How quickly can you leave the 21st Century?
Two hours north on 95 and a right at Exit 7 and you've entered a time warp. There's no CVS, no Walmart, no
crowds, and the newest buildings dates to, oh, 1935.
Decompression comes swiftly in Delaware's Brandywine
Valley, where carriage
paths have been paved for cars but not much else has changed in a century. Stone
mansions jostle stone cottages, all tucked behind rose tumbled stone walls.
In its midst, the Inn at Montchanin
Village is perfectly situated for exploring the duPont's Winterthur museum and
gardens (including an exhibit of costumes from the Downton Abbey TV series paired with like garments from the duPont collection) , the Wyeth collection at the Brandywine Museum, and Longwood Gardens -
whose conservatory makes Washington's look like a terrarium.
Once the homes of workers employed
at the duPont's gun powder mills, the eleven
beautifully restored stucco-and-frame buildings, some dating to 1799, dot a
twenty-acre property where cobblestone pathways (beware Manolos) amble through
splendid gardens, lantern lit at dusk.
