Christmas comes to Mendham

This 40 foot tree was decorated by cherry picker proving that Christmas was just around the corner and that they take it seriously in Mendham.
Another wet day (probably as wet as Scarborough Kath but not as cold...) so we hit another museum. This time it was the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia just 3 hrs of congested wet misty roads away. Luckily Bill drove and he had the satnav for when the road signs were less than perfect - which was for most of the route.
We had the benefit of a "docent" for an hour after we arrived, and she explained how Albert C. Barnes had made his money selling a treatment for Gonorrhoea in the days before antibiotics and then invested in paintings, furniture and decorative iron works. He built up a fabulous collection of Impressionist paintings and used them as the basis of a teaching foundation based at his home in Merion adjacent to Philadelphia in Pennsylvania . Later the collection was moved in to a purpose built museum in Philadelphia itself, which was where we visited today. We saw more Renoir's than we could shake a stick at and more Picassos, Van Goghs, Cezannes and other impressionist works than I have ever seen before (Musée d'Orsay excepted). Mid week the museum was very quiet and the art work surprisingly accessible so we learnt a lot and saw some remarkable art work. Definitely worth a return visit some day.
Back in Mendham we opted for an Italian meal at Dantes. Several years since I have been there but the food was as good as I remembered (Scallops, Sole and Ravioli) and the Columbian waiters still spoke with impeccable and impenetrable Italian accents. 
Couldn't resist the over the top tree decoration for a blip. It should help you to get Christmas in perspective as you start your own decorating this festive period. Merry Christmas.