First, I’d
like to apologize to my readers for not posting any new information for several
months. I also want to thank all new friends for visiting my blog and those who
left their comments. In May alone, the blog was visited 969 times, and 4300
times since its inception.
With that
being said, I want to tell you about our latest trip we took during Memorial
Dayweekend. Our ambitious plan for
three days included 3 very different attractions:
Nemours Mansion
and Garden in Wilmington, Delaware for Saturday;
Bryn
Athen Cathedral in a little town North of Philadelphia for Sunday;
Barnes
Foundation for Monday.
Nemours
Mansion and Gardens is an American Versailles that offers visitors an
opportunity to experience turn-of-the-century opulence in its architecture and
landscape.
Modeled on Le Petit Trianon Versailles, and built by
Alfred I. DuPont in 1910, this estate features a magnificent mansion as well as
dazzling fountains, vistas, and sculptures.
DuPont
named the estate Nemours, after the French town that his
great-great-grandfather represented in the French Estates General. While looking to the past and his ancestors for inspiration, A. DuPont also ensured that his new home was thoroughly modern by incorporating the latest technology, and many of his own inventions he installed for comfort and ease of maintenance. For early 1900s, this man was an advanced thinker!
Nemours mansion and gardens reopened its gates on May 1, 2008 after closing in 2005 for a 3-year, $39 million renovation. The tour started in the new visitor center with a short movie about life of A. Du Pont, after which we were taken by bus to the Mansion. There we were divided into six-person groups, and each group had its own tour guide. It felt like a private tour - we were never rushed and there was plenty of time for questions. After touring the Mansion we were given some time to walk around on our own, then, were taken by bus on the garden tour.
Practical information: there are only 3 tours daily (2 on Sunday), so I highly recommend to make an advance reservation online or over the phone, and do not worry about parking – you leave your car right in front of the visitor center. Oh, and please take some time before or after the tour to read the world history timeline in the visitor center!
About Bryn Athen Cathedral – next week
