Photo Friday Tuckahoe Plantation Richmond, Va.

Located along the James River to the north of Richmond, Tuckahoe Plantation was built by John Randolph in 1733. For seven years of his childhood, it was also the home of Thomas Jefferson.

The side of the house away from the river.

Visitors painting the view

The overseers cottage

The herb garden

Roses still in bloom in November

The lane is thought to be haunted

The river side of the plantation

Bloom from the garden

Gorgeous zinna

To visit Tuckahoe Plantation you need to arrange a private tour. Photography is not allowed in the house.

Goya at Boston Fine Arts Museum

Last week, I took a trip up to Boston to visit the Fine Arts Museum. They have mounted a new exhibition of the Spanish artist Francisco Goya. Entitled Order and Disorder it features 170 of the artist's works across a variety of mediums. 

Spend the $5 to take the audio tour. It is very well done. It is the first time I have had one on an iPod and it made it quite easy to listen to the exhibition curators Stephanie Stepanek and Frederick Ilchman giving lots of information about the artist, the work and the times he was working in.

The works are displayed by theme and towards the end of the exhibit, you are exposed to the violence and horror of the Peninsular War that ravaged Spain for 6 years. 

With 170 works, it is a huge exhibition. Personally, I wish they had included benches in the earlier rooms, it was a little hard on me in the last few rooms you can sit and listen to the audio. 

The exhibition ends with his monumental painting  “Last Communion of Saint Joseph of Calasanz” as well as his self-portrait with his physician from the later years of his life. It was a very powerful exhibition and even though I would never say he was one of my favorite artists, this was a very well done exhibition and I enjoyed it a lot. 

It will be at the Fine Arts Museum through January 19m 2015. If you have the opportunity to get to Boston to see it, please do, you won't be disappointed. 

Of course we had lunch in the cafeteria and as usual, the food is excellent. I made myself a salad and it was wonderful. In case you wonder what I got, I chose a curried chicken salad and some pickled veggies including beets.

While you are at the museum, don't miss the "The Art of English Regency Gallery" and the wonderful Chihuly sculpture "Lime Green Icicle Tower" in the Shapiro Courtyard.

To find out more about the exhibit: with the MFA website.

American Girl Store in Natick, Mass.

THIS STORE IS NOW CLOSED

What little girl hasn't dreamed of going to the American Girl Store? For one little girl, this dream came true on Saturday, November 15, 2014. Located in the Natick Mall, the store is not as overwhelming as I expected. You do have to enter from the exterior so keep that in mind when looking for parking. 

Two American Girls

On the first floor are the special dolls, those that have a name. I was proud to see that Isabelle appears to be one of the newest and most popular dolls. The Bitty Babies and the Bitty Twins are also on the first floor. 

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It is so hard not to be distracted by all the lovely things around you. My youngest granddaughter Sydney seemed to be able to keep her wits about her as she walked from one display to another. She touched, she looked and enjoyed. She took her time and didn't make any snap decisions. 

#americangirlstore

On the upper floor are all the dolls that only have a number but who you can get to look like your own American Girl. Syd brought her doll with her and we went to the hair salon where they will also pierce the ears of your doll. You pay at the register and they give you 3 pairs of earrings and place one in the dolls ears. 

There is also a cafe where you can have lunch. Kasey made reservations well in advance so that we could have a very special lunch. It really is special, you order an appetizer and a main course for a set price and the food was really very good. I enjoyed a cappuccino and Syd has mini ice cream cones for dessert. Of course, her doll dined with us.

It was a wonderful day and Syd was able to pick her Christmas presents.

Natick is close to Boston and right off of the Mass. Turnpike at exit 13.

Presidential Homes: Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Charlottesville, VA

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." T. Jefferson

For many years I was not a fan of Thomas Jefferson, mostly due to the fact that not only was he a slave owner but he likely fathered children with a slave. I wrongly believed that he never freed Sally Hemings and her children, he did free the children. Perhaps he could just not bear to part with Sally, we will never know. The fact that Sally, even though she was a slave, was his deceased wife’s half-sister makes for interesting possibilities. But I digress. 

#monticello

We began our visit with a stop at the Monticello Visitor Center. This will give you a good overview of the man and the home. There are loads of displays, a video, a cafe and a very nice gift shop. Take the time to watch the video before you go up to the house, you can visit the museum either before or after. There are some very interesting displays about the slave families that lived at Monticello. 

Monticello, the home that Jefferson designed, can only be visited on a guided tour. You may want to pre-order your tickets online especially if you are visiting at a busy time of year, the behind the scene tour is very popular. You are bused up the hill and taken through in groups. The grounds, gardens and the cemetery you may visit on your own though additional tours are also offered.  Last year, we took two tours at Monticello; the regular house tour and the behind the scenes tour. With the Behind the Scenes tour, you get to visit the dome at the top of the house. It is well worth the extra time and cost. 

On the House Tour, we learn that Jefferson was very much the gentleman farmer and beyond his ventures into politics, enjoyed his time spent building the home of his dreams. He was a man who lived by a schedule and there is a clock in every room. We were there at 11:45 a.m. and he would have been writing letters at that time. The desk in his private sitting room was made by John Hemings.

A visit to his book room is eye-opening. What we see are the books he acquired after 1815 when he sold his personal library to the Library of Congress. He kept meticulous records of everything he owned and where it was in his library. He learned Spanish in order to read the original explorers travel journals.

