Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Santa Fe

Many visitors fall in love with Santa Fe at first sight. And even though we didn't, I can see why others would. Santa Fe is located in beautiful surroundings and almost all buildings there resemble old Spanish pueblos. I guess this is what attracts artists, hippies, hipsters, as well as healthy lifestyle fanatics. It seems that Santa Fe is to New Mexico, what San Francisco is to California.

The reason why we were not too impressed with it is that it felt too touristy and too kitschy for us. Very few of the "artists" were creating something that we would consider interesting and unique. Most were just making things that tourists are likely to buy...

All buildings in downtown Santa Fe are in the Pueblo-Revival style:




Also many of the houses in the suburbs were in the pueblo-style:


Santa Fe is full of shops selling "unique" artsy items:


An interesting street fountain:


The Palace of the Governors, one of the oldest buildings in the USA, hosts a Native American market:


Another street fountain and surrounding it market:


Hot peppers! As many as you can eat...


In front of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi there is a statue of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first North American Indian to be promoted a saint:


Inside the basilica: