My friend Patrick came to visit me this evening and brought with him a most welcome bottle Oban Single Malt Scotch, which is pleasant way to begin any celebration.
After dinner, I took him down the street to Stan Hywet to partake in their extravagant outdoor holiday light festival. The best part of the decor was at the end of the birch allee. When you get to the stone balcony overlooking the lagoons, there were four lighted fountains in the ponds, and huge lighted stars suspended high in the trees in the distance. It was very amazing.
Work continues on the restoration of the conservatory/greenhouse, and it looked particularly great at night.
Something got into us (perhaps the Oban) and we decided to take the interior house tour, which was led by an elderly man named Ted. The house is stunning, of course, and it did look lovely decked out for a 1917 Christmas. I really loved the men's lounge with the great billiard table, and the Plunge, the indoor pool.
Patrick felt that the Sieberling's had their priorities in the wrong place - he felt that rather than copying bits and pieces from estates throughout Europe and England, trying to build a 15th century house in the twentieth century, they should have put their money into creating something new and unique. I see his point, and I suppose that would be more to my personal taste. However, you cannot deny the beauty and grandeur of the hand carved paneling, the leaded glass windows and the painstaking level of detail that the designers and the Sieberling's went to to pull the house together.
After our walk in the brisk night, we went back to my house for espresso and Bailey's custard.
All in all, it was a great start to the holiday.
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