff said...

Thank you for the tour! My sister and I are planning a trip to New Mexico soon! Looks like you had a nice time!

Cathy said...

Celeste,

Those pictures of Santa Fe are just wonderful. Love your garden pics and your newest cupcake creations.

xo Cathy

Betzie said...

Hi Celeste!
I have never been to Santa Fe, so it was fun seeing your pics! I can tell you had a great time!

Unknown said...

celeste, this was such a beautiful and informative post! Santa Fe looks like such a beautiful place to visit! So romantic. Perfect for you and Larry to spend your anniversary! Love the horses and the restaurants, everything! Thank you so much for sharing, it felt like I was there!

Love you,
Amy

Art by Ronda Juniper Ray said...

Santa Fe looks like a marvelous place to visit! The sky is so beautiful; one can easily see why so many artists choose to call that area home.

Your comment about wishing you had a few painted old windows hanging in your home made me laugh out loud -- I WISH I DID, TOO! ha ha -- I have not ONE SINGLE ONE of my own hanging either!

I have one -- the home page of my ourcottagegarden website, but that doesn't belong to me; it belongs to my business partner. It's just waiting for me to take a trip to Florida so I can deliver it to her. We don't wish to trust that one to the shippers...

Hope you had a wonderful anniversary and are enjoying a peaceful holiday weekend.

Ronda

kari and kijsa said...

What a great tour and adventure!
Happy Labor Day! Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement!

blessings,
kari & kijsa

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Hi Celestina!
What a fabulous trip! The scenery is so beautiful there isn't it? I've never been out west. Looks like there was so much great stuff to do in Santa Fe. Your pics are wonderful, love the statue of the bears and the pic of the cattle in the road is so adorable. Thanks so much for sharing a great place like that with us, makes me feel like I've been there... almost anyway! Cut hat Celestina!!
Hugs, Sherry

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

What a wonderful trip.The first scholl I ever attended was St Francis of Assisi in New Orleans..All your pictures are beautiful.Love the hat.I want to thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers.We came though the storm with miner damage.A few trees down and one partly on my roof.But thats fine.I only lost power for alittle while.Better than Katrina,that was 4 weeks of hell.LOL .Hugs Marie Antionette

Anne Fannie said...

Hello Celeste, we visited Santa Fe years ago. Your pictures are wonderful, I love all the flower and animal pictures the most!
Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed looking at it!
Love, Ann

roseroomnz.com said...

Great hat! Really enjoyed this post, what a wonderful place to visit. Rachaelxo

Connie said...

I hope ya bought th' hat, lovey chick! Looked good on ya and loved the "style" fit for a princess! Hah.
Smoochies,
Connie

Unknown said...

Looks like you had the most wonderful trip. I have never been to Santa Fe, but this sure looks like a wonderful place to visit. Your photographs are gorgeous. I have an award for you at my post today. Please stop by and take it home. Karen

randi K design said...

Safely home it looks like you guys had a great trip! We love Santa Fee also, and recognized several of the sights!
Hug....

Devonia said...

Celestina, Oh my... what a great trip to end the summer. Looking at these photos - I truly wish I was there. However, I'm so old now that I'm sure if I covered half what you visited, I'd be laid out like that sculpture of the bear.

Wonderful!
Devonia

Unknown said...

Celeste,

These photos are just how I imagined Santa Fe to look like. I hope to visit there someday. Thanks for taking us along with your wonderful photos. Love the pink fireplace and the hat. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Ruth Welter said...

Hi Celestina...I've never been to Santa Fe myself so thank you for sharing your gorgeous photos with all of us out in blog land..looks like such a beautiful place. : )

Ruth

Unknown said...

Oh I enjoyed your visit to Santa Fe! LOved the bears who were *PooPed*!!! so cute!

What a lovely time I am sure you both had. I can see why you will be going back.

Thanks yoo, for your sweet and so kind words on my Wed blog. You too, are such a treasured friend! Wish you were coming this way sometime for a visit!!!

Have a blessed day! Lorena

A Hint of Home said...

I'm so glad you had a wonderful trip, relaxed and enjoyed the food. Your pictures turned out so well. It looks like a great place to visit.

Lori said...

SAnta Fe!! New Mexico is a wonderful place! Thank you for the tour! I long to return to the state, my favorite western one! Wonderful time for you both! Lori

bee'nme said...

Welcome Home Celeste!!

What lovely photos from one of my favorite places on earth!! I'm so glad you guys had a wonderful time and are safely back home! So glad the trip will provide lots of good memories for your both!

Have a great rest of the week and weekend....can't wait to see your new upcoming treasures from the studio!!

Hugs and Blessings,
Becky S.

Rue said...

Good morning Celestina :)

You brought back a lot of memories for me. I was there about 20 years ago with my parents and my mother was completely taken with that beautiful city. Gorgeous pictures!

Oh and I love the hat ;)

rue

Kathy said...

A wonderful trip, beautiful pictures! Love the hat!
Kathy

Unknown said...

Hi Celeste! Just checking in! Hope all is going well for you :)

Love ya and miss ya!
Amy

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Hi...haven't heard from you in a while. Your pictures from NM look wonderful. The hat is great...perfect for going to tea! Hope you are having a good weekend.

Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

Thought i would stop by and see what you were doing and say hello and thank you again for your kind thoughts and prayers during the storm.We just finished cleaning up the last of the tree branches and such.Hugs Marie Antionette

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Celestina Marie
Celestina Marie

Welcome To Rose Garden Market from Celestina Marie Design. It is so nice to meet you. My name is Celestina Marie named after my grandmother and my friends call me Celeste.My creative journey extends over 30 years enjoying the love of painting and redesigning vintage and new treasures. I love to go treasure hunting and the fun of finding great vintage pieces to redesign..