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Bucks County - Part 3
Antique-Land
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Antique shops, flea markets, more antique shops and a few covered bridges and restaurants thrown into the mix.
The next morning, we went down for breakfast once more and had this really amazing French Toast thing with this bowl of fruit mix. There were about 6 other people, and everybody got along fabulously. That's really what makes the difference with a B&B, and a good innkeeper is usually able to keep a balance of personalities and make sure everybody's happy.
We, in fact, stayed so long laughing and joking at breakfast, we were running late. Actually, it was pouring rain, so I didn't mind hanging out longer. We got a little tour of the house, which is filled with antiques. She even has Katherine Hepburn's old grandfather clock in her hall. The house is exquisite, and we spent a lot of time just talking about each of the rooms and the story about each one. One is usually used for weddings, and each one has its own theme.
Anyway, after the afore mentioned laughing, joking and reminiscing with new friends, we made quick goodbyes and hurried on our way to the Fonthill Museum. Henry Mercer built Fonthill as his home between 1908 and 1912. It's a concrete castle which has 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces and more than 200 windows of varying size and shape. All of the walls, floors and ceilings are elaborately adorned with an array of Mercer's original handcrafted tiles. Mr. Mercer made his living out of tiles, but he was a veritable genius. He spoke multiple languages. He had traveled the world, had an extensive book collection, an extensive map collection and antiques from throughout history. The man was definitely either a genius or completely insane.
Being inside the museum is like being inside of his mind. Picture it as a walk through his brain. Every room is twists and turns, but done for a perfect reason. Every angle was thought out and every tile is placed for a reason. He designed it as a museum into tilework, but in fact, it's a museum into his mind. This is not the type of place you can spend only an hour in, but you can come back to multiple times as every time you look, you'll discover something new. This had to be one of the highlights of the trip.
Well, as you can probably tell we had a great time in Bucks County. We shopped, ate and toured and thankfully everything was well within reason of a budget. We would certainly go back to Bucks County as there were dozens of things to do at every turn.
Read part 1
Read part 2
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