#43 The Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation is currently looking to move to Center City from tiny little mainline Merion Station. I thought I should see it in the original setting described by the 1000 Places book. The second floor gallery is already closed, and the first floor gallery is jam-packed with stuff. One thing I didn't care for was that there were no information placards next to any of the art. Just a small plaque with the artist's name fixed to the frame. Even without the placards they have an amazing collections. Tons of Cezanne, van Gogh, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, and, my personal favorite, Seurat.

Seurat painted primarily in pointillism which is a method that uses tiny dots of individual color to create the picture. His most famous work (and my very favorite painting ever) is A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, it hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago and was made famous in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
\

The Barnes Foundation has a small study of that painting, plus a couple of additional Seurat's. Among them was


My new favorite. I loved that I was able to stand close enough to see every single dot, and far enough away that it all blended together. I probably stood if front of that painting long enough to make security nervous, but it blew me away.

Both these photos were taken by others. The Barnes Foundation doesn't allow photographs inside the gallery.

The Barnes Foundation also has an arboretum. When I left the house I thought about how unfortunate the weather was: wet, raining, miserable; but by the time I actually went outside to wander the grounds the rain had basically stopped and left everything dripping and glistening. An added benefit was that no one else was out there looking around. I got some pictures that I'm really happy with.

#42 Philadelphia Flower Show

Philadelphia Flower Show

This year's theme was Springtime In Paris. Overall, I was a little disappointed, mostly because it was just so crowded, and noisy, but some of the displays were truly spectacular. It was one of those things that you are glad to have seen, but ultimately feel the need to see again, I think.


This was the grand prize winning display. Those floors are hand-painted. Click the photo to go to my Flickr page for some detail shots!


Part of the recreated Eiffel Tower constructed at the entrance of the show.


 
This was my favorite display. It was basically urban decay - re-imagined.

 
This is my current screen saver; every time I look at it the spring fever gets a little bit worse.


This was an entry in the miniature category.  The whole display was the size of my hand. (And I have abnormally tiny hands.)


Part of the carousel exhibit.

Shenandoah - Revisited (#22)

Although the NPS website was predicting peak color Columbus Day weekend, it turned out to be far from it. There were pockets of color, but mostly the park was still green. Which was a huge improvement from my first visit!

Monticello - Revisited (#21)

During a recent weekend in Virginia I returned to Monticello because I was very taken with it on my first visit. They've also recently added a "Behind the Scenes" tour to the schedule which I just couldn't resist. During the BTS tour you visit the second and 3rd floors, with the highlight being the dome room. While the 2nd and 3rd floors are still being restored (mostly empty rooms) you are allowed to take photos in those parts of the house. I loved Monticello more on this visit than I did on the first, remarkable since I didn't think I could love it more.








From the inside..

And the outside...



Thomas Jefferson did not want to waste space on staircases so he built two (1 on each end of the house) that were 22 inches wide and steeper than any pioneer home I've ever been in. Going up, not so bad...coming down, SCARY!


The third floor "attic" doors had these holes cut in them. To let the cats in and out. Awesome!

#41 The Inn at Little Washington

The Inn at Little Washington



As with The Homestead, The Inn at Little Washington is a place I cannot afford to sleep or dine...dinner at a Chef's table will run you $300 - $450 per person, however they have recently started selling box lunches for hungry traveler's passing through on the weekend. Since the most famous thing about The Inn is Patrick O'Connell I vowed to try every single thing in the lunch, regardless of my normal preferences. I will say this...if Patrick O'Connell is cooking, I will eat anything he puts in front of me (except shell fish, because come on, even he can't escape the allergy). It was all so, so delicious.














Seriously! What even is this? Besides delicious that is.

#40 The Homestead

The Homestead


The Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia is a hotel that is waaay out of my price range, but that didn't stop me from walking around the grounds and pretending to be a guest. (I got asked if I knew where the croquet was.) It's a very Kellerman-esque resort where I picture well to do families spending a week learning how to Mamba.








The best part is that in the spa courtyard the famous hot springs empty into a pool that is enclosed behind a balustrade. However, there are cutouts all around the pool with benches over the water - designed specifically to sit and soak your feet. So I did.

#39 Winterthur

Winterthur

Winterthur is the former estate of Henry Francis DuPont. HF was a prolific collector of american decorative arts and architecture. He also knew for quite some time that he was accumulating a museum-worthy collection, and decided to make his own museum. Winterthur was actually opened to the public before his death and he continued to live on the property even as the main house received museum-goers.

I went in hoping that the grounds would be equal to The Huntington in San Marino, CA...my favorite place on earth, and although they are lovely and walkable it isn't even close. I'm saying this before I've seen the magnificence of the azaleas in full bloom, but even then. I imagine it will be spectacular, but still no equal.

The museum, however far surpassess Huntington. The museum and house are wonderful finds and I look forward to visiting those again! In fact, Winterthur boasts such an amazing conservator program that nearly all musuem conservators in the U.S. are Winterthur trained. The thing I loved most about the estate was the feeling of the family that lived there and enjoyed a life there. It was a very good day.




The oldest Sargent Cherry trees in the country.