Santa Fe and Taos Stories

Art and Spa-Going: A Recipe that Feeds the Soul

Many people do not realize that Santa Fe is the third largest art market in the country, after New York and L.A.! Hundreds of galleries offer a wide range of styles, including Native American art, early 20th century art, traditional representational art, and contemporary and abstract art. Another obscure fact – there are more massage therapists per capita in Santa Fe than anywhere else in America! Not surprisingly, this sets the stage for an awesome vacation!

On Canyon Road, a short walk from the center of town and Santa Fe’s famous Plaza, visitors find more than 100 fine art galleries and artist studios, specialty shops and world-class restaurants. A unique mingling of galleries and gracious adobe homes on narrow tree-lined streets forms the essence of the Canyon Road historic district’s charm.

We feel privileged to own Casa de Alma, a luxury 3-bedroom adobe home in the heart of this neighborhood. Decorated with local art and antiques, our home makes guests feel at the center of the spirit and artistic soul of Santa Fe.

A recent guest from San Francisco wrote, “No detail has been overlooked in the furnishings of your beautiful getaway…the neighborhood is quiet and charming, with shady trees and lilacs blooming…we enjoyed walking to Canyon Road for the wonderful galleries.”

Indeed, our most pleasant and memorable times in Santa Fe involve wandering by foot from Casa de Alma to explore the galleries of the Canyon Road art district and the architectural beauty of the Spanish-Pueblo homes, many of which belonged to early artists that date from the 1700’s.

We always include a visit to the Nedra Matteucci Gallery, 1057 Paseo de Peralta, to enjoy their outdoor sculpture garden, a beautiful space where bronze and stone sculptures co-exist in perfect harmony with ponds and waterfalls.

Our favorite restaurant, Geronimo’s at 724 Canyon Road, dates from 1769 and was once owned by Geronimo Lopez, an early Spanish settler. Many consider it the finest food in Santa Fe!

Merging the beauty of Santa Fe’s art and architecture with a visit to Ten Thousand Waves spa is a recipe that feeds the soul! Located twenty minutes from the center of town, Ten Thousand Waves is a beautiful oasis of Japanese ambience and luxury where caring professionals offer every conceivable type of body work and spa treatments imaginable.

For an extra special experience, ask for a Masters Massage. These therapists have from ten to twenty-five years of professional massage experience and it shows! We always leave with a deep sense of serenity and relaxation as well as a desire to return again soon!

Many visitors are surprised by all that Santa Fe has to offer. As often as we vacation here, we always discover new galleries, museums, restaurants, and unique shops that are unlike anywhere else in the world!

Marilyn & Jay Mitchell

The Magical Plum Tree in Taos

Casa Montoya, two blocks from the historic Taos Plaza, has a magical plum tree next to the hot tub in the private enclosure.

"But of course, this is Taos, a magical town!"

The tree has never been fertilized, never watered (even when there's a drought), and never sprayed (with chemicals or otherwise), yet there is a massive profusion of perfect, delicious plums each season. I haven't found one yet that has a single blemish.

But of course, this is Taos, a magical town!

By the way, guests don't need to wear bathing suits when they use the hot tub - there's a tall fence surrounding it, so only the moon and stars enjoy watching.

Ellen Wood

Santa Fe’s Turner Carroll Gallery

We are the owners of one of the finest contemporary art galleries in Santa Fe, and we also have three of our vacation rental properties listed on the Homeaway Network, so we hope you will most certainly feature us!

Our gallery is called Turner Carroll Gallery – turnercarrollgallery.com - and we are located on historic Canyon Road, which is a road known around the world as the most important art street in Santa Fe.

There are over 80 art galleries on Canyon Road alone. Michael Carroll (the husband in the Turner Carroll team) was the president of the Santa Fe Gallery Association for over four years, and our gallery is one of the most esteemed galleries not only in Santa Fe, but also in the United States, for artwork by contemporary international masters. In addition, Tonya Turner Carroll serves on the advisory committee for the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa Fe.

Turner Carroll Gallery exhibits at art fairs throughout the country, including Art Miami and Art Chicago. We have been in business for 16 years, and we travel the world to find the finest contemporary artwork to exhibit in our gallery.

One criterion for the artists in our gallery is that every artist we represent must be actively shown and collected by museums. Our artists are included in such fine museums as the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Vatican Collection, Harvard's Fogg Museum of Art and others.

