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| View of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi near the Santa Fe plaza (from Santa Fe Home Store) |
I am not an enthusiastic photographer. I am not good at taking pictures, and I find the whole process rather tedious. In addition, the subject matter I find photo-worthy is very limited. Rarely do I photograph people, and I never think to take scenery or landscape shots like the one above unless prompted by someone else (usually my husband). My repertoire is pretty much limited to photos of animals and plants/flowers.
Even while in Santa Fe, I took only one picture each of the starkly beautiful New Mexico landscape and the awesome architecture in the city. I did, however, find some delightful sculptures of animals displayed in the downtown area, and those I did photograph! I mentioned the Rio Grande cutthroat trout sculpture outside of the Santa Fe Community Convention Center briefly last week:
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| "Santa Fe Current" by sculptor Colette Hosmer |
At the Macy Street courtyard entrance to the convention center, there is this impressive sculpture of two giant geese:
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| "Great Geese Pair" by sculptor Peter Woytuk |
And then there are the donkeys, or burros as they are known in the southwest. One sculpture of a burro family triad* is located on the corner of Water Street and Shelby Street outside of a picturesque little home goods store called Cosas de Santa Fe:
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| "Swat Team" by sculptor Robin J. Laws |
The other burro sculpture, depicting the sturdy little equid as a pack animal, stands at the San Francisco Street entrance to a short passage known as "Burro Alley"!
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| "Homage to the Burro" by Charles Southard (1988) |
Since I am quite partial to donkeys, and have a miniature donkey of my own, Burro Alley is my new favorite place in Santa Fe. Not only is there the burro sculpture, the walls lining the alley are painted with several murals showcasing these adorable creatures:
As if that weren't enough, there is even a restaurant called the Burro Alley Café and Bakery:
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| From Google+ |
We stopped there for a midmorning snack, and returned for lunch in the afternoon. They have an international menu, with an amazingly well-stocked display of pastries worthy of any Parisian patisserie, and I can highly recommend the chocolate croissant. The items we chose from the lunch menu were Mediterranean, and were delicious.
An added bonus came in the form of an impromptu fashion show, modeled by the employees of a nearby clothing boutique who strolled through the café. We had the chance to admire some very stylishly attractive women's fashions while we ate. As with photography, I have no talent for fashion, so I am always in awe of those who can put together a beautifully coordinated outfit with ease. One of the things I love about Santa Fe is that so many artists reside there, and you never know when you will be treated to a glimpse of someone's creativity. Santa Fe truly is the "City Different"!
BTW, here are the two photos I took of architecture (at my husband's prompting) and scenery (because of the camel-shaped rocks, of course!):
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| Lensic Performing Arts Center (formerly the Lensic Theater) |
"Here be dragons" cavorting all about the roofline of the Lensic, so I suppose this could still be considered an animal photograph!
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| Closer look at the Lensic dragons (from Fine Art America) |
Located about 15 minutes north of Santa Fe along US Highway 84/285, you can see how this natural rock formation got its name of "Camel Rock" (golly, this is another animal picture!):
Now this is a typical Santa Fe sight:
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| Strings of chile ristras hanging from the porch of the Hotel Chimayó de Santa Fe (hey, at least these are plants and not animals). |
Okay, I know I'm hopeless -- here is a photo of prairie dogs living between the railroad tracks and Cerillos Road in Santa Fe:
Next week you get to see my New Mexico flower pictures -- lucky you!
*This link mistakenly lists the location of the "Swat Team" sculpture as Burro Alley.
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