The Shidoni Foundry at Tesuque is apparently one of Santa Fe’s premier attractions according to the signs. We didn’t have time to appreciate it fully, but strolled the outdoor area where moderate-sized sculptures were displayed and the indoor galleries with smaller works.
Siegmund and Sieglinde by Beckie Kravetz (see BK Sculpture Studio)
My favorite finds were bells formed of used gas tanks fitted with elk-hide wrapped clappers that sounded heavenly – created by a local artist who lives in the hills and shoots his own elk, according to the sales associate. He also makes wonderful iron torii gates from which to hang his gongs and temple bells.
We intended to have lunch at the new cantina on King Ranch at the Santa Fe Opera, but when we arrived at 11 a.m., lunch was not ready and it became apparent that while we would have been served, the area was really meant for the opera company employees and we decided not to stay. We drove to the Santa Fe plaza and parked on the street and had lunch at La Boca, a tapas restaurant on Marcy Street that had been recommended by everyone we spoke to. It was very nice -- small, unpretentious, elegant in the way of an old-fashioned French restaurant with wood decor and white linen. We shared a mixed-green salad with olives, crab and scallop cannelloni, and shrimp au brochette with a chocolate sauce.
After lunch we walked to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi where I wanted to see the paved labyrinth in the cathedral garden. We did not have time to walk the labyrinth, but I took some pictures to use in my labyrinth workshop I’m giving this fall for Howell Recreation Authority.
It’s a beautiful labyrinth paved with several types of differently colored stone that looks similar to the stone used to build the cathedral. I would guess it’s about 25-feet in diameter.
I particularly loved the beautifully shaped lunations that highlight the circumference. The lunations are the circular shaped stones that form the border of the labyrinth.
Before departing for Santa Fe, I looked up labyrinth sites and counted 19 featured in the online Labyrinth Locator. But Alisa was the one who discovered the cathedral labyrinth while I was at the opera on Tuesday and told me about it. I’m so glad she did; it is really beautiful.
On our way back to the car, Alisa stopped in a tiny Christmas décor store called Susan's Christmas Shop at 115 E. Palace Avenue. She bought several stamped tin ornaments as souvenirs for her friends. She bought an antelope for herself as a memoir of our first day in New Mexico when we encountered the antelope.
We spent the afternoon at Ten Thousand Waves spa. We arrived at 1:30 p.m. and before our treatments, Alisa had booked a private bath with a large whirlpool tub, sauna, and plunge pool, open to the elements, in a walled garden with hummingbirds everywhere.
I had a spa Fusion treatment with Carlyn; Alisa had a Thai massage. My treatment room had an attached enclosed patio. I could hear the thunder and rain outside and feel the breeze – very pleasant. My treatment featured an amalgum of several of the spa treatments offered at Ten Thousand Waves: Thai massage, body exfoliation and hot oil treatment including hair and scalp, foot massage, exfoliation and hot oil.
The spa had a foot bath and contoured benches where you could relax by the waterfall in the garden between treatments. It was raining lightly and Alisa and I sat in the rain while waiting for our final massages. Our checkout experience was not optimum, but all-in-all we had a lovely day.
We finished at 5 p.m. and stopped at Whole Foods to get a lunch for the casita.
I turned in early. Alisa did some packing. Heading home tomorrow.
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