Christmas in Old Town

Today was another outing inspired by the ADAD theme.

Tomorrow's ADAD theme is "I went..."
Technically, tomorrow I go to work, so in the interest in 

a better picture, the monthly mosaic and getting out this morning,

we went to see the end of fall and the beginning of Christmas

in Albuquerque Old Town.

ADAD I Went...

The trees had actively lost leaves that covered the plaza grass

and walkways.

A natural planted tree in the plaza center was decorated

for Christmas.

 A larger pine tree was brought into another area

near the church and businesses.

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas!

We walked up the street to the Christmas Shop,

which is a year round shop with artificial trees and a variety

of ornaments and decorations for sale.

Wreaths and holiday swags lined the walls and the poles

around Old Town, and the Christmas Shop was no exception!

Santa came out and sat in front of another nearby shop.

I recognized the bear; probably by Russ Berrie!

I have several with this face and design, although they 

don't wear knit caps and scarfs.

The San Felipe de Neri church was holding Sunday

morning church services.

Ella posed on the outside wall.

Pigeons then flew from the church spires.

In reviewing this photo at home, I had an unusual moment.

I had not changed my camera or edited this photo to a

black and white or gray photo. This is the actual color

of the clouds, the spire, and the pigeon, and the way my

camera read this scene.

Taking pictures of the top of the church are especially

helpful when people are walking by or into the church!

Other businesses had holiday swags and red bows.

We walked into a side plaza area. There were several

cabinets with luminarias on them.

They are paper bags with sand and candles in them.

I doubt the collection of luminarias was for sale.

They most likely are being set out around Old Town,

as a part of the holiday decorations.

It is amazing how paper bags, dirt, and small candles

can be such a beautiful part of our Christmas here!

As we finished our visit, we walked past a few more

businesses, blue doors, and chile ristras on the way to the parking lot.

May our Christmas season begin

and bring the joys of the season to all who celebrate

the holidays in December.

Casa San Ysidro

Casa San Ysidro is a historic, restored and preserved

rancho now owned by the Albuquerque Museum.

It is also known as the Gutierrez-Minge house.
The original adobe home was built by the Gutierrez family
in the 1870's. 

Alan and Shirley Minge rebuilt the property starting in 1953.
They continued to develop the property and their collection
of museum quality pieces of New Mexico culture and history

through 1996. The pieces and designs represented an authentic

aspect of the people and history here.

In 1996, they donated the property and collection

to the Albuquerque Museum. They moved to Kansas

to begin the restoration of a Victorian. Alan Minge is still alive,

although Shirley died several years ago.

As a  New Mexican rancho for an affluent family,

it has rooms built around a small plaza or courtyard.

ADAD End

I have visited many times and in the different seasons.

The garden in the middle of the plaza was a beautiful

and quiet expression of late fall.

I love the traditional New Mexican adobe architecture

and the many details that are reflected in our historical buildings.

Old lanterns hung from the portal beams.
Josefina has a lantern like this lantern except her lantern is painted!

There is an old bell over one side of the building.

We visited inside rooms with a trained docent as a tour guide,

but photography is not allowed in the inside rooms. 

The inside photos are not mine. 

They are from Google, but I have placed

them near where they would be seen on the property

as an impression of the inside rooms.

We first visited the kitchen, a parlor, and several bedrooms.

There is a hallway in between the two rows of rooms.

Once we came out from the main living area, the sun

had started to shine again on the cloudy day, casting sun across

the walkway. 

I started to have some fun with the lantern shadows!

We walked toward the back end of the building

and looked back on the plaza with another point of view.

As we looked back over the eastern wall of the adobe

rancho, the snow topped mountains were visible.

There is a collection of out buildings beyond

the back opening of the main plaza area.

The covered adobe building is a blacksmith area

that also has a cabinet with Josefina to the side.

It is an area that can be used for education.

A tree in the back was changing into darker colors

and getting ready to lose its leaves.

An adobe room had grinding stones in front of it.

The cover where old wagons are kept has been

recently repaired.

The blacksmith building has a beautiful exposure

of adobe bricks.

We walked through the plaza sidewalks back toward

the gate with some dawdling.

We stopped and looked back.

Casa San Ysidro has regular scheduled tour hours

most months of the year, but they are closed in

December and January.

We paused in the gate as we left. We had just attended the last

scheduled tour of 2015. The tours and events will resume in February.

Have a peaceful time of rest, Casa San Ysidro!

CSPAN YouTube Video: