Sometimes pretty pictures say more than words ever could. This might just be one of those cases, again. I will, however, refrain from torturing you with TOO many pictures, you'll just have to catch the vibe from these few ones here, and go visit the place yourself, should you feel inspired to do so.. Trust me when I say there is MORE to see there, and it is totally worth the visit.
What surprised me the most about this place was that we were greeted by a very real, flesh and bones, emotions, stories and concerns-human being and not just your average 'this is a business here, and I'm being paid to be here' type of deal. This is someone's home, a passion project, life's work with all the things that that entails. And hearing the stories from a person like that has not been.. at least my.. at least yet.. lived experience thus far. So I enjoyed that very real and very refreshing perspective on a place like this immensely.
The concerns were extremely understandable, and the place itself - absolutely inspirational.
The manor house itself had burnt down in 1990-ies, which I also found odd to say the least, I would have expected a manor to be lost in revolutions or wars, but nop, just randomly burnt down..
Current owners admit to not being certain if they can renovate the manor house itself, which is also understandable taking into consideration its current state and how much has already been done around with the adjacent buildings and just imagine the financial sinkhole such undertaking must be.. but the walls will not stand up like that forever so if they think of restoring it, they should start soon enough.
But just look, how cute this place looks! I dunno, but places like these gives me a sense of pride-by-proxy.. I'm not even sure if that makes any sense.. xD
Also, very drawable and inspirational travel destination. I did not attempt to draw any of this just yet, otherwise, I'd be postponing posting this for another year or so again, but, I'll have some material to work with, should I catch that fleeting feeling of needing to draw something whimsical and uplifting again, I suspect the upcoming summer might play its sunny tricks on my brain sooner or later.
I caught the owner's subtle recognition of my eyes completely lighting up as I walked into this gorgeous marvel of a room. They hold concerts here too sometimes. It's a whole vibe!
The refreshing thing about this place is that it is not a museum, and you're more than welcome to sit down and actually enjoy the space, have a cup of coffee or wine. Good thing I decided against wearing jeans and opted for a dress or that dissonance would have tortured me and not allowed to immerse myself into experiencing this place properly.
Places like these really inspire me! (and I may or may not have spent the whole rest of the evening searching for other abandoned manors that might just need saving..)
~Josie~