|
by Barbara Penny Angelakis
 |
Although I have been to Arizona on several occasions, this was my first visit to Tucson, which is about a two-hour drive 100 miles south of Phoenix. The one word that to me best describes Tucson and its environs is “surprising”. Yes I expected to see a skyline of mountains, jagged against the lapis lazuli-toned cloudless expanse of uninterrupted sky… and yes I expected there to be an abundance of beautiful eye-scapes since Tucson is plunked down in the middle of the Sonoran Desert… and yes I expected that there would be limitless opportunities for outdoor activities such as golf, tennis, riding, climbing, hiking, bird watching… and yes I expected to find world-class spas and natural hot mineral springs… and yes I expected to find easy access to several tribes of American Native cultures and proximity to the Mexican border… but, I did not expect to find a sophisticated cultural environment or world-class culinary milieu.
For instance, I was unaware that Tucson is the astronomical observatory capital of the world with Kitt Peak National Observatory (http://www.noao.edu/kpno) supporting the most diverse collection of observatories on Earth. Even for the amateur stargazer there are venues for viewing the heavens; or simply get away from the city lights and stargaze to your heart’s content, so clear is the nighttime sky. Tucson is also home to the University of Arizona, which fosters intellectual and sporting events normally associated with institutions at that caliber of higher learning. There are any number of indoor and outdoor museums and historical institutions, and performing arts events including theater, symphony, opera, and ballet companies.
As for culinary delights, two of the restaurants we visited excelled, namely The Ventana Room at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort and The Gold Room at Westward Look Resort. Both were fine dining establishments with gastronomic pleasures galore and excellent wine cellars to compliment their menu choices. The one dining disappointment was at Soleil, which is situated, in a multilevel complex of shops and fine-art galleries in the El Cortijo center. The physical plant of the restaurant is appealing, with its warm Arizona colors and floor to ceiling windows facing out over the city spread literally at your feet, and a menu that promises “award winning contemporary cuisine”; the dining experience just did not live up to its promise! While the food was very good and was attractively plated, the wait staff was inattentive, lacking knowledge of the menu, uninterested and negligent, in other words the service was dismal. Dishes were brought to table without implements and with sauce splattered all over the plate’s rim, the bread was served after the appetizers, wine had to be asked-for several times and was finally delivered after the dish it was supposed to complement was almost finished, and when desert was ordered to be shared by two, only one plate and one implement were delivered. But, the greatest offense was that the entire meal was extremely rushed; ordered, served and the table cleared in 45 minutes… hardly an “award winning culinary experience”.
 Our hotel was the beautiful Loews Ventana Canyon Resort located in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains and while Tucson looks like an easily accessible city do not be fooled, as in many of the cities in the southwest, the distances are vast and the traffic is constant. Since we were spending only a few days in Tucson, we wanted to enjoy as many of the varied things to see and do as would fit into our schedule and we were fortunate to be able to keep all of our excursions outside the hotel to a maximum ½ hour drive in each direction. Advance planning by someone familiar with the territory proved to be invaluable and, in our case, we received it from the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau (http://www.visitTucson.org). If you go, make sure you contact them first and obtain a travel information package to help in organizing your trip.
 In our case, a slight detour on the drive from Phoenix took us to the not-to-be-missed Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum. Founded in 1952, this private, nonprofit organization, has a conservation mission “to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation and understanding of the Sonoran Desert” and all living things. Marked trails wind through the 21-acre outdoor museum with informational placards describing the flora and fauna that you pass along the way. As much as possible the animals in captivity live in their natural habitat and like their counterparts in the wild, roam freely within a safe environment for them, as well as the two-legged visitors to the museum.
Another desert conservancy we visited is Tohono Chul Park or “desert corner” in the Tohono Oódham language. The park’s stated goal is “good stewardship of our desert home… you can learn how to live with, not just in, the desert”. You enter the museum through a delightful tearoom where breakfast, lunch, or afternoon tea is served. The kitchen is known for using fresh local ingredients and serving generous portions prepared in typical southwestern fashion. We arrived early and stopped for breakfast before being joined by Marilyn, a docent, who guided us through the 49-acre park and multi-level art museum that exhibits well-known contemporary Arizona artists. One of the artists whose work was on display was the hugely appealing Tucsonan Donna Gaylord, whose art is inspired by the desert but not limited by its stark reality. She draws what she sees with her eyes, and filters those images through her imagination, to create a representational fantasy that pulls the viewer into a world that exists… but only in Donna’s mind’s eye. The Greenhouse and Museum Shops are also worthy of attention with a wide range of items for all pocketbooks, including some beautiful native turquoise and silver jewelry.
 The final and perhaps most charming museum we visited was the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun. With the help of his Indian friends, Ted DeGrazia begun construction on his adobe home and gallery by hand in the early 1950’s, using traditional methods and materials he found around him, such as the cholla cactus, with which he created a breathtakingly beautiful and unique interior walkway. The architecture is as much a joyful expression of DeGrazia’s love for the land and people as are his famous impressionistic paintings, ceramics, and bronzes that cover the walls and decorate the interior spaces. The adjoining  Mission was the first structure to be completed in the complex and was dedicated to Our Lady of Guadeloupe. The small building is rustic verging on primitive with roughhewn walls, rock floors, and open to the sky. Its walls are covered with DeGrazia murals of angels and peasants and the nave is filled with a portrait of Our Lady surrounded by her trademark red roses. Serendipitously we visited the museum on the day of the annual “Our Lady of Guadeloupe celebration. A tent was set up on the property for cooking soft tortillas, which were stuffed with rice and beans and topped with a homemade sauce… simple and delicious and a must-have for each new visitor drawn-in by the smells  curling out from under the tent. Around a makeshift stage sat an appreciative audience, as traditionally costumed children performed the traditional Mexican songs and dances honoring Our Lady. After the show, the children formed a procession to parade to each doorway in the complex, blessing the thresholds and all those that pass through in the coming year. It was so colorful and uplifting, just like the paintings with which DeGrazia covered his Mission walls.
And how could we visit Tucson without indulging in its world famous spas? To quote from my article in the January issue of LuxuryWeb Magazine “As far as I am  concerned Spas are the pleasure palaces of the modern world; where for a few hours, days, or more, you are pampered, indulged, cared for and the focus of healing, beautifying and relaxing attention. There are different types of spas but for most people, men and women alike, the day spa with its focus on a quick fix, will provide their primary experience. For those with time and desire, there are health and well-being spas, which seek to alter unhealthy life styles through diet, exercise, and behavior changing programs. In between are the on-site resort spas that offer a relaxing, rejuvenating, pleasurable time-out between business and/or leisure activities.” We were able to experience both the day spa at Touch of Tranquility on east Sunrise Drive and The Spa at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, two very different but very satisfying experiences.
We did not get enough of Tucson and perhaps that is the idea, to leave you wanting more and anticipating another visit.
© February 2007 LuxuryWeb Magazine. All rights reserved.
|
|
