Winchester Mystery House

Yesterday we zipped out to San Jose to visit the Winchester Mystery House.  I say "zipped" because it only took us about 2 hours to get there, but unfortunately about 5 hours to get back.  Since we arrived earlier than anticipated, the ticket folks let us hop on an earlier tour of the house.  This was my second visit, and the first for Doug and the kids.

Such an interesting and unusual place, and by unusual what I really mean to say is crazy; doors that open to nothing, staircases that end at the ceiling, upside down columns throughout the house, $1500 stained glass windows installed to never catch the light, cabinet doors that open onto walls, 160 rooms, 2,000 doors, 10,000 windows, 47 stairways, 47 fireplaces (at least one of which travels a full four stories but ends one foot shy of the ceiling), 13 bathrooms, and 6 kitchens.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Winchester story, it goes something like this.  Sarah Pardee Winchester, widow of  William Wirt Winchester and heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, met with a psychic who convinced her that the untimely death of her husband and only child was occasioned by the spirits of all of those souls killed by Winchester rifles.  She was told if she built a home and continued to build, it would satisfy the spirits and prolong her life.  She bought an old farmhouse and 160 acres in San Jose and added to the house constantly for 38 years.  As she had inherited $20,000,000 from her husband's estate as well as 3000 shares in the Winchester company, and received $1.00 for every Winchester rifle sold (1,000 were sold per day), money was not an issue for her building mania.  It is believed she built the home in the way she did in an attempt to confuse the spirits that may or may not have been haunting her. 

As the house stands now, there aren't many (if any) original pieces of furniture left.  I would have loved to have seen the home when it was completely furnished.  When Sarah died, her niece took the pieces she wanted and then sold the rest through private auctions.  When the house was emptied after Sarah's death, it took 6 trucks a day for 6 weeks to remove all of the furnishings. Visiting the house now, you can get a sense of what it might have been like from the remaining stained glass and architectural pieces scattered throughout the home. 

Unfortunately, no photos were allowed on the inside of the mansion. 

After the tour and a walk through the gardens we headed across the street to Santana Row.  I had read that Maggiano's Little Italy was kid friendly and made reservations for us.  When we first walked in I was a bit worried because our group can tend to be a bit rambunctious at times and the place seemed quite formal.  It worked out beautifully though.  Everyone was super, super friendly.   The waitress went above and beyond and the girls loved her.  The food was outstanding! 

When we mentioned it was our first time there, the general manager brought out complimentary fried ravioli for us and visited for a minute or two.  I was so busy eating I didn't think about taking a picture until we had eaten most of it!

Our waitress recommended the Rigatoni "D", which was rigatoni pasta, herb-roasted chicken, mushrooms, and caramelized onions tossed in a Marsala cream sauce. I went with that and Doug ordered a Chicken Parmesan sandwich. When the food came, Doug and I were fighting over the pasta. He said he would like to take a few months when he's retired just in an attempt to recreate that dish. It was so good!

Since we were near Santana Row, we decided to walk off our food while we window shopped and played a little chess.

  

 There were these great art walls throughout the area.  I was so excited to find them!

 The light was totally not right for these shots but I loved these doors!

 Around the corner, the light was much better!

We promised the kids they could have cupcakes if they were good.  I know bribery is wrong but it accomplished two things: 1) the kids were good, and 2) I got a cupcake also.  So we stopped by Kara's Cupcakes on the way out.  Oh.my.goodness.  Scrumptious.  We had the chocolate velvet, banana caramel, s'mores, and strawberry cream.  I only tried the strawberry cream but I have to say it may be the best cupcake I've ever had in my life.  Yes.  That good.

So, all in all a fun little day trip.  As we've been reading about ancient Egypt this summer, I wanted to go to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum as well.  We decided to skip it this time and head home a bit early.  If it hadn't been for the massive traffic jam, the whole day would have been about perfect.