Winchester in the morning, Filoli in the afternoon…
What a wonderful property! We had the best tour guide! (Genella Williamson). She has been providing tours for 30 years, yet still makes it sound like something new for her to discover as well. She especially expressed delight with new flowers she would find in the garden. If I were to return by myself, I would probably go with a different guide just to hear different stories, but if I were to bring friends, I would try to get her again.
Filoli was built for Mr. and Mrs. William Bowers Bourn, prominent San Franciscans whose chief source of wealth was the Empire Mine, a hard-rock gold mine in Grass Valley, California. (we toured Empire Mine with the Cheneys). Mr. Bourn was also owner and president of the Spring Valley Water Company.
Mr. Bourn arrived at the unusual name Filoli by combining the first two letters from the key words of his credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.”
Filoli has been in many films, but most famously, it is the mansion seen from the air in the opening credits of the television series Dynasty.
I took a ton of pictures at this property. It was brutally hard to pare down to what I have posted…
The white wisteria that ran along the front left corner of the house…
We were only able to tour the first floor due to safety limitations of the home. This is a home protected by a historic home agency and nothing is able to be added to the property that would change it, and that includes fire escapes or elevators.
Practically every room had at least one gorgeous bouquet. All of the flowers came from the Filoli garden…
This wisteria in the back was stunning! I love wisteria and my senses were on overload with all the beauty…
This is the same white wisteria that is in the first picture, wrapped around to the side of the house…
