No visit to Santa Fe would be complete without seeing the Loretto Chapel. The Chapel has a lovely altar and stained glass that you can see in the pictures, but the highlight is its “Miraculous Stairs”. And just why are the stairs “miraculous” you ask? Well, let me tell you. I love a good mystery. In the 1800’s, the Bishop of the Santa Fe Archdiocese commissioned a convent to be built and known as “Our Lady of Light Chapel”. A French architect was employed and designed the building, but died suddenly during the project. After his death, the builders realized that there was no provision in the plans for getting to the choir loft on the second floor (e.g., no staircase) and the chapel was too small to accommodate a regular staircase.
And here’s where the story gets interesting – allegedly the Sisters
of Loretto did some serious praying to St. Joseph for divine intervention—praying
for nine days straight. On the 10th
day, a stranger appeared and said he would build the Sisters a staircase for
the chapel. His only stipulation was
that he be allowed to work in total privacy.
So for three months, he locked himself away in the chapel and using only
the crudest tools constructed a 20 foot tall spiral staircase which makes two
complete revolutions. The staircase has
no visible center support or anchors to the adjacent wall (well, originally it
didn’t anchor to the wall or have a banister), is made out of non-native wood
and uses no nails, only wood pegs or dowels in its construction. Interesting you say….but miraculous? Yes, because legend holds that no one saw the
man during the three months he worked at the chapel. No one knows where the wood for the staircase
came from since no wood was delivered to the chapel, nor was the man ever seen
leaving to get supplies. Upon completion
of the staircase, its carpenter slipped away without explanation, without payment
and without ever identifying himself. Hmmmm. How cool is that?
Loretto Chapel
Loretto Staircase
We also visited the Cathedral of Basilica; a very architecturally
impressive building, the town square and countless shops.
Cathedral of Basilica
We hit Maria’s Restaurant for dinner. Maria’s is a restaurant which has been around
for over 50 years and is a local favorite featuring southwest cuisine, but its claim
to fame is their margaritas. Maria’s
boasts over 177 REAL margaritas. In case
there are those of you don’t know what a REAL margarita is – well join the
club, I didn’t either. But that’s why
Mark and I are on the great retirement tour, so we can share with you all this
incredible knowledge. And so purely in
the interest of research, Mark sacrificed himself to get you the scoop on
margaritas. A REAL margarita is one
made with REAL tequila. Now REAL tequila
only comes from Mexico and must be distilled from the sugary juices extracted
from the cooked heart of the Weber blue agave plant. Maria’s margarita menu had
some pretty creative names, Yes, that’s right you could order: A Yo! Dude!, Generation Gap, Golden Years,
Cougar, Stud Muffin, Love Slave…I think you get the drift. There was even a ‘La Margarita De Paradiso’
at $48.00 a glass! The possibilities
were endless. Mark ordered an El
Grandioso. The verdict: it was a nice accompaniment to his dinner,
but that his gringo palette didn’t quite fully appreciate the REALness of the
drink.
We stayed at a quaint RV Park called (wait for it…..)
Trailer Ranch! Obviously, the creativity
of the Santa Fe inhabitants knows no limits.
The park was pleasant and well maintained and its location was prime –
right off a main artery of town near everything.
Next stop – Oso Caliente, NM.
