Road Trip Day 4

Friday we took some time to tour Old Town Santa Fe. We parked near the center of the Old Town area and did a walking tour of several historical church buildings. Our first stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Then we went to the Loretto chapel to see the famous staircase which is impressive even if perhaps not miraculous. Thousands of visitors come to see for themselves. After Loretto we went to see the San Miguel Mission chapel which is the oldest still functioning church structure in the U.S. The original mission bell is on display inside the building and visitors are allowed to ring it with a nylon mallet. I rang the bell and was informed that it meant I would return to Santa Fe someday. From San Miguel we walked to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe which houses the large oil painting "Our Lady of Guadalupe" by Jose de Alzibar.

We were hungry after all of our walking so we stopped at the Blue Corn Cafe for an early dinner of southwestern cuisine. Finally we got back on the road for the short drive to Albuquerque and checked into our hotel there. Saturday we may go to the Balloon Fiesta.