Waddesdon Manor at Christmas

Ever since I first visited Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire a year ago, I've been trying to figure out a way to return at Christmas. You'll read much more about this neo-Renaissance  French style chateau built in the late 1800's if you go to the highlighted link, but for our visit this month, our focus was on the Christmas holiday. This year, the National Trust manor house was decorated to honor its French heritage.

The cherubs pointed the way in

where we viewed enormous and spectacularly decorated Christmas trees with French themes from art, culture and music. Every room had at least one blue spruce tree, sometimes as many as three in one room.

The smoking room was warm and cozy

and the billards room honored the celebrated can-can from Le Moulin Rouge.

Garlands graced every doorway including this whimsical one festive with fleur de lis, ribbons and garlic.

Louis XVI oversaw the White Drawing Room where the table was set in a elegant style laid out for a Christmas dinner.

The half circle table was dressed with swags and boughs of blue spruce, accented with pine cones, chilies, cinnamon and cloves. Winterberries filled the vases with color, and the French silver made in Paris for the English King George III added to the sparkle.

Champagne was the theme of the Blue Dining Room

with its fascinating chandelier, made of broken modern porcelain, designed in 2003 by Ingo Maurer and called, "Porca Miseria" or "Oh my goodness" in Italian.

There are many ties to Marie Antoinette and this Rothschild home, and a dress worn by Kirsten Dunst in the recent movie about the French queen was on display for the holidays,

as well as a costume designed for Joely Richardson for The Affair of the Necklace. Located beside the gown was Marie Antoinette's actual personal writing desk.

It wouldn't be Christmas if there were not characters for the children to enjoy, so Babar the French elephant paid a visit,

and Cinderella sat by the fire with her little white mice dreaming of going to the ball. There are many versions of Cinderella that have been told through the years, but one of the earliest versions was written down by the French author, Charles Perrault in 1694. She was known as Cendrillon in that version.

While Cendrillon yearned for a pretty dress and a night out, her ugly stepsisters were taking their time primping for the party.

It was much later in the story that Cendrillon learned she had lost her slipper at the ball and commiserated that her mice would no longer be her footmen for her coach.

We trekked down to the stables to see if we saw any signs of the illusive coach that disappeared at midnight that fateful night, but all we found was a nice lunch,

and a sleigh for picture taking. Memories captured once again of friends on adventures. Stay tuned for more adventures to come....

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Waddesdon Manor

About ten years ago, a very special place was described to me. At the time, I was taking a class at Christie's in Paris, and one of our instructors described in detail a home of exquisite beauty. Since I am such a francophile, his description of an exquisite estate with French furnishings in the countryside of England planted a seed, and ever since that time, I have dreamed of going there. Recently, I was granted that privilege. As we walked up the pathway to Waddesdon Manor, it was as if a French chateau had been plucked from the countryside of France and dropped onto the English hillside of Buckinghamshire.

Waddesdon Manor was built between 1874-89 by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild as a place to entertain his friends and display his wealth of art treasures. It became his life project and a labor of love. The home is full of antique furniture, china, textiles, carpets, decorative accessories and fine art from some of the greatest painters of all times.

As you approach the front of the house, you first notice the Renaissance style so typical of chateaux in the Loire Valley of France

and as seen from the back framed by the gardens, you know you're in for a special treat as you enter through the front doors.

No pictures were allowed inside, so these photos are found in the book Waddesdon Manor, The Heritage of a Rothschild House. Above is the formal dining room, where as many as 42 could dine in high style while admiring the Beauvais tapestries on the walls.

There are 45 rooms on display, such as the Red Drawing Room where the gentleman might have "withdrawn" for conversation after dinner.

The Morning Room is known for its collection of famous Dutch paintings.

The Tower Drawing Room is seen here.

The home is filled with the best of the best French antiques.

Winston Churchill slept in this Louis XVI bed in the guest room known as the Portico Bedroom, one of 16 guest rooms. There would have been room for all of us to stay the night if we had come for a visit.

And after a good night's sleep, we could have strolled the gardens, one of the finest Victorian gardens in all of England,

enjoyed the beautiful statuary,

pondered the view,

listened to the music of the fountains,

and enjoyed the flowers which were planted seasonally, before bidding our host adieu.

Perched in the gardens is The Great Bird, a re-creation of a late Victorian application of carpet bedding,

as seen on his friend, also. The technique originated with the gardeners of the Rothschild estates.

No visit would be complete without passing by the aviary which is currently stocked with species that were in the Baron's collection at the time.

I waited 10 years to see Waddesdon Manor, but I know it won't be that long again. I'll be back--maybe you'd like to go with me this time?