July 6

July 6. We woke up, ate our complimentary breakfast, and set out for Santa Fe. Our first stop was the cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, built in the late 1800's in a Romanesque style and decorated with Native American, Hispanic, and European art themes, the church serves the Diocese of Santa Fe. Down the street is the Loretto Chapel, home of the Miraculous Staircase. It defies the laws of physics and stumps engineers and scientists alike. There is no supporting column or structure of any kind holding it up.

Santa Fe is littered with specialty shops and art galleries. Me and Matt checked them out. We stopped for lunch at a place called "The Shed". It was a hippie-like establishment, with a great hodge-podge atmosphere. I had tacos with blue tortilla shells and a local root beer called "Way 2 Cool". It was very good.

A visit to the state capital would not be complete without visiting the capitol building. The old capitol dated back to the 1600s and is now a museum. The new one (in the photo) was built in the 1960s and lacks the character other, older state capitols have. It was still cool to see.

Walking around, we came across a railroad museum-like park. Though the Santa Fe railroad bears the name of the city, it never ran through it- it ran south of it. It was fun climbing on the engines and seeing the old train stuff. I felt like I was 5 again. Me and Matt went to a western store, where we bought 70s cowboy shirts. I enjoyed trying them on. He was looking for a Burt Reynolds outfit- I just wanted something simple.

Dinner was at a local restaurant called Pappa's Sweet Shop. I had the best shrimp fettuccine I've had in a long time. Probably the best meal I've had in New Mexico yet. The night ended in the hot tub at the hotel, just like the night before. Good stuff.