Saturday, November 30, 2019

Dumbarton Oaks: September 2019

The whole reason we relocated this semester was for Brad to be in-residence for a research fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks. I mentioned it a few posts back, but as a refresher: Dumbarton is an elite research library for scholars specializing in Byzantine, Pre-Colombian, and Garden Landscape Studies. Brad's dissertation falls into the Byzantine Studies category. He did a two-week research session in the summer of 2018 and then was awarded this semester-long fellowship.


First day of Fellowship picture

Dumbarton is comprised of a research library, museum, and extensive gardens. It's, in a word, beautiful. There are so many wonderful bonuses to being part of the Dumbarton community, including community gatherings in these beautiful settings. Our family was invited to attend dinner with the rest of Brad's cohort at the President's Mansion three days after moving up.

Greenhouse

A snippet of the back of the house

The big girls enjoying the novelty of a fountain in the back yard

Our back yard dinner seating

Little elves in the garden

I wish I'd thought to snap a few shots of the inside of the house while taking Claire to the bathroom. It's stunning. Brad and I were invited back a few weeks later with a smaller group of fellows for a 5-course meal in the formal dining room (sans children). That, in a word, was FANCY.

About a week after the back yard dinner at the President's Mansion, we were invited to a garden party in the gardens (all five of us).

On the way to the special entrance to the secret garden.

Must have badge to open door





Pointing out where his carrel is located

Greenhouse

The swimming pool


Views from the top




The Orangerie

Orangerie interior


More Orangerie exteriors





Our sweet friends whose daddy is working on a similar project to Brad






Since those first few parties and events at Dumbarton, we've been back to visit the gardens many times, and I'm just enchanted every time. It's a magical place, and I'm very grateful for our time to spend here. More Dumbarton pictures to come, don't you fret.

No comments:

Boswell beach trip 2022: part 1

Just another friendly reminder that I'm still playing catch-up. Clearly, it is not currently July... We made another annual trip to Tops...