Santa Fe Old Town

St. Francis Cathedral. Oasis on a hot day.

I feel catatonic this evening as I try to blog about the day's events. It's extremely hot and the sun is unremitting, day after day, hour upon hour. I feel I can't do justice to the beauty of the day but I'll try anyway.

We decided to visit Santa Fe, which was not on our original itinerary. Just the old town, a small area packed with the history of the area. The air was pleasantly warm by the time we arrived in Santa Fe in mid-morning. We ambled around the market, full of the usual vendors, but with a southwestern flavor. We're not shoppers, so we didn't seriously look at anything, though I was tempted by some of the fabrics and jewelry.

Love the colors of St. Raphael's shield

St. Francis Cathedral was easy to find, beautiful gardens in both shade and sun. I wasn't overwhelmed by the beauty of the church, except for the Stations of the Cross and perhaps the high altar. I lighted a couple of candles for family and friends. I didn't visit the Blessed Sacrament Chapel -- didn't feel comfortable in shorts. The church was wonderfully cool and I could have spent more time there, but a wedding party was gathering and, well, it was time to leave.

Santa Fe market fabrics

We stopped for coffee at the French Pastry Shop, where Bob had "St. Michael's cake", a delicious confection that he generously shared with me. By the time we finally got a map of the area, we were sweating in the midday sun and had pretty much had enough, so I missed the famous staircase in Loretto Chapel. It was fun to walk through Fort Marcy Park, where the Cross of the Martyrs overlooks the city.

The old town is so congested that it was hard to get out of there! We left in the early afternoon for Albuquerque, an easy hop on I-25.