An Outing with the Huntingtons

How I never visited The Huntington Library and Gardens when I lived in Southern California the first time around I will never know.  Call it school overload, college athletics exhaustion or country girl ignorance, none of which are acceptable excuses, this year seems to be a chance to really delve into all the different cultures and histories that fill Southern California and that I MISSED the first time.

Such as THE HUNTINGTON LIBRARY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS!

(this is how I felt the entire time I was there)

Legend (or history!) tells us that when Mr. Huntington first stayed on the San Marino Ranch owned by the Shorb family (one of the great "royalty"-like families of the area), he fell in love with California.  The beauty of our land plus the foreseen business capital to be had eventually led him to buy this working ranch of hundreds of acres as well as many other properties in Southern California.  Sound like folks we know who moved from other locations to Northern California, investing in land ownership?  :) Anyways....back to Huntington....

Unlike some infamous wealthy folks, Mr. Huntington did indeed seem to "have enough" and he "retired" from his business to devote his time to his collecting tendencies.  Super legitimate collecting tendencies!  Famous artwork, tapestries to rival Louis XIV, artists' entire writing collections, books from all eras and genres, and incredible gardens all representing different locales around the world, this is what filled his time.  Everything he did in his life he did with a purpose and this "collecting" was no different.  He and his wife Arabella eventually signed the estate over as an "educational trust" to be enjoyed as well as studied not only by people with intense scholarship purposes but everyday locals like you and I. They had such a vision to see that their legacy endured and today we get to reap the benefits of their determination.

So please enjoy this small taste of The Huntington's as I take you to my favorites (at least for now!)...

1. The Huntington Chateau

I felt like I was transported back to one of those homes in Europe that now functions as a museum such as Hotel Carnavalet and Hotel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau located in the Marais District of  Paris.  They are all a testimony to the architecture of the times and FILLED with beautiful collections of books and artwork, some rotating and some permanent.  All the corridors and galleries, patios, terraces, and entrances....ahhhh.  I love them all.  Am I just easily pleased or in love with history? I think its a mixture of both.  

 look familiar? :)  

Parisian Streets 

 Shoutout to my Dutch ancestors...all the windmill paintings I have yet to see have always been so foreboding! This one can definitely be cached in that grouping as well...

2. The Library

Yes.  The infamous library.  Though only part of it is accessible to the public, to be able to view the documents, letters, and books on display is such an awesome honor.  From advertisements regarding the history of our great state of California to journal entries by Muir to letters by Lincoln, photographs all accompanying of course, to a Gutenberg Bible to a Tyndale Bible to Virgil's Georgics and Aenid, just feast your eyes on these beauties!

 Virgil's Gerogics and Aeneid

 Muir

I LOVE images such as this one!  This is Beverly Hills.  THE BEVERLY HILLS.  It looks like Chino, Temecula, Sacramento and (gasp) those small towns in Northern California.  How long will it be until they end up like the first listed cities? We have so many now locals up north who moved out of Southern Cali who have told me they remember when their towns were just like our small hometown.  Crazy to think that it has changed so much just in their lifetimes.  Just talk to my Oma and Opa.  They will tell you stories of Knott's Farm and the beach towns, driving down the roads with kids and all their beach gear loaded in the bed of their calf truck. :)

 Tyndale Bible

Gutenberg Bible

Again folks, remember, this is just touching the surface of Henry Huntington's passion for books.  The real good stuff is stored away deep and dark, with restricted access granted to those who apply and are deemed qualified.  Truly amazing stuff!

3. The Gardens!!! (of all sorts)

The Desert

Not my favorite...sorry.

 These roads surround the estate and weave all throughout it.  

The Jungle

Japan

China

This may have been my favorite for the day.  The sudden burst of a structure between the growth as you round the corner, the clouds on display in the pond, and the buildings all perfectly reflecting upon the waters?  It was such a moment I will not soon forget.

Roses

The highlight of roses?  The smell. It smelled absolutely amazing as I wandered.

There is so much more to be enjoyed and uncovered at The Huntington's and these were but my highlights THIS round.  I'm sure every visit will bring to light another angle on the rich history of the Huntingtons, the area, or California in general,  or perhaps a feature that I completely passed over every other time. Take time to visit and learn about our past as a state and country, the passion that Henry Huntington had for his beautiful collection, and all the botanical genius on display in the gardens.

This may be your face during the entire visit....

All photos and opinions are very much my own.  Enjoy!

Our 6 Adventures for the Final Day

1. Cafe Savoy

Because today is our final day and we could not resist Cafe Savoy's draw.

2. The Klementinum

Centuries old, this group of buildings has in its history of existence been known as a chapel (11th century), Jesuit College (16th century), merged into a university (17th century), then officially established as an observatory, library and university (18th century). 

The Library was INCREDIBLE! But guess what?  No pictures allowed. And in a group of 10 its pretty easy to catch culprits so I just gazed in awe at all the different sections indicated by its category title -- in Latin.  Stairs and stairs and more stairs led to different sections of this university like the observatory and to one of its towers with fantastic panoramic views of the city of Prague. 

2. Street Wanderings

THE Astronomical Clock

An Apple Museum? 

4. The Castle Vysehrad on the Opposite Side of the River

Vysehrad was actually recommended to us by our AirBnB host as an off the beaten track historical site for wanderers as Christy and I claim to be.  So wander we did...

5. Our Vegan Lunch (?)

Yep. I really wanted fruit and they offered ACAI bowls.  Deal. I don't even remember the name of this restaurant/grocery store/study room in the back hole-in-the-wall shop and I cannot locate it at all on the maps now.  Good luck finding it. It remains a secret to me.

6. The Bus Ride

The big green beast! Free wifi that flashed in and out allowed me to facetime my family during the hours long ride and show them some of the "lay of the land" as my dad would call it.  Public transport is so the way to go.  As long as you have space.  As you can see, we are experts at claiming space. The secret: put your luggage on the seat next door to use as a pillow then pretend to (or actually do) be asleep.  Works like a charm.

And it snowed...what the heck? It was 70 degree weather the week before....

Look at all that farmland!  Every time I have either driven or commuted by train or bus through Europe's countryside, I can't help but think of how it compares to the California that I know so well.  Our Californian farmland is way more flat in the valley leading up to the rolling foothills where its not so much farming as it is cattle country.  These hills are green in spring but once the middle of summer rolls around, things start to die due to the lack of water. What we may just be lacking, unfortunately, are those castles on every higher knoll...

Adios for now Prague!  What a beautiful city, full of history and flair, and so much more that has yet to be discovered.  What we saw was but a taste of what it holds and one day I will be back to uncover yet more of its secret and not so secret faces!