THE BROADMOOR RESORT, Colorado Springs, CO

 The beautiful facade of the Broadmoor Resort--a place where celebrities and royals mingle--and, oh yeah, throw in a couple of Santa Fesanos as well......

 Can you say "Fancy Dancy"? And this is just a sitting room, not the main lobby....

 It took a flower shop full of roses to make this display....

 Dwight out in one of the courtyards....

Diana resting in a pleasant little alcove....

 Some trim in the Ballroom that looks like the Palace of Versailles......

 Boating on the lake.....

 Looks like the Riviera, but it's Colorado....

 The guests have a choice of spots to swim and sun bathe....

 This is fine for me....

 In fact, I think I could get used to this, Dwightie....

 Part of the extensive art collection that includes lots of New Mexico Artists like this one from the Taos School.....

 Now, here is the vase I will need for my next arrangement for the Iris Show....

 Looks like Belle's library in THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.....

 Crouse, Taos School, "War Talk"'

 More SW art....

 Detail from a room that is solely a gallery of art.....

 Fetchin....

 Mosaic detail on the floor....

 More New Mexico art....

 Gardner working on the landscaping, it takes an army of staff workers to keep the Broadmoor in pristine condition.....

 For our Farewell Luncheon of the trip, we are dining at the Golden Bee moved to the grounds of the Broadmoor Resort from NYC where it had already been moved, piece by piece from London.  Sort of like the London Bridge....

 Cheers to you, my love, thanks for a lovely trip and here's to many more anniversaries to come.....

 "Mudd in your eye, matey!"....

 Details of the English pub bar--all the way from Merry-Olde-England.....

 More British bric-a-brac.....

 Blimey! but I had brilliant fish 'n chips, gov'nor.....

So ends our lovely Anniversary trip--AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!!

D&D DO DENVER.....

 We're hitting the road for a few days excursion to the "Empire City of the West"--Denver, to celebrate our 26th Wedding Anniversary.....

 So it's goodbye to New Mexico and the Raton Pass.....

 And "Hello" to the heart of the Rockies.........

 After checking into the hotel, we decide to explore some of the environs of our downtown Denver location.....

 A Nightclub across the street was getting ready for Gay Pride Week coming up.....

 Nice Kittie.....

 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral/Basilica of Denver....

 Inspiration in the church courtyard....

 Church interior, where a wedding party was rehearsing.....

 Lots of lovely stained glass in this French Style cathedral.....

 While the cathedral is quite tall, it is really not as large as our cathedral in Santa Fe......

 Gorgeous rose window.....

 Across the street from the cathedral is the golden dome of the Colorado State Capitol.....

 When in Rome.....

 Also in the vicinity, we toured the Molly Brown (as in "Unsinkable") house....

 The imposing staircase--the house is impeccably maintained.  The"tin" ceiling is actually some of the original "unsinkable" wallpaper....

 The daughter's bedroom once boasted a great view of the Rocky Mountains.  Trees, houses and tall buildings have obliterated the view.

 The parlor.  Molly (Margaret) Brown had a local crafts person fashion a shawl of sorts to "Victorianize" her Venus atop the piano.

 Molly's bedroom.  She, like me, loved green.....

Thoroughly enjoyed the tour, but we have to scurry home to get ready for the true reason Denver was chosen for this trip.....

 The Yankees are in town!--and tonight we have tickets for the game at Coors Field!  So, we've got to get our "Jeters" adjusted......

 Yup, I finally made it to First Base!  Denver is swarming with Yankee fans--our van to the game was filled with Yankee fans from Santa Fe and San Ildefonso.

 Dwight also made it to First Base tonight!  Seriously, the stadium was filled with more Yankee fans than Rocky fans............

 A girl's gotta eat a hot dog if she's in a major league park.....

 Pre-game air show with parachutists bearing flags.....

 My favorite current Yankee, DiDi Gregorius warms up....

 Good to the last bite................

 The Rocky's equivalent of the Yankee's Bleacher Creatures, the fans in the Rockpile, unfurl a huge American flag for the National Anthem....

 The Rockpile was easily shouted down by the army of Yankee's fans shouting "Let's Go Yankees!".....

 Unfortunately, all that cheering couldn't make up for a stalled offense.  Here DiDi, is just about to get a timely hit to help fuel a seventh inning comeback for the Yanks, but it wasn't enough to win the game.....

 The wise  Everyman silently ponders the universe, baseball and why Derek Jeter couldn't play forever.......

 The next morning dawns sunny and hot and I don my Hopelessly Romantic outfit specifically designed for today's touring agenda....

 First off, touring the golden domed wonder of the Colorado State Capitol.....

 With it's many arches, pilasters, gleaming brass.......

 Sweeping staircases......

 Gigantic dome.....

 And galleries of stained glass portraits.....

 Even the elevators have lovely brass doors with iconic symbols of the history of Colorado....

