Recently I had my annual lady-cation with my best friend, but we did something uncharacteristic; we did not plan. Sure, we reserved a room at a bed and breakfast. But life happens quickly and when we were driving to our destination we realized we never looked to see what was in the area.
We drove over to Wilmington, Delaware and decided it wasn’t really appealing to us as somewhere to walk around. So we ate at Big Fish Grill and decided our next move. Food was great by the way!
I had remembered that Winterthur Gardens may be nearby so we decided to go there.
Since we hadn’t planned to go, we did not get tickets in advance to tour the inside of the house. So I can’t really speak to how the Manor house tour or building is. But I can say I felt like I was walking up to Captain Von Trapps house in “The Sound of Music”.
The walk around the gardens was beautiful. I don’t know how long the loop around the gardens were, but I was wearing my fit bit and think we got over 5,000 steps in.
My absolute favorite section of the garden was the Enchanted Forest. It may have been for little kids but I squeezed my behind on some of those chairs like the happy fairy I am. I did ask my husband if he could build me a playhouse like the photos above and he said it would be done by the time I got home. I have yet to see it.
I also had an “Outlander” moment, but the stones did not take me to a muscular Scotish dreamboat as anticipated.
Must be because I stepped in the fairy circle. Anywho, the museum was open and we saw a really great temporary exhibit about Jackie Kennedy, which is on exhibit until January 2023. It focuses on her work with Henry Francis du Pont to restore the White House interior and build it into the public museum it has become today.
Interesting fact: before Jackie Kennedy worked to make the White House a type of public museum, the President and staff could throw away anything they didn’t like. Meaning furniture, dignitary gifts, etc. Now, because of Jackie Kennedy’s work, everything is stored and can be displayed when requested.
I would suggest a trip to the Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library if you enjoy a nice stroll in nature while learning history tied to this estate. It was a lovely time, but I would suggest reserving a Manor tour in advance if you want to see inside the house. Added bonus, there’s a Cafe in the visitor center. We did not visit it, but I assume they have something to fill your emergency tea needs. – wink-
Rory, Tea & Me 