The English Maximalista

The second stage of our mini-break was a lot busier albeit, paradoxically, relaxing and enjoyable. Santa Fe is the Capital City of New Mexico, with lots to see and do. We only scratched the surface on this trip, but ended up falling in love with this small city so much that even now, we keep reiterating how much we definitely want to visit again soon.

Most of the major New Mexico museums are in Santa Fe. We had pre-booked tickets to visit two of them over the remaining three days of our weekend, and would realistically be popping into any others we stumbled across in the meantime.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum was top of my list, and it did not disappoint. Not a huge edifice, but that’s not a problem. The substance is what matters, and let me say how refreshing it was for me to view her lesser-known artwork which does NOT consist of her infamous oversized pastel pistils and stamens. There is so much more to her oeuvre than that.

My only complaint is that they didn’t have any books of their museum collection for sale. I asked. It sounds like it’s not even something that is in the works. Such a shame, because there were so many phenomenal works on view, which I would have loved to peruse at leisure in the comfort of my own home.

As we exited, a docent informed us that they are building a new O’Keeffe museum, so I guess Mr Maximalista and I shall have to find the time to visit that one, once it opens… oh, no!

The second museum we visited this weekend was across the road, and another gem: The New Mexico Museum of Art. The Plaza Building is a gorgeous adobe building with a walled garden filled with sculptures and, quelle surprise, a stunning inner courtyard in the center of the museum.

I was delighted to discover upon entry that there was a Marsden Hartley Exhibit, whom I love, but again, there wasn’t an exhibition catalog available to purchase. 

No luck expanding my art book collection, this weekend!

Our two nights in Santa Fe were spent at the Hotel La Fonda on the Plaza. If you are a visual person who loves art, as I am, then you will LOVE this hotel. Not only is the hotel itself a smashing adobe jewel, there are original artworks on almost every wall of the building: in the corridors, in each suite, up stairways, hanging from ceilings, displayed in niches, murals… artwork is everywhere. 

They even host an Artist in Residence in the hotel lobby, wherein local artists set up a kiosk so guests can watch them working, ask questions, et cetera. Furthermore, one can purchase the original artwork they have on display.

There are two rooftop patios at Hotel La Fonda, of which one was closed to the general public when we were there, due to a private wedding reception. (Rude to have not been invited, but whatever.) However, the other rooftop patio was open to us riff-raff, and we LOVED watching the sunsets up there for two nights in a row. They serve unusual cocktails, service was great, ambience was wonderful, and I highly recommend it.

Hotel La Fonda also has a divine pool area, enclosed within another of my coveted courtyards. It’s tucked away and private: one gets the feeling that a lot of guests don’t even know it’s there. I went down with a book every day of our stay, and basically had the entire area to myself. Heavenly.

A friend of mine had recommended that we visit the Loretta Chapel, which happens to be right behind Hotel La Fonda on the Plaza. We popped into the chapel for ten minutes, worth the $5 admittance to see the wooden spiral staircase made without any nails or screws. Very pretty little sanctuary indeed.

Several hours had been spent each day exploring the local streets, which were buzzing with Fourth of July weekend activity. There were tons of street vendors, live music, all very family-oriented, and there was a general feeling of affable festivity. 

Mr Maximalista and I are both getting old, now, so it’s usually still light out when we start thinking about supper. With each year that passes, we’re developing a tendency to eat our last meal of the day earlier and earlier. 

This is why we ended up on the rooftop at Coyote Cafe on Water Street at 4:00pm. We split an order of guacamole between us, just to tide us over for a while; it was super relaxing to amiably watch our fellow pedestrians on the street below.

It was still light out when we made our way to dinner at El Callejon Taverna on Galisteo Street, where they served THE most amazing fajitas, before heading back to the rooftop at Hotel La Fonda hoping to see the Fourth of July fireworks… but this old bag was so wiped out from all the walking of the day, I fell asleep at sundown!

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In yesterday’s blog, I mentioned that I had scored bigly at the Savers resale shop in Santa Fe. It is true. I was over the moon with all the treasures I found… although Mr Maximalista was not quite so thrilled to be trawling around yet another junk shop.

I had dragged him there ten minutes before opening time, so to add insult to injury, we had to wait together hovering over the cranked-up AC in Lady Penelope [it was already hot AF by 8am] next to punters in other cars who were clearly as anxious as I for the doors to open. 

Turns out those people were dealers, we discovered later, after some surreptitious spying on their movements around the store. One guy hovered over the jewelry cases, monopolizing the poor kid behind the counter there, whereas another guy hit the DVD shelves, scanning the barcodes with his phone to see how much they were selling for on Amazon. By the time I left, his shopping cart was full of DVDs.

Two delightful hours later, I walked out of the warehouse-sized store $200 lighter, pushing/pulling two carts ALL BY MYSELF. Mr M had gotten bored 90 minutes ago and was snoozing in the car, not answering my frantic text messages requesting his urgent assistance. 

My excitement surpassed any irritation, however, because I found SO MANY amazing treasures for the new house. First of which was a matching pair of kitschy ceramic lamps painted with oriental-looking birds, which I planned to put in the peacock bedroom. 

Before you ask: Yes, our bedrooms have names. That is how marvelous my new house is. Please show appreciation that they are not French names, which I had been considering but ultimately decided would be INSUFFERABLY trés prétentieuse, even by my maximalist standards.

I also found four original pieces of art (three paintings and a chalk), which I was super excited about. As well as some smaller hand-made ceramics, some down throw-pillows for the terrace, and a few other things which truthfully I can’t recall right now. But believe me when I tell you they probably were very awesome, if I could only remember everything that I bought!

Lunchtime on Day Two was spent on the patio at the Second Street Brewery, after having meandered around the popular market at the Santa Fe Railyard. The market area was busy, parking was a PIA, but it was definitely worth a visit. Again, lots of well-behaved dogs on leashes everywhere we went. I love how dog friendly it is, here.

One of Mr Maximalista’s Love Languages is that he understands my love of art, travel, and basically all things cultural. And let’s not forget how he tolerates my insane love of shopping for bargains. One of the wonderful things about this man is the way he indulges these hobbies of mine. He will even suffer through ballet performances with me. Now THAT, dear reader, is the Top Secret to a happy marriage.

Our final dinner in Santa Fe was at Il Vicino, for my favourite food group: carbohydrates. Mr Maximalista knows when to feed me… Perhaps the biggest insight to our happy union. The calzone I ordered at Il Vicino was as big as a pillow. And don’t be judgy when I tell you that I ate the entire damn thing in one sitting. It was delicious.

We sat outside in, you guessed it, another courtyard. 

Santa Fe was AMAZING. You should visit. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Lots of love,

M xo