A Touch of Fantasia

Maasai Ostrich, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Maasai Ostrich, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
The Grand Staircase, The Breakers The Vanderbilt House), Newport, Rhode Island
Once of the earliest grand houses in Newport, Chateau-Sur-Mer was built in 1852 and later expanded and remodeled.
The ballroom is one of two rooms that retain the original French style. Most of the main rooms of the house were redone in the Eastlake style when it was expanded by architect Richard Morris Hunt.
The Chateau was built by William Wetmore, who made his fortune through the China trade, an occupied by his family until the early 1960s. The grand hall was added by Hunt.
The library was designed and built by Luigi Frullili, an Italian designer. The ceiling was constructed in Florence, disassembled, and reassembled in the Chateau.
Frullili also designed the dining room, which had leather wallpaper.
The lower side of the staircases are painted with a continuous tree of life that grows to the third floor. Jut was used for the surface to paint.
I spent Labor Day weekend visiting one of my sisters who is an avid gardener and preserves much of her produce. She makes delicious pickles, preserves, conserves, sauces, and salsa.