Hello, friends. It’s Sarah and her adoring husband, Ryan. If you know us at all, you know we love to travel. We're inspired in ways big and small by the places and people we've encountered, and many of the pieces in Sarah's jewelry collection reflect those influences in overt or subtle ways.
With these travel experiences in mind, we're going to be sharing our thoughts on some of our favorites, starting with a special little town in the American Southwest called “Santa Fe, New Mexico”. There is much more to do than we could list here, so we’ll just mention a few of our favorites.
Route 66
Santa Fe is located in northern New Mexico along the original Route 66. “The City Different” sits near the Sangre de Cristo foothills, and if its 7200 foot elevation doesn’t leave you breathless, its incredible mix of cultures, world-class art, and unique dishes certainly will. We first visited in 2017, making the 6.5 hour drive from Northern Colorado in Sarah’s dad's 1994 Toyota Landcruiser. Ryan’s primary interest was New Mexican food for three meals a day, but Sarah knew about the unbelievable world of art and culture that awaited us.
Georgia On My Mind
Perhaps we should not have been surprised that Sarah was immediately drawn to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. O'Keeffe, known among other things for her colorful floral paintings, began visiting New Mexico regularly in 1929 and moved there permanently in 1949. O’Keeffe was eager to take advantage of Santa Fe’s special atmospheric light. Because of its high elevation, near total lack of pollution, and over 280 days of sun per year, Santa Fe has long been famed for its unique and vivid sunlight that sometimes seems to bathe the entire town in an endless golden hour. Georgia captured the singular beauty of the locale in her paintings, many of which can be seen at the museum (located, like nearly everything else, just off the central plaza). Pro tip: if you're still jonesing for more museum time after O'Keeffe, we strongly recommend a trip to the Museum of International Folk Art, and their fascinating and diverse holdings, the largest collection of international folk art in the world.
Caminando Por La Calle
I suspect that after a leisurely morning of admiring museum masterworks, you might feel the need to buy something to hang up at home. If that’s the case, your options are many, including Canyon Road, with over one hundred galleries. If the weather’s nice (which it usually is in Santa Fe), I recommend you take your time and stroll up and down Canyon Road, popping into whatever boutique catches your eye. On the Santa Fe Plaza itself, check out rare Native-woven rugs and vintage jewelry from places like Shiprock, or the several shops that sell antique pottery from brilliant Maria Martinez. And of course, you’ve got to browse the many artisans that line up along the Palace of the Governors each day to sell their handmade turquoise jewelry, ceramics, and textiles.
Swept Away
If you don’t have enough time during your Santa Fe excursion to hop over to Japan, I recommend the next best thing: the Ten Thousand Waves Japanese mountain hot springs resort. Drive no more than ten minutes from the Plaza and you’ll arrive at this oasis in the foothills, a tranquil spot that (in addition to lodging and an incredible restaurant), offers spa services and hot springs that honor the millenia-old Japanese tradition of bathing in thermal pools. I personally recommend treating yourself after a productive day of browsing galleries or world-class museums.
Honky Tonk Woman
No trip to The City Different would be complete without enjoying some delicious New Mexican cuisine and sipping a few cocktails. For a classic experience, start your morning with breakfast at hometown favorite Cafe Pasqual's, and finish your day at the Shed, which is beloved for its excellent New Mexican offerings. If you’re dragging in the afternoon, grab a coffee or snack at Iconik Coffee Bar, which also has a fabulous book store. And be sure to enjoy at least one cocktail with a view at La Fonda’s Bell Tower Bar, located on the roof of one of the oldest and most colorful hotels in the country - the margs are fantastic.
The Man In Black
If you’ve still got a few pesos left (or better yet, a lot of pesos), pay a visit to Standard and Strange, a high-end and unique menswear shop whose motto is “Buy Fewer, Better Things.” They carry a number of hard-to-find premium quality brands such as The Real McCoy’s, and their items, like Sarah Martinez jewelry, are meant to last a lifetime (and beyond).
Stay tuned for more write-ups of our favorite spots at home and abroad. Until then, we'll be grabbing cocktails near the Plaza and jamming to the Santa Fe Spotify Playlist we listened to while writing this.
