Amidst the craziness of our lives this year we did think to get some tickets two months ago for the Longwood Gardens Christmas/Winter Lights Display. That was a good idea as it is sold out.
One of the gifts we were given for our wedding was membership to Longwood Gardens, which is about 15-20 minutes from our new home. What a great idea! We have been amazed how inventive people were in their gift giving and it showed they know us well. We have already decided that we will meet every week for a walk after work as Annie drives right past Longwood Gardens on her way home. It will also allow us an exercise time, whilst enjoying the beauty of Longwood through the Seasons. So I am warning you now, be prepared for lots of Longwood Garden photos in posts in 2023.
Our new membership was actually great as it allowed us have friends join us at the last minute as we called and were able to obtain a cancelled slot at the same time as we had originally booked last Friday evening. We met for dinner at Twelves Cafe and Grill with these friends and my brother and sister in law who had also booked tickets two months before. Twelves is a restaurant near us in West Grove that allows you to BYOB whilst also serving local beer and wines which were very well priced. We sampled lots of different things from the menu and all decided that the meal was good. Another friend has invited us to join them for a wine dinner there on December 30 so we are looking forward to the return. I think we all agreed the pasta special which we shared around the table was the winning dish of the night, gnocchi with a short rib ragu. It was delicious. Sorry no photo as it was eaten too quickly.
Then we drove to Longwood Gardens arriving at 8.00 pm. Luckily we were able to obtain great parking and not have to ride the shuttle from their remote parking lots. I think I found this years show to be brighter and more intense than prior years. We watched a short musical program tied to a fountain display. Then we wandered through the gardens, past ponds and trees bedecked with colored lights. Tree houses were lit up, allowing a different perspective of the gardens. There were tunnels of changing lights and everywhere you looked it sparkled. We were lucky with the weather as although cold there was little to no wind, so it made for a pleasant evening, especially as we sampled some spiced hot chocolate and egg nog.
Then we approached the train display, always a winner as I love model trains and every year I look forward to seeing the Longwood display. I remember taking my kids when they were in Cub Scouts to the Brandywine Museum to see their Christmas Train Display as well.
Passing on from here we ended up in the conservatory, bright, lots of white and red poinsettias and even more lights. Longwood always seems to be conducting some sort of renovation or improvement, so this year there was no major fountain display. But, even so, it was a wonderful evening and after two and a bit hours it seemed like we all were ready to go home and warm up and get a good nights sleep.
For details on programs and to obtain tickets go to Longwood Gardens.
Comments (27)Subscribe to CommentsComment