Over Christmas my sister and I were going to treat my grandmother to a visit to Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. Because I was at work, Elise was in charge, but after getting very lost they found the building to be closed. today we tried again and had much better results. There is not much to look at from the front entrance, but all that changes as soon as you walk around either side of the house.
The house runs along Biscayne Bay and when the house was fully operational visitors could tie their boats up to the stone barge which coincidentally looks like a boat. Villa Vizcaya was the estate of James Deering who is best known for founding the John Deer Company. The property, which is now owned by Miami-Date County, is filled with Italian Renaissance gardens and woodland landscapes. This house was used as a winter residence from 1916 until he died in 1925.
Who wouldn't love to have tea next to the mangroves and the water.
If you look in the background you can see downtown Miami.
Next it was into the house where AC and soft lighting awaited.
But first lets take a picture to prove we finally made it!
We must have picked one of the hottest days of the week to go and visit. We quickly made our way around the various gardens. We were both a little surprised at the lack of maintenance.
Much of the architectural detail is done in coral like the walls of this fountain.
The house even comes with its own casino. Sadly we could not take any interior pictures, but if you want to see how Mr. Deering lived, head over to Vizcaya's website for a virtual tour.
According to Wikipedia, in 2008 the National Trust for Historic Preservation listed Vizcaya as one of America's Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places. Next time I head to Florida, I would love to make it to Biscayne National Park.
No comments:
Post a Comment