We are young entrepreneurs with backgrounds in the history of art. We started our gallery in 1991, when we were only 23 and 24 years old, after working with such fine art institutions as Sotheby's in London, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Our vacation rentals grew out of our enthusiasm for the arts in both Santa Fe and the Pacific Mexican coast, and we currently advise art collectors and institutions in both locations about collecting contemporary art internationally.

Another funny coincidence for your newsletter is that we curate the artwork for the finest spa in Santa Fe--the Avanyu Spa at La Posada Hotel (a Rock Resort). Our gallery and our artwork have been featured on a Travel Channel special about Santa Fe and the La Posada Hotel and Spa.

Tonya and Michael Carroll

109 East Palace Avenue

In addition to owning a HomeAway condo in Santa Fe, I have a retail store called Onorato Home & Ambiance at 109 East Palace Avenue.

The attraction is the historical significance of the location and the address.

In 1943, the US government rented the space as an in-processing office for personnel going to the laboratory at Los Alamos to work on the Manhattan Project. Security at the lab was paramount. Nuclear physicists were given pseudonyms and told to travel to Santa Fe by rail, and report to the nondescript office at 109 East Palace.

There they were given a pass that would admit them to the Los Alamos lab, located on a mesa 35 miles to the northwest. The scientists and other personnel were effectively imprisoned on the mesa for two years while they developed the technology for nuclear weapons. The office in town remained until 1963.

A lot of people come to the store just for the history. Also, it is the subject of a book, titled "109 East Palace."

Robert Andreotti

Casa Candelario: Where Art Meets History and Beauty

Just west of the Plaza, in the center of town, lies a street called Candelario. Towards the end of Candelario Street is an adobe home restored by its owner, Candido. This adobe home with oak floors and hand troweled plaster walls lies in the historic district of Santa Fe, where adobe homes have frescoes depicting Our Lady of Guadalupe and Santos in their patios and gardens.

Casa Candelario boasts over 25 original works created by the homeowner, Candido, and other artists. Candido specializes in linoleum block prints, (you can see an example above the Mascarello granite in the kitchen- "The Santuario de Chimayo”), named after the famous sanctuary located about 25 miles north of Santa Fe, and approximately 20 minutes northeast of Espanola, on the way to Taos.

You will need a good three to four hours to visit the Santuario, so enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner at Rancho de Chimayo, an excellent restaurant for northern New Mexican cuisine located on state road 98 (tel. 505-984-2100).

From Casa Candelario, you can walk about six blocks to the Georgia O'Keefe museum at 217 Johnson Street (tel. 505-946-1000). Zig-zag your way a block south of Johnson Street, and check out LewAllen Contemporary and Manitou Galleries for contemporary modern and southwestern art. When you reach the Plaza, tour the galleries that surround the Plaza.

Stop for lunch at La Casa Sena in the historic 1860's Sena house, 125 E. Palace Ave., and enjoy a meal on their fabulous outdoor patio (tel. 505-988-9232).

If people-watching is your style, the Ore House serves lunch and dinner right on a balcony overlooking the Plaza. This fine dining establishment has an extensive menu of custom margaritas.

Walk south on Selby Street, and stop at the corner of Selby and Water Streets, where you will find a mall called "El Centro Mall" specializing in southwestern, western and Native American art. Check out Kiva Fine Arts for Native American artists specializing in oils and bronze castings or the Arlene Siegel Gallery (tel. 505-986-5822). Take Water Street and walk west again, and scout the galleries on this backstreet behind the Plaza.

On your way back home to Casa Candelario, take a right on Galiesteo Street from Water Street, and continue your gallery tour. At West San Francisco, hang a left, and look for the Andrew Smith Gallery, 203 W. San Francisco, specializing in photography. Their collection, featuring Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz is always on display.

At Casa Candelario, sip a glass of wine in the back yard while admiring the sculpture garden, dedicated to the sculptures of Michael Acker, an artist from Sonoma, California, that specializes in water fountains and sculptures made out of cast concrete.

At Casa Candelario, your summers will be cool with central air conditioning and your winters warmed by a kiva fireplace and central heat. You can cook homemade meals in a modern kitchen that features hickory cabinets and a rare granite from brazil called Mascarello. The kitchen has a back door that leads to the patio with cherry and apricot trees. The entire house has hardwood floors, and there is a hand-crafted tile mosaic in the bath. The dining area features a hand-crafted nicho, which is a relief sculpture built into the wall.

Candido Dallagiacoma