Santa Fe Style – Essential The Best of Georgia O’Keefe

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Coming soon, a mini–Santa Fe Journey and hotel reports! Santa Fe Musings – The Spirit of Georgia O’Keeffe Retreat offered by one of our favorite small hotels, Inn of Five Graces.

A sneak peek at an offering by Inn of Five Graces: New Mexico, as seen through the eyes of Georgia O’Keeffe, offers a profound entry into the heart of the Southwest. This highly curated program presents some of the most intimate, off-the-beaten-path, and often privately accessed opportunities, guiding you through her private home and studio, the landscapes of some of her most famous works, and the archives at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. 

Georgia O’Keeffe Home

Combining this experience with a retreat at the Spa of The Five Graces creates the Ultimate Georgia O’Keeffe Artists Weekend.

Start the day with complimentary Yoga in the Meditation Room at Spa of the Five Graces. Breakfast on the Courtyard Patio. Relax and savor their complimentary à la carte dining with fresh fruits, bread, house-made granolas, and some of the best New Mexican dishes in the state.

Explore The O’Keeffe Museum Featuring one of the most extensive collections of O’Keeffe’s works. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986), was devoted to creating imagery that expressed what she called “the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it.” 

Shop Santa Fe Vintage – Have our concierge book you an appointment at this unparalleled collection of vintage Levi’s, hats, and jackets. This is where the in the know glam stars shop for their looks!

Santa Fe Hat Company For the best selection of hats in the Southwest. A legend since 1976, offering custom, artisan and high end brands.

Lucchese Bootmaker if you have one more shopping stop in you, Lucchese boots is a short walk and offers the best you’re going to find.

Lunch at The Shed or La Choza; try a local’s favorite at one of these beloved New Mexican establishments.

Treatments at Spa of the Five Graces – Treat yourself our favorite, the “Scrub, Steam, and Massage Treatments” where you will receive cleansing, full-body exfoliation, a private aromatic steam shower, and restorative side-by-side massages.

Dinner at The Compound One of my favorite restaurants! Designed by O’Keeffe’s close friend, Alexander Girard, in the heart of the historic Canyon Road arts district and near O’Keeffe’s Santa Fe residence.

  • Inn of Five Graces, Santa Fe
  • Inn of Five Graces, Santa Fe
  • Inn of Five Graces, Santa Fe
  • Inn of Five Graces, Santa Fe

Take in a Show at the Lensic or The Santa Fe Opera. In the heart of summer experience Santa Fe Opera’s world-renowned performances or find some of the world’s most exciting performers at the Lensic, in their grand Pueblo Deco style structure on West San Francisco Street.

A day trip to Abiquiu. Breakfast on the Courtyard Patio – Have you tried their Chilliquillas or Juevos Motelenos yet? Always on my breakfast menu!  Then depart for a day Journey, head North on your Five Graces Private Experience, one of our favorite day trips. The Essence of Abiquiu via a Georgia O’Keeffe lens, which includes Plaza Blanca – only accessed via special permit. Plaza Blanca is a majestic landscape made up of beautiful white sandstone cliffs made famous by Georgia O’Keeffe through her series of paintings called The White Place.

Bosshard Gallery in the village of Abiquiu. This gallery was once the home of the original Bode’s Mercantile. Today, the gallery offers a fine representation of Northern New Mexican history with an extensive collection of Indigenous textiles, jewelry, and ceramics.

Lunch at Abiquiú Inn at Café Abiquiú: champagne lunch on the patio at the historic Café Abiquiú & The Terrace. The menu is comprised of fresh local ingredients featuring New Mexican specialties.

O’Keeffe Home Tour: Enter the private home of Georgia O’Keeffe, built into one of the oldest Northern New Mexico haciendas, offering a peak experience to an extremely small number of visitors each year.

Ghost Ranch: Finally, head to Ghost Ranch, a 21,000-acre retreat situated on the Colorado Plateau, to take in the afternoon light as it paints the colorful ribbons of Entrada sandstone and the timeless Morrison, Chinle, and Todilto formations.

