Wandering Taos Part 1: The Plaza

Thursday May 15, 2025                                     Most Recent Posts:
Taos Valley RV Park                                           Welcome to Taos
Taos, New Mexico                                               Last Days in Santa Fe

It took me only this one day and only about 30 minutes of it to discover how much I love Taos.  What a sweet town and SO WALKABLE.

First thing was to go to the Plaza.  From the wonderful people at the Visitor’s Center I was shown on a map how to get to free parking.  Don’t remember such a thing near the Plaza in Santa Fe.

Parking with mountain views no less.

I walked over to the Plaza and had breakfast at Legacy Cafe.  What a great choice.

I sat in the far right booth with a wonderful historic picture of the plaza behind me.

Love the chairs

And the fabulous model of Taos Pueblo.

The food was terrific and is one of the reasons I really need to go back to Taos since in the two weeks I was there, I was never able to get back for another breakfast.    I’ve noticed that the question red or green seems to come up in every food order in New Mexico.  That’s green chile sauce  in the center.

From there I just wandered around the sides of the plaza which is totally enclosed with shops and mostly covered walkways..   I doubt the walkways are covered to protect from the rain although I understand there are rainy afternoons in July and August.  I’ve also found that if they are protecting from the summer sun, it wasn’t any hotter in Taos or Santa Fe than it was this year in the foothills of Virginia.

All types of art work everywhere.

One of the other things I find so attractive about the plaza is the blue…..my favorite color and shade.  In the south we call this Carolina Blue.

I also loved the beautiful doorways and murals I saw all over town.  They just don’t do this kind of cheerful decoration in the east in my experience.

Eventually I went out into the plaza which is used for a variety of things including music and a farmer’s markets.

It’s so wonderful to be able to see those mountains from nearly everywhere.

Photo of the Hotel La Fonda from the plaza.  The hotel has been part of the plaza’s history since 1820 when it was known as the St. Vrain Mercantile Store.

Back on the walkway I sat down and had a chat with this gent and actually didn’t go into the chocolate shop for fear of what I might buy.

Yes, this is true and I’m very proud of myself for resisting.

But my resistance didn’t last past this great T-shirt shop.

Do I need this  “cowgirl” hat! 

I was going to  put these t-shirt pictures side by side but I wasn’t sure you could read them.  It was a toss up for me between the first one and the last one but the last one won out.   Still this one makes me laugh even now  hope you can figure it out.

Clearly they should have been more concerned about immigrants.

From the plaza, I started exploring the side streets

If I moved to Taos and lost 40 years could I look like this?

Of course I had to check out the book store.  In this case Op Cit Books.

A mural lined parking lot behind the plaza.

Mural lined stairs leading to the plaza.

Murals just along the streets.

This last shot was taken on Kit Carson Road which I walked down on my way to the Mable Dodge Luhan house as I left the plaza  But that’s for the next post.  This was too big a day to cover all at once.  Suffice it to say I LOVE TAOS!