Having just returned from a weeks vacation in the state of Delaware,
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my time spent there.

One of the areas we visited was in the Brandywine Valley, an area that
is heavily influenced by the The duPont family’s french heritage. First
it was Winterthur Mansion, where we would see a costume exhibit from
the famous Downton Abbey series, and now on to Nemours, Mansion
and Gardens, former home of Alfred duPont.

The French inspired Nemours Mansion and Gardens is a 300-acre estate.
The 47,000 square foot Mansion looms over the surrounding formal
gardens. Nemours was created by Alfred duPont in 1909 and completed
one year later in 1910 for his second wife, Alicia.

Now this was seriously beautiful. Loosely based upon Marie Antoinette’s
Petit Trianon at Chateau Versailles, it was truly stunning. It was a cloudy
rainy day but you will get the idea of how beautiful these gardens were.

The Mansion and Gardens is the grandest residence to be built in
Delaware and it’s 222 landscaped acres, is considered to be the largest
formal gardens in North America.

This is just a sample of what the interior looked like. It was stunning.
I particularly loved the beautiful conservatory.

Media sources have described the Mansion as “French glory as it was”.
As a visitor you feel like you have stepped into Europe. Like a trip to France without crossing the Atlantic.

These are some of the comments heard from myself and others:
“Wow”, “A wonderful place”, “Outstanding”, “Must come back”,
“France for a day”.

I only wish it would have been a better day, my pictures do not do the
gardens justice. It was so much nicer in person, even with the rain.
I have been to France many times, including Versailles, and this was truly
a magical and lovely place, and so much cheaper.

“it being my particular desire that this memorial… shall
Become consistently more beautiful and attractive to those who view
it as time passes.”

Alfred I. duPont