Next we visited the historic and world renowned Arizona Inn. The Inn was built in the early 1930s and it has gracefully aged. It has a patina of gentility, sophistication and old money elegance. As we approached the entrance, the door was opened by a well dressed older man who gave us a warm greeting. From the lobby the smell and sound of a crackling fire lured us into the library. Here we found a grand room with pine and mahogany planked flooring, a ceiling with hand hewed wooden beams, real books on the shelves, antique Indian rugs, comfortable chairs and sofas and several international newspapers laid out on a large antique desk. Across from the library we found the Audubon bar … bright and cheery with a Casablanca décor … complete with a palm tree and framed original Audubon prints.

The inn has several themed dining rooms, and for lunch we were lucky to be seated in the Catlin room. To our astonishment, original hand colored lithographs by George Catlin hung on the walls. We sat on original handmade ladder backed chairs, ate an extraordinary meal and enjoyed the attentive and impeccable service. After the table was scraped of crumbs, individual silver compotes filled with warm water and a lemon slice where brought to the table for us to freshen our fingers.

After lunch a staff member noticed we had a camera and offered to take us to the fountain. As we followed our guide we found ourselves in a wonderland of manicured lawns, exquisite floral gardens, colorful cabanas and private bungalows.

We enjoyed the Tucson area so much (our visit was limited to 36 hours) ... we've decided to spend more time there next year.

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