The Capital of Enchantment – Santa Fe, New Mexico

Posted on   December 10,2019   By John Compisi

Linda and I recently attended a writer’s conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a city we knew very little about. To say we were enchanted would be both trite and a cliché but I can’t think of a better word to describe our experience. We were warned that it was very touristy but in early November it was lightly populated and the weather was pleasant. The conference was only two and a half days but we decided to arrive on a Sunday and depart the following Saturday so that we would have time to get to know Santa Fe a little better.

A bit about Santa Fe. It is the highest Capital city in the U.S.A with an elevation of over 7,000 feet above sea-level. It is also the oldest Capital City, established as a Spanish Colony around 1609, 13 years before the Pilgrims landed in present day New England. It has served continuously as a Capital city for four distinct geo-political entities including the Spanish ‘Kingdom of New Mexico’, the Mexican province of Nuevo Mejico, the U.S. Territory of New Mexico (including present day Arizona and New Mexico) and the U.S. State of New Mexico since 1912.

Known as The City Different for about 100 years, Santa Fe maintains its historic charm via building codes that allow only two architectural styles for buildings in the historic center: the Spanish-Pueblo style and the Territorial style. Three historic trails led through Santa Fe, establishing its importance in the development of the Southwest: the Santa Fe Trail, the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (connecting Mexico City to Santa Fe) and the Goodnight-Loving Trail. The City Different promotes the cultural virtues provided by the Pueblo, Spanish and Anglo cultures that come together in this historic crossroads. Santa Fe has succeeded and has been named by Conde Nast

Today, Santa Fe is known for its Art Galleries, Museums and Culinary scene. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum houses a phenomenal collection of the artists paintings. Other unique museums include the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, the New Mexico History Museum, Santa Fe Children’s Museum and
The New Mexico Museum of Art.

Another experience, although not exactly a Museum, is Meow Wolf. Meow Wolf claims to create immersive and interactive experiences that transport audiences of all ages into visually fantastic realms of story and exploration. An ‘Alice through the looking glass’ concept. This includes art installations, video and music production, and extended reality content. It reminded us of a ‘sort of’ fun house for adults with incongruous combinations of art, collectibles, stairways to nowhere and other phantasmagorical sights. Set aside an hour and half for this excursion.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi is both historic and beautiful. Built between 1869 and 1886 and designed in the French Romanesque Revival style. The story of French Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy’s efforts to build this Cathedral is fascinating including the loan forgiveness from a Jewish banker necessary to complete the work. The Cathedral is located on the same site as two previous churches dated ass early as 1626 and is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Numerous historic statues surround the Cathedral grounds.

Perhaps more beautiful and equally historic is the Loretto Chapel, a Gothic-Revival style chapel, completed in 1878 and modeled after King Louis IX’s Sainte Chapelle in Paris. The church was built for the Sisters of Loretto by the same builders who were working on the Cathedral. The Sisters had come from France to Santa Fe in 1853, at the request of Archbishop Lamy, to establish a school, Loretto Academy. The Miraculous Staircase is one of its fascinating features.

We took the daily (10am in the lobby of the La Fonda Resort and Spa) and truly enjoyed it. In about 2 hours we learned so much and got a much better sense of the character of Santa Fe. Our Discovery Tours guide and award winning author, Allen Steele, was fabulous. Highly recommended and only $16/person.

One special activity we happily participated in was the Santa Fe Margarita Trail. A real kick! Obtain a ‘passport’ on line ($2.99 for the downloadable app) and then venture out to sample as many as 45 different margaritas at the numerous bars, restaurants or cocktail lounges around the city.  The passport provides a $1 discount on the featured Margarita with prizes for achieving certain levels of passport stamps. We ‘achieved’ five and received the very ‘special’ Margarita Trail T-Shirt! We got ours!!

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We stayed at the truly delightful La Fonda on the Plaza a Resort and Spa. Both historic and picturesque, La Fonda maintains the levels of quality and service one is willing to pay for. The restaurant and lounges offer delight filled ambiance and gracious service. We dined at La Fonda more than once both for the convenience but also the southwestern culinary excellence. If you’ve heard of The Harvey Girls you may know about La Fonda. Also highly recommended.

We also dined at Maria’s New Mexico Kitchen, La Casa Sena and the Santa Fe School of Cooking. Our favorite dining experience outside of La Plazuela at La Fonda was the Cooking School. The demonstration by Chef Jen Doughty and Chef Noe Cano was both informative and fun. They made corn tortillas, green and red chile sauce and roasted shredded chicken, all for the delicious Chicken Enchiladas that we were served. For dessert, the Chef’s prepared a Capirotada, a traditional Mexican Pecan Bread Pudding. All was quite spectacular. The school is privately run by Susan Curtis and her daughter Nicole. The school, which offers cooking classes and culinary tours, is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year. A highlight of our visit!

Restaurants we wanted to enjoy but couldn’t get in to experience: the a claimed Geronimo, the long standing Café Pasqual and renowned The Shed! Next time we hope.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for us, denizens of northern California’s wine country, were the wines of New Mexico that we sincerely enjoyed. At the conference welcome reception, we first tasted wines from Vivác Winery, Noisy Water Winery and Gruet Winery (especially their sparkling wines).

These wineries offered very good wines: sparkling, white, rosé and red for our enjoyment. We made a very personal connection with Michele and she invited several of us to visit their Santa Fe tasting room which is located in the Farmers’ Market Shops in the Railroad district of town. We did so the next afternoon. The tasting room is open only on the days that the Farmers’ Market is open. We enjoyed 6- or 7 wines but the highlights were the Riesling, the Aglianico, the Refosco and the Cabernet Sauvignon. All where sophisticated dry wines which could stand-up to their counterparts from California and Italy.

The next day, the conference attendees were treated to “A Taste of Santa Fe” where we offered delicacies from numerous restaurants from around the city as well as some additional wineries and distilleries. Of note were the wines from Sheehan Winery and Vivác Winery, the food from Sweet Water Harvest Kitchen, the chocolates from Cacao Santa Fe and the distilled spirits from Santa Fe Spirits.

There is so much to do in Santa Fe aside from the museums, galleries, restaurants, bars and historic buildings and sights. On the north side of the Plaza resides the circa 1610 Palace of the Governors, the oldest continually occupied public building in the United States. The Native American Vendors Program has occupied the shaded front adobe façade of the Palace for over 60 years. A very competitive daily lottery ensures a rotating selection of artisans from the various pueblos throughout New Mexico. We found some pieces there that we could not live without. Worthy of several visits as the artisans change on a daily basis.

The Santa Fe Farmers Market is well worth a visit. The Market is open year-round on Saturdays but also has a Tuesday and Wednesday Market in the summer months. Aside from the fresh produce and crafts, it is a great place to grab breakfast or lunch.

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The people and the city of Santa Fe were very welcoming and we both felt the desire to stay longer or return soon. The hospitality of the Southwest is exhibited in full proportion in this Capital City of the Land of Enchantment!