 We ran into some of the Colorado folks who do for this capitol what Dwight does in Santa Fe and they recognized Dwight from a conference in Santa Fe and told him they had to take him on a very special "behind the scenes tour" that included him climbing this "off limits" staircase up to......

 The top of the mighty dome.....

 View on the way up....

 View from the top!

 I myself dropped out about the time we reached the "attic museum" area--I can't handle heights very well, but Dwight loved it!!

 Talking shop on the third floor that houses a gallery of Presidential portraits.  They are the reverse of our Roundhouse--their Governor is on the first floor, ours is on the top floor....

They also took us into a "hard hat" area to see the renovations on their House of Representatives....

It was a total pleasure touring this elegant state building.....

Now, hopefully this Colorado Cowboy will show us the way......

Past the Civic Plaza.....

 And through the "steel canyons" of downtown Denver to a very singular destination......

 The Brown Palace where my Grandma and Grandpa Gomez spent their honeymoon over a hundred years ago....

 They took the train from Santa Fe (my Grandpa was working for the Railroad at that time) and then afterwards took the train back to Trinidad , Colorado where he was stationed.

And I'm certain that no woman cuter than Juanita Gomez has ever passed through these doorways in the hundred years that have followed....

 And seen the six-story atrium with the stained glass ceiling....

 And enjoyed the elaborate lobby.......

 I wish I could have a time machine and could see those two fabulous people in their youth.......

 I have just read a book MURDER AT THE BROWN PALACE  and in asking the staff about various locales in the crime scene of the murder, I feel, I may have stepped on a few toes, they just keep saying "that area doesn't exist anymore"--ie. the Marble Bar.  So, I have to just be satisfied studying the details of the architecture......

 In great detail.....

I'm just so intrigued by the glamour and mystery of the Brown Palace......

 "I hope nobody minds too much if I ask just one more question....."

 Dwight Capshaw soon makes a speedy exit....

 And I, an even more inglorious one--well, if you can't take a joke.......

 Around the corner we view the Stockman statue.  Apparently there is a cattle parade into Denver every year with award winning cattle and the top prize winning steer is paraded through the lobby of the Brown Palace.  I bet that cow makes a more graceful exit than I did........

 Down the street is a very beautifully preserved building that our guide book says was a bordello in days gone by......

 A little snack on the 16th street Mall with my beloved....

 This is a great area for shopping and restaurants that is closed to traffic except for a free shuttle that takes you the length of the street.  There are street performers, kiosks and lots of activity.....

 And cute little eateries like this Sushi bar....

 If you get tired, you can rest on these giant chess pieces.....

 This lovely area near the Opera House reminds me of Milan....

 But with South American artwork--of a man...

 And of a woman....

 And an abstract design with a back drop of the mountains.....

 Back on the street, there is some cheerful street art installations...

 But nothing tops the 40 ft blue bear peering into the Convention Center.....

 He's just as cute on the inside.....

 Dwight plans our next move and we have just purchased a mini-version of the blue bear that now peers out from our kitchen window to our front patio.....

 It is a very hot day in Denver, but there are inventive fountains near the train station to keep the little ones cooled off......

 We're headed back to the hotel, but I enjoy sitting on the cool marble lap of this statue at the courthouse and getting some sage advice....

 Dwight is more laid back in his statue sitting.......

One last view of the capitol building......I hope he is not suffering from "capitol envy".....

 On the way home, we meandered through the very extensive neighborhood of elegant homes and leafy gardens of the historic district....

 Here is a nice colonial....

 An Italianate...

 A stone Victorian

 Antebellum....

 All the greenery hides the homes somewhat, but it was a true blessing to have so much shade on such a sweltering afternoon....

 Some already had bunting up for the fourth of July....

 A bit of detailing on a gracious entry....

Come evening, it is time for our Anniversary Dinner.  Note the fantastic facade of Union Station at the end of the street....

 Inside, it is a fine example of the elegance of the elaborate stations built during the heyday of train travel....

 One of the lovely light fixtures.....

 Most of the station space is now shops and restaurants, but the small section left for Amtrak travelers, gives you the feel of the old days.....

 Street view of the Station shows the entry to the Oxford Hotel where we are having our special dinner....

 The Oxford is actually older than the Brown Palace, and is on a much smaller scale, but is also meticulously maintained.  This is the lobby. (By the way, it also figured in MURDER AT THE BROWN PALACE as did Union Station.).

 Winding metal stair railings lead up to the guest rooms....

The Art Deco prohibition era Cruise Room Martini Bar is empty when we arrived.....

 But after a fantastic dinner served with aplomb at the McCormick Fish House Restaurant.......

 On our way out, the bar is starting to fill up and is getting jiggy.....

And thus ends the Denver leg of our mini-trip (but not mini-posting), with fond memories of our 26th celebration and sincere hopes for many more anniversaries.
For Part 2, the sumptuous Broadmoor Resort, follow this link:

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