… we haven’t had time to do so far. That meant mainly things in Santa Fe. For starters, we hadn’t yet seen the museum in the Palace of the Governors, or made it to Packard’s, the flagship high-end jewelry store which is going out of business after 75 years.
So we took the hotel shuttle to the Plaza, and headed immediately for the Native American vendors who sell their wares under the Palace of the Governors portal (the shaded porch in front of the building). It was fun looking and talking, and making a few purchases. The great-grandson of Maria Martinez, the world-famous potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo, sells his pottery there. Only the highest-quality authentic crafts are permitted.
Browsing done, we went inside to check out the historical exhibits in the Palace and the adjoining New Mexico History Museum. The Palace of the Governors, built in 1610 as the local seat of government for Spain, is the oldest government building in the US. And Santa Fe is the oldest capital city. We now know more about New Mexico’s history than anyone outside the state should know. My favorite was an exhibit on Karl May, a German who wrote the most popular novels about the American West – without ever having been further west than Buffalo, NY. He was a petty thief, who during one stint in the “Workhouse” was made administrator of the library, giving him an opportunity to read travel books. He quickly made a list of the books he planned to write, and did indeed later write some of them. The worldwide popularity of his works was astounding! No photos were allowed.
By this time we were famished, so we walked to Tia Sophia’s, a Santa Fe breakfast and lunch institution. Lunch was authentically New Mexican, complete with red and green chile.
We checked out a few shops after lunch, then made our way to “Packard’s on the Plaza.” Packard’s is renowned for both traditional and contemporary Native American jewelry, pottery and textiles. Many display cases were already empty as a result of their going out of business sale. It was sad to see the end of an era.
We wandered back to the hotel, and decided not to brave the crowds for the burning of Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom. A big Santa Fe event each fall, a large effigy is burned at dusk to celebrate the end of all of the bad things from the previous year. We watched the celebration on TV.
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