As I said in Part I, Santa Fe has a plaza in the middle of town, and we found ourselves gravitating towards it quite often. It was so nice to feel crisp autumn air and smell freshly roasted kettle corn at the same time. . . .
Then there were the autumn leaves.
Just off the plaza, we found this church:
I came back later and shot this close-up when the sun was setting:
The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886.
Kateri Tekakwitha was the first North American Indian to be beatified, and was canonized in October 2012. The statue was created by Estella Loretto, a sculptor from the nearby Jemez Pueblo. I think she looks so beautiful against the blue sky and gold leaves.
When we got to Santa Fe, we were told that the birch trees had lost their leaves. I was happy to find these against the wall of an old adobe church.
The New Mexico Museum of Art. We also visited the Georgia 0’Keefe museum and I found it a bit disappointing. I expected to see a lot of her work and the collection was much smaller than anticipated. I have been terribly spoiled by the National Gallery of Art.
Not far from the plaza, another adobe house. I think the landscaping is perfect for this place.
An area I really liked was the Prince Plaza which housed this restaurant:
Almost every time we walked by The Shed, there were lots of people milling around, so it was hard to take photos. I did manage to get these shots:
Halloween was just around the corner.
This was in the same courtyard.
I caught another view through a jewelry store.
More shops and galleries:
Hope you’re enjoying the colors as much as we did.
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 
Loved these brilliant and happy colors, both in the natural environment and in the artwork.
Thanks, Meg! Hope you’re doing well.
Wonderful colors. A feast for the eyes. I love the red leaves and the art musuem is beautiful.
Too bad about the Georgia O’Keefe musum. I like her work a great deal.
Feast for the eyes is a good way to describe Santa Fe, Caroline. I loved taking photos there. I think you’ll like the colors in the countryside too. (Coming soon.)
I like O’Keefe’s florals, and there weren’t enough there for me.
Wonderful photos – the colors are so beautiful! Santa Fe looks like a really nice place to visit…Will have to add it to the ever growing list! 🙂 I really love the photo of the church at sunset – the glow is beautiful and I love how you got the shadow of the tree.
Thank you. It really is a wonderful place to visit. If it weren’t for the cold winters, I might consider living there. 🙂
I love that statue of Kateri Tekakwitha also. She is just stunning. Something about her face makes me feel welcomed.
Yes, it seems to exude warmth, doesn’t it?
So colorful and beautiful, thank you for sharing. Seems like the perfect time of the year to go to Santa Fe. Makes we wanting to go back there now!!!!
Thanks so much for the visit and comment. Yes, we got there just in time. It was getting pretty cold at night and snow fell in the mountains on our second-to-last day.
Stunning colors throughout, from the autumn leaves to the ornaments to the chili peppers to the characteristic turquoise.
Brought to us from a stunning photographer, I do say.
Such a nice comment . . . thank you!
It’s a shame about the museum, but wow, the colors! I’ve never been there during autumn and I’m realizing that was a mistake.
We got so lucky with the timing, TB. Originally we were going in Sept., but had to postpone. It worked out well!