The weather was not as glorious today as yesterday – mid 30’s and cloudy and toward the end of the day it rained. Travelling to historic sites at this time of year means that you are frequently the only two people watching an introductory film. This has happened twice in the last two days. And today we were the only two souls who showed up for the 12-noon tour at Montpelier. Our tour guide was as pleased as we were. In these situations you are able to ask lots of questions and get thorough answers.
The last time we were at Montpelier they were nearing the end of a major interior restoration and there was very view pieces of furniture in the house and nothing on the walls. This time around we got to see the finished product.
We were particularly interested in seeing their new multimedia exhibition “The Mere Distinction of Colour” that tells the stories of the enslaved at Montpelier and also examines how the legacy of slavery still impacts race, identity and human rights. The two audio-visual presentations were thought provoking and a terrific use of technology.
This evening we braved the increasingly nasty weather to have dinner in downtown Charlottesville (c-ville). We found a restaurant on the downtown pedestrian mall with good southern food and live entertainment. After dinner we walked a bit to check out the scene and tried to imagine how lovely it would be in nicer weather. And, as you can see, Harry loves photographing store windows at night.