A couple weeks ago, Dani, Sarah, and I met up at Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens. I had actually never heard of it until Brea posted about it on her Instagram and I’m so glad she did because it made for such a nice way to spend a Saturday with two of my favorite ladies!
For $18, you can enter the estate for an unlimited amount of time to meander enjoy the gardens. Masks are required and hand sanitizer/hand washing stations are set up all over the estate. Once you have your reserved time to enter the estate (not a ticket-they have a list of visitors where you check in at the gate), the Mansion and their current exhibit at the dacha, Natural Beauties: Exquisite Works of Minerals and Gems, are included in the price but you need to reserve times for those too.
A nice security guard greeted us at the mansion entrance, reminding us to not touch anything and to follow the directions on the map he gave us. This was to avoid running into other groups touring the museum and generally worked pretty well with the flow of the house anyway.
We were so fascinated by Marjorie Merriweather Post after visiting the mansion that I bought a book on her at the gift shop that the three of us are going to pass around. I’d obviously heard the Post name, but I didn’t know she was actually an Ambassador in Russia!
My favorite part of the estate (besides the AH-MAZE-ING butler’s pantry and pink powder room in the mansion) was the Japanese-style garden. It was shady and serene and just so beautiful.
After we toured the gardens and the mansion, we grabbed a bite to eat and sparkling wine at the cafe. It was so nice to be able to catch up with two of my best friends at the same time doing something cultural and different. It looked like a bunch of people were enjoying picnics they brought as well!
I would definitely suggest visiting Hillwood if you’re around or visiting DC. It’s sort of near the Van Ness-UDC metro stop, but there’s free parking on site, so I would suggest driving if you can.
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