This was taken in the ancient town of Nessebar, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea Coast. Nessebar was once a Greek colony settled by Dorians at the beginning of the 6th century B.C. The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula connected to the mainland by a man-made isthmus.
I liked the black silhouettes against the blue sky and terra cotta tile roofs.
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}
According to Wikipedia, the city of Santa Fe was originally occupied by a number of Pueblo Indian villages with founding dates between 1050 to 1150. One of the earliest known settlements in what today is downtown Santa Fe came sometime after 900. A Native American group built a cluster of homes that centered around the site of today’s Plaza and spread for half a mile to the south and west; the village was called Ogapoge.
Before visiting Santa Fe, I did not know it was the oldest capital city in the U.S.
We flew into Albuquerque, then headed straight for Santa Fe. One treat for me was that they were experiencing a true autumn, something I missed this year. The main plaza in the middle of town had trees turning golden-yellow and red. . . .
By an ordinance passed in 1957, new and rebuilt buildings, especially those in designated historic districts, must exhibit a Spanish Territorial or Pueblo style of architecture, with flat roofs and other features suggestive of the area’s traditional adobe construction.
Another home like the one I posted on Friday.
This building came before the ordinance.
Same with this restaurant.
There are shops and galleries all over the place:
Does this display epitomize autumn or what?
There are touches of blue throughout Santa Fe. The French blue of the doors above, or turqouise like the jewelry sold on the Plaza:
Even the centennial license plate. You’ll be seeing more of this color in my upcoming posts.
Hope your week’s going well so far . . . .
{carole}
We just spent a week in New Mexico and I have to say it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. The Southwest architecture, the intensely blue skies and golden cottonwood trees made me want to take photo after photo. I have hundreds to sort through, but here’s a little preview:
This house isn’t far from the center of Santa Fe, now one of my favorite cities. It had rained the night before, so the stains on the adobe wall are from that. Otherwise we had perfect weather.
Great weekend, everyone!
{carole}
I am missing the dogwood trees back East just a tiny bit, so decided to post a photo I took there a couple of years ago:
Hope your week’s going well so far. We will be out of town starting on Thursday, but I’ll be back here on November 1st.
{carole}
This old wheel reminds me of the ones used on covered wagons that brought settlers out to California. Can you imagine traveling in one of those “prairie schooners” for weeks and weeks? When we were driving across the country last summer, especially in hot, dry Arizona and New Mexico, I wondered how they stood it. How they kept from breaking.
I had a new appreciation for air conditioning and a vehicle that covered ground in hours rather than days.
Great weekend, everyone!
{carole}
Two of my favorites meals these days:
Fish taco from Rubio’s made with a corn tortilla, beer batter fish, cabbage, white sauce and a slice of lime.
When I moved to San Diego the first time, everyone kept telling me I needed to try fish tacos. I was like, what? Never heard of them. Didn’t like the first one I tried because I wasn’t accustomed to cilantro. Now I love them. Here’s a good recipe if you want to make fish tacos at home.
I threw this salad together and tried a new dressing my friend T. told me about: El Torito Cilantro Pepita Caesar. There’s a wonderful tangy creaminess to it which worked wonders with my salad of lettuce, smoked turkey, cherry tomatoes and avocado.
What are some of your favorites?
{carole}
This is a traditional house in Byblos, Lebanon, about 26 miles north of Beirut. When we were there, I read that Byblos was considered by many to be the oldest city in the world. The site was probably first settled in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, circa 8800 BC! I’m still wowed by that.
According to Wikipedia, the name “Byblos” is Greek; papyrus received its early Greek name byblos, byblinos from its being exported to the Aegean through Byblos. Hence the English word “Bible” is derived from byblos as “the papyrus book.” It is also believed to be the origin of the Greek term for books, biblia.
Great weekend, everyone!
{carole}
More treats from the farmers market:
Am I the only one who’s never seen carrots that were anything but orange?
Cucumbers that look like they’re almost pickles. My grandmother made the best dill pickles! The entire basement smelled like brine when she made them.
Blue and white statice
and gorgeous strawberries.
Waves of asparagus
and a bouquet of squash blossoms.
I’m not a fan of plums, but I love the colors in these.
This made me want to run home and bake zucchini bread.
The label read “eggplant,” but it’s not like any I’ve seen before. I think they might be “Romanesca.”
Finally, can you stand one more shot of tomatoes? They’re just so red and delicious-looking. . . .
Hope your week’s going well so far. We had summer again with temps in the 90s this weekend, but parts of the country got lots of snow. I miss snow just a tiny little bit. Must drive up to the mountains one day this winter.
{carole}
While browsing at a farmers market recently, we came across these tomatoes:
I never knew heirloom tomatoes came in so many colors.
Love the contrast provided by the aqua-colored bin.
Heirlooms are even beautiful in a plain cardboard box.
More on Tuesday.
Great weekend, everyone!
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 