Dinner & Drinks at The Dragon Room – Home in time for a reservation at The Pink Adobe’s Dragon Room, a historic bar and favorite of Georgia O’Keeffe and Robert Redford. Dine at the bar or in one of their booths enjoying seasonal fair, delicious craft cocktails and live music.

Saturday Spa Day Start the day with a private Tibetan Mindfulness Meditation session, designed to ease the mind, and prepare the ground for insight and wisdom.

Breakfast in Your Room – If it’s fall or winter, light a fire, featuring a farm-to-table menu with some great healthy options too.

Treatments at Spa of the Five Graces – Treat yourself our favorite, the “Scrub, Steam, and Massage Treatments” where you will receive cleansing, full-body exfoliation, a private aromatic steam shower, and restorative massage.

Relax & Read by the Soaking Pool – Accompanied by snacks and cold-pressed juices. *In colder months the warming pool is between 90-102 degrees.*

Explore Your Creativity with their captivating painting experience in this two-hour Santa Fe Painting Workshop with an amazing professional painting teacher and some great wines.

Take a Drive to Aspen Vista – This 7-mile drive into the Sangre De Cristo mountains for a stunning view of the region.

Dinner at Izanami – Along the Hyde Park Road (below Aspen Vista) you will find exceptional Japanese countryside style cuisine.

Lunch, Shopping & Coffee on Lena Street – Get a coffee and a Japanese Lunch in Santa Fe’s Arts district at Ikonik Coffee & Ozu Santa Fe.

One advantage of Inn of Five Graces is the walkability around town. Shop in town at: Living Threads – for photography, Oaxacan pottery, indigo kaftans and hand-carved Palo Santo vessels.

Whiskey + Clay – for ceramics and home goods.

From Inn of Five Graces, walk to Canyon Road – filled with amazing art and galleries, including Morning Star, you can shop some of our favorites here;

Shop 4Kinship – This Navajo-owned (Diné) boutique for indigenous pieces, colorful up-cycled fashion, vintage denim, along with blankets courtesy and modern silver-turquoise jewelry

Cielo Handcrafted, a few doors down you can shop local New Mexico and Latin America wares; colorful pillows handmade from Cusco, espresso mugs planters and more.

Secret & Sons. I am transfixed in this exotic souk shop, transported across the world with their impeccable taste in carpets, hand painted furniture. You don’t need a passport to shop here! 

Mediterrania Antiques, furniture, a significant collection of Uriarte Talavera  pottery,  and they are only 2 doors away from Seret & Sons. 

Dinner at The Pink Adobe, their Signature New Mexican and Cajun-inspired restaurant.

Night Cap at Bar Analco for a Mezcal flight, margarita menu or craft cocktails.

Tucked into the inky blue mountains of Northern New Mexico, a week in the high desert Santa Fe, might not be long enough to enjoy all this town has to offer. The oldest state Capital in the United States, inhabited since 1607, by members of Native American pueblos. The city is brimming with creatives, eccentrics and solitude seekers. City Map 2025 published for locals and visitors.

Highly Recommend Inn of Five Graces and Santa Fe! Postcards soon on the new spa at Inn of Five Graces and other boutique properties.

Aman Venice – Most Scrumptious Lunch in Venice!

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Luxury hotel Aman Venice has been the place of high-society soirées since the 16th century. Formerly the Palazzo Papadopoli, this grand Baroque building houses original frescoes – by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo – and Neo-Renaissance decor have been restored to their former opulence.

Aman Venice on the Grand Canal

Palazzo Papadopoli, is one of the city’s eight monumental palazzos on the Grand Canal, Aman Venice embodies all that is sumptuous and sensuous about La Serenissima. Rococo works of art are offset by the contemporary restraint of Jean-Michel Gathy interiors, while private gardens – rare in this floating city – are overlooked by opulent dining venues and spacious suites. 

