This weekend was one of the best I've had in a long, long time. It was a well-rounded, well-rested, well-spent two-day break that I would wish for every weekend. Friday night we volunteered for Downtown Norfolk's First Fridays, by pouring beer. We had drinks with friends afterward and I accidentally stumbled upon some out-of-town friends celebrating their wedding eve (best accident ever!). Saturday I spent the morning finishing up our new buffet and hutch (pictures to come soon), meeting the lovely Lisa of Norfolk Fair Trade and the talented Robyn of Earth Studios. Saturday night we celebrated AltDaily's 5-Year Anniversary at 80/20 Burger Bar and Sunday we made our way to the Food Trucks Fostering Change event at the Hermitage Museum & Gardens.
I had never been to The Hermitage but have heard and seen so many good things, so I was really looking forward to this free day. With rain in the forecast I had my doubts about spending a whole lot of time exploring, but the grey clouds cleared way and made for the perfect afternoon. The Hermitage was the home of William and Florence Sloane, who moved to Norfolk in 1893. He was the superintendent and part-owner of the Berkeley Knitting Mill and she designed the home and mothered their two children. She was an avid art collector, which eventually led to her founding what is now the Chrysler Museum of Art.
The home began as a simple five-room summer cottage, but in almost 30 years turned into a 42-room mansion. Mrs. Sloane always intended for her home to be a museum, and is it ever! There are more than 5,000 objects, which represents 30 countries and the collection spans 5,000 years of art history. Many pieces were of the Asian influence, which was particularly interesting to me.
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| See those painted toes? First time all Summer! #73 on the List. |
Mike and I walked through the home in awe of every ornate detail and the age of some of the artifacts. We headed outside to where the food truck court, music and art tents were set up. He tried Malbon's BBQ for the first time and raved about it the rest of the day (this is good to know because they frequent Smartmouth Brewery, which is close to our house), and I had a Neptuna taco from Bros Fish Tacos - also delicious!
We ventured through the some of the land, which include a water tower, a gardener's cottage, a rose garden, a garden of mill stones, walking paths and scenic views of the Lafayette River. So, so pretty! I think I even heard a mutter of "we could get married here..." from my other half ;)
#15: Hermitage Museum & Gardens and #85: Photo Story are off the list!
I'm participating in the 92 Days of Summer challenge. Read about it here.