Jefferson was a self-taught architect who was influenced by the style of Palladio. The friezes on his bedroom ceiling are taken from Palladio's book. The design of the University of Virginia was the hobby of his old age. He chose the location so that he could keep his eye on it from Monticello. 

Additional displays are located in the basement of the house and also in the north and south terrace cellars. Pavilions are located at the end of both the south and north terraces which can also be visited. Mulberry Row is where the former slave quarters were located as well as many of the building necessary to keep an estate the size of Monticello running. 

It is easy to walk from Mulberry Row to the cemetery. The bus that drops and picks up at the house also stops at the cemetery so you can get back on there. 

Allow at least three hours to visit here. More if you really want to see everything.

Presidential Homes

Andrew Jackson

Christmas with the Duponts in the Brandywine Valley

 

Subject:  Celebrate the Holidays with the du Ponts in Wilmington & the Brandywine Valley Wilmington, DEL...Celebrate the holidays with the du Ponts.  From November to January the magnificent du Pont mansions and gardens in Greater Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley are dressed for the season.  Located midway between New York City and Washington, DC and less than thirty minutes south of Philadelphia Airport, the area is readily accessible by car, train or air and is a great way to get into the holiday spirit.  Begin your visit at Hagley Museum & Library where E.I. du Pont settled in 1802 and began harnessing the power of the mighty Brandywine River to produce high quality gunpowder, thus laying the foundation for the DuPont Company.  From November 28 to January 6, Eleutherian Mills, the ancestral home of five generations of the du Pont family, is decorated with dried flowers, fruits, ribbons and fresh greenery and open for guided tours.  This year’s Holidays at Hagley celebration showcases nineteenth century pastimes and pursuits and is open daily from 9:30AM to 4:30PM.  Twilight Tours are offered on December 9, 16, 23 and 30 at 5:00PM, 5:30PM and 6:00PM.  Advance reservations are necessary for the Twilight Tours; call 302-658-2400 X 261. Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library, the former home of Henry Francis du Pont and his world-class collection of American decorative arts, is decorated for Yuletide from November 22 through January 4.  This year’s celebration explores how Henry Francis and his family celebrated the holidays and takes an interesting peek at wedding customs including the evolution of the wedding cake, wedding gifts and honeymoon customs.  Timed tickets for Yuletide tours can be obtained at www.winterthur.org or call  (800) 448-3883.  Open admission to the Costumes of Downton Abbey Exhibition is an added plus.  Be sure to allow enough time to browse in Winterthur’s fabulous gift shop located across from the mansion and take advantage of Delaware’s tax-free shopping. Beautiful throughout the year, Nemours Mansion & Garden is spectacular during the holiday season.  Built at the beginning of the twentieth century in the style of a grand Louis XVI chateau and filled with incredible antiques, artwork, sculpture and tapestries, the lush Yuletide decorations add a magical dimension to A. I. du Pont’s 70-room mansion.  Nemours offers guided holiday tours from November 8 through December 31.  Reservations are a must; call (302) 651-6913. Christmas blooms at Longwood Gardens, Pierre Samuel du Pont’s horticultural extravaganza, from November 27 through January 11.  Thousands of poinsettias, towering Christmas trees and fragrant flowers transform the Conservatory and its four acres of gardens under glass.  Outside, more than 500,000 decorative LED lights glitter in the trees and delight visitors. Timed tickets for entry are available at www.LongwooodGardens.org or (610) 388-1000 but the length of garden visits is not restricted. Many area hotels offer special packages, so come for the day and stay for the night.  See www.VisitWilmingtonDE.com for more details or call Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 489-6664. The Greater Wilmington Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit organization founded in 1978, chartered by the Governor of Delaware, the New Castle County Executive and the Mayor of Wilmington. Its mission is to serve as the community's customer-focused destination marketing organization, generating economic growth through leisure travel and meetings development by aggressively marketing attractions, facilities, amenities and services for visitors.

Travels in the Historic Traingle

The Historic Triangle includes the cities of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown. These three destinations included a great deal of history. Williamsburg is a much larger city than either of the other two and makes a great place to set up your base. We chose the Fairfield Inn on Richmond Rd this year and the rate of $63 a night made staying here for 5 days very affordable. Our room was a studio.

Last year we stayed at the Williamsburg Lodge which is lovely and is located right in Colonial Williamsburg. Expect to pay quite dearly for that convenience. I stayed there on a media rate which was still more than $100 per night.

Honestly, you could spend 5 days just visiting Colonial Williamsburg so if you want to do everything in just a week, you need to allow at least a full day each for Yorktown and Jamestown. You will need a day to do Busch Gardens as well. Unfortunately, when we visited when Busch Gardens was closed so we didn't get to visit there.

Al getting friendly with the first president

Since we only visited Market Square and the Visitor Center in Colonial Williamsburg this year I wanted to spend more time on Jamestown and Yorktown. They each have two sites to visit, a state educational site and a National Park Service Site. Both are well worth a visit and require several hours. 

Monument at Historic Jamestowne

I will be doing more detailed articles later but I hope this is enough to at least whet your appetite for a visit to this area. Just driving the Colonial Parkway is an adventure and very scenic. It allows you the time to soak up all the history.