Just a short walk away from Piazza San Marco, Aman Venice offers the perfect place from which to explore this romantic city, and to discover the hidden gems of the city while floating away on a traditional gondola.

Traveling in high style, we arrived to the private Aman pier for lunch in a classic glossy Mahogany Motoscafi. Aman’s sumptuous Yellow Dining Room, and restaurant Arva, enjoys sweeping Grand Canal views below a towering ceiling painted by Cesare Rotta.

The dishes are a true love letter to Italy’s culinary heritage, think the best local produce and unfussy cooking with a warm atmosphere. Executive Chef Matteo Panfilio, originally from Tortona, Italy, approached the kitchen at an early age. Observing and helping his grandmother prepare traditional Italian dishes and fresh pasta, Matteo developed a deep passion for ingredients, combined with the desire to learn the very best techniques to enhance their flavors in every dish.

Each day, sustainable, seasonal produce, and fresh fish and organic meats are brought from the Rialto market, the Venetian lagoon and its islands. Salad greens are grown on Sant’Erasmo island.

Embraced by subdued quiet elegance, the low overstuffed slipper chairs glide whisper soft across the ancient polished parquet wood floor. I felt like I was in a cathedral, swathed in splendor and silence.

  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice

Immediately presented with a pale rose bubbly and finely rolled bread sticks, we began our elegant Lunch Odyssey! We nibbled and swooned over the cloud like Potato dough Focaccia, with green olives and datterini tomatoes, followed by an aromatic white truffle tagliolini with in season asparagus. No, per piacere, leave the Focaccia! Bites of milk and honey chicken from Padua and seasonal mushrooms, and a yummy mixed green salad. I was on a Risotto Mission, endlessly repeating do you remember the Risi E Bisi!?- A risotto dish of peas and grains, which evoked peals of giggles! Sipping a light white bubbly from a hand-blown Venetian flute enhanced the decadent lunch. Am I in heaven?

Arva is worth a visit even if you are staying elsewhere, but why would you?

  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice
  • Aman Venice

The Palazzo Kitchen Table is a unique dining space that can include market strolls with the chef, private dining experiences, and cooking classes. Taking place in this intimate kitchen setting overlooking the private garden, each experience brings guests face to face with Aman Venice Executive Chef, Matteo Panfilio, for a celebration of culinary creativity and locally sourced, sustainable ingredients.

A world of fine wine. In addition to indulging in exclusively created dishes, guests at The Palazzo Kitchen Table will be introduced to Aman Venice’s exemplary wine cellar. The hotel has accumulated an extensive and wide-ranging collection of some of the world’s finest wines, including rare vintages from Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne in France, as well as a 1995 Merlot from Tuscany in Italy.

The Bar Overlooking the secret garden beside the Grand Canal, Aman Bar serves drinks, tea, late-night snacks and light meals – including Aman’s take on classic Venetian cicchetti – from midday until midnight. A homage to Lord Byron, it’s a warm and inviting space. Explore the largest selection of gins in Venice or request a bespoke cocktail from the award-winning resident mixologist.

Mixology with Antonio Ferrara. Step into a world of refined flavors and expert craftsmanship, embarking on a cocktail making experience Aman Venice’s head mixologist, Antonio Ferrara. At the bar, Antonio shares his deep knowledge of mixology, guiding guests through an exploration of unique ingredients, techniques and combinations. As he describes the story behind each cocktail he creates, he moves with precision and grace, showcasing a symphony of color and aroma. Saluti!

The Bar, Aman Venice

Aman Venice Rooms Signature Rooms and Suites which vary in size and configuration, feature works by a number of Italy’s greatest artists – including 16th-century architect Sansovino and 18th-century painter Tiepolo. Contemporary furnishings complement authentic silk wall coverings, chandeliers, wood paneling, chinoiserie and painted ceilings, with many rooms offering Grand Canal views.  

Highly Recommend!