The Red Chair Diaries at the Tidewater Inn - II cont'd.

Dear Diary,

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - Part 2:

    I was about to tell you about the Wee Faerie Village at the Florence Griswold Museum. Various artists, I think around 30 of them, have created miniature works of art in and among the gardens and throughout the entire museum property. They are creations that depict subjects of nature that are found in landscape paintings such as those by the artists of the Lyme Art Colony who lived and painted there.

   Look at how tiny they are and how big I am. I felt like a giant next to these faerie dwellings.  The detail is amazing.

  The Wee Faerie Village first appeared in 2009, and has returned each Autumn ever since.

   The museum property is along the bank of the Lieutenant River, and this bucolic landscape was a favored subject of all of the Lyme Art Colony artists. When you walk beyond the gallery buildings toward the river you suddenly have a feeling of deja vu. You've been here before. You're sure of it, when, actually, you've seen this vista time and time again in painting after painting.

    Look! I'm sitting in a famous landscape! Wheeeee. Paint me! Paint me!












   Speaking of rivers, we've now got to cross the CT river from Chester to Hadlyme to go over to see Gillette Castle. We're going on a little ferry as CT Rte 148 crosses the river that way. It's a hard-working ferry and gets very upset when I call it "Cute." ... but it is!
 

   Once across I rested on the far bank of the river and watched the ferry as it faithfully returned to Chester with another load of travelers like me.  It was so peaceful there that I decided to stay awhile.

 Gillette Castle sits at the top of a cliff along the CT river, right above where I had stopped to rest. The views of the river from up there are indescribable. I've got to show you. Here, look at these:

 

    Gillette Castle is nothing like the castles of Europe or of fairy tale imaginings. It is built out of the fieldstones from its land, and on its web site it's callled a midieval fortress.

     Personally, I think it's the quintessential and ultimate man cave. Designed singularly for his own enjoyment by William Gillette, an actor best known for the role of Sherlock Holmes, it lacks for nothing and is a witness to his creativity and genius. On my next visit to this part of CT I hope to get to see the inside too. Right now I've had to be satisfied with Victoria's first hand and enthusiastic descriptions.

    I decided to put my feet up and rest awhile just out just outside the conservatory. Looking in the window panes I could see the indoor water feature that would keep the humidity just right for the plants that grew there.

 

     I was finally able to tear myself away from the wonderful views of the river and the amazing architecture and structure of the castle to look around and appreciate some of the other picturesque and interesting stonework in gateways, bridges, fences and archways.  Victoria had me pose in various "picture spots." I just enjoyed and marveled at all the stonework and wondered at the ingenuity that went into it all.

          These pots of begonias were put here just for me. Right? And just look at this magnificent archway! Doesn't it draw you to walk through it to see what's beyond?

     Driving out of the park we saw the lily pond and a few trees showing a bit of their Autumn colors.  The foliage display is just beginning here on the shoreline. I've been told the peak is usually around the end of October and the beginning of November just along the shoreline and long after inland trees have shed their leaves.

 
 This looks like something the impressionist artists of the Lyme Art Colony would have painted, doesn't it? I wonder if they wandered over here to paint. It's near enough for it to be possible.

Ah, well. Took a few moments to relax and enjoy the lily pond up close before returning to the Tidewater Inn for the day, tired but happy. It's been a full day, and I've got lots of somethings to write home about.