Hillwood Museum and Gardens

This morning Diggory and I had the great pleasure of visiting Hillwood Museum and Gardens with our friend Christina.  I have to admit that our main impetus in making the sojourn was to see the temporary exhibition Pret-a-Papier: The Exquisite Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave before it closed, which it does, tomorrow, in fact, though since I had never visited Hillwood before, I thought it was just about high time.  I'm totally slapping myself for not visiting sooner.  I thought it was too far away and too hard to get to...but it's not...so go, you too.  

For those of you who know me, you know that I used to work for the Society of the Cincinnati, which maintains it's headquarters and museum at Anderson House, in Dupont Circle.  So the easiest way I, personally, can describe the grounds and mansion house at Hillwood is that it's like Anderson House, but even more fabulous.  Snicker, snicker.  (There's a handful of people who will catch this inside joke.)  As the former home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, who purchased the estate in 1955 and quickly decided that it would become a museum, the rooms and collections literally sparkle, filled with her collections of Russian imperial art and French furniture and other decorative arts.  Even the wallpaper is shiny and luminescent.  It's an absolute joy to see...and the plus side is that you can guide yourself with the handy 25-page brochure.  There are guided tours, but it's super convenient to go at your own (quicker) pace when you have a toddler tagging along.  In fact, Hillwood markets itself as a family friendly venue.  Before we visited, I browsed their website and was shocked/pleasantly surprised to find an entire page dedicated on how to visit with youngsters.  Among the most noteworthy amenities are stroller-friendly walking paths through the gardens, convenient parking on-site, frontal baby carriers available to borrow from the front desk (because strollers aren't allowed inside the mansion), complimentary coat and bag check, and a quiet room for nursing mothers.  Bravo!  Check out the calendar of events and look what's going on.  There's a preschool series of programs for children ages two through five, family fun days, garden days, concerts, and a variety of lectures and talks.

So, to sum things up, because I've decided to keep this one short...enjoy the images below...and imagine yourself immersed in splendor...and then visit yourself, you'll be glad you did.  Diggory is going to wake up from his nap at any moment...

Diggory, looking rather mischievous, posing for Christina.     

Admiring the very shiny displays of silver.  

The Japanese Garden is spectacular!  Plan on spending a good chunk of time just looking, pondering, and listening to the rush of water through the ponds and waterfalls.

A view inside the Adirondack Building, the main venue for the exhibition Pret-a-Papier.  Indeed, these garments are made of entirely of paper.  There were ten displayed in the mansion and the rest were on view here.  Absolutely awe-inspiring!