Places to visit in and near Santa Fe

• Museum Hill Four museums located together on a hill southeast of The Plaza. Spanish Colonial, Native American, and International Folk Art (see the next item).
• Museum of International Folk Art A stunning and almost unbelievable collection of folk art.
• Santa Fe Children's Museum 1050 Old Pecos Trail, (505) 989-8359. A wonderful place to take the kids.
• The Santa Fe Plaza This is the center of old Santa Fe. The surrounding streets have many art galleries, museums, shops and restaurants. A place to browse.
• Canyon Road Over one-hundred art galleries and shops spread out over a mile of old Santa Fe.
• Ten-Thousand Waves A japanese-style spa with wonderful open-air hot tubs and massages to die for. Located 15 minutes away from the house on Hyde Park Road about 3 miles East of Santa Fe.

Favorite Restaurants

New Mexico is one of those places that has developed its own unique cuisine. True Northern New Mexican cooking is unobtainable anywhere else in the USA. It is characterized by its chile's - red and green. Beware, they can be very hot and the locals will show no sympathy for anglos with weak palates. Ask about heat and don't assume that red is always hotter than green.

• Geronimo 724 Canyon Road, (505) 982-1500. Our current favorite high-end restaurant in Santa Fe. Expensive, elegant, and well worth the cost. The best of Santa Fe fusion cooking. Asian with a spash of the Southwest.
• Pranzo Italian Grill 540 Montezuma Ave, (505) 984-2645. A good italian restaurant in the Sanbusco Center.
• Trattoria Nostrani 304 Johnson St., (505) 983-3800. Superb Northern Italian. No fragrances on the patrons and no cell phones -- and they mean it.
• Aqua Santa 451 W. Alameda St., 505-982-6297. Old World Italian staples like truffle oil, specialty yeast and deep, sensuously tended braises, punctuated with local produce and regional, seasonal ingredients.
• Atrisco Cafe & Bar 193 Paseo De Peralta, (505) 983-7401. Located in the De Vargas Center just down the hill. Our current favorite local restaurant. Great Northern New Mexican. Very family friendly.
• Tomasita's 500 S. Guadalupe, (505) 983-5721. An excellent place to sample local Northern New Mexican cuisine. Try the green chili and a sopapilla with honey for lunch. Family friendly.
• Tia Sophia's 210 W. San Francisco. Breakfast and lunch only - closes at 2:00 pm. Located just off The Plaza. Classic Northern New Mexican cuisine.
• Los Potrillos 1947 Cerrillos Rd, (505) 992-0550. Genuine Mexican cooking. Very reasonable prices and family friendly.
• Gabriel's Locaded on Highway 285/84 just north of Santa Fe. Northern New Mexican cooking for the entire family. Located in a spanish hacienda with an open inner courtyard that is wonderful in warm weather. Try the guacamole which is freshly made at the table.

Short Trips in and around Santa Fe

• Madrid A funky little old mining town in the Ortiz Mountains about 30 miles south of Santa Fe on NM 14. Filled with little shops and galleries and hippies. Pronounced locally with the accent on the first syllable,unlike the capital of Spain.
• Shidoni Foundry and Galleries. One of the few foundries in the country capable of casting very large bronze sculptures. The foundry tour is fascinating. Wonderful outdoor scupture garden. The Tesuque Glass Works, a glass blowing studio and gallery, is right next door. Both are located on Bishops Lodge Road in Tesuque just north of Santa Fe.
• Tesuque Flea Market. One of the seven wonders of the modern world. More "stuff" from more places than we have ever seen in one spot including bargains, junk and rip-offs. Make sure you know what you are looking at. If you do, there are some great finds. Located on US 285/84 just north of the Santa Fe Opera. Open weekends May through October.
• Chimayo Weavers Irvin and Lisa Trujillo are carrying on a 400 year old tradition brought from Spain with the original settlers of New Mexico in the 1600's. Their work represents some of the finest Hispanic weaving in New Mexico. In Chimayo on the high road to Taos.
• Pecos National Monument The ruins of what was once one of the most powerfull and important Pueblo Indian settlements. Pecos also has the ruin of one of the greatest of the old Spanish missionary churches. About 30 miles west of Santa Fe on I-25.

Day trips in the Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico

• The high road to Taos
• Taos Pueblo
• Bandelier National Monument
• Valle Grande and Jemez Springs
• Eagle Nest and Red River
• Villanuevo and the Pecos River valley.
• Chama and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad
• Acoma (Sky City)
• Sandia Tramway
• Las Vegas (NM)
• Chaco Canyon National Monument

Books about Santa Fe and New Mexico

• Great River: The Rio Grande in North American History by Paul Horgan (1955)
• Lamy of Santa Fe by Paul Horgan (1976)
• Kiva, Cross, & Crown The Pecos Indians and New Mexico, 1540-1840 By John L. Kessell
• Day Hikes in the Santa Fe Area by the Northern New Mexico Group of the Sierra Club. There should be a copy this book in the house.
• A Field Guide to Western Birds (Peterson's Field Guides)
• The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America (our favorite)
• All of Tony Hillerman. His books about two Navaho detectives, Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, are so authentic that they have been used by Navaho schools as assigned reading. A great way to learn about Navaho culture.