Weekend Getaway, Part II

Our last stop on the pilgrimage tour was Airlie.  Built in 1790, Airlie was used as a union hospital during the Civil War.  This private residence is now home to a young family.  The mom told us that the room that was once used as the surgical suite is now her young son's bedroom and that he loves to tell his friends that he's counted 15 bloodstains on the wood floor.  She says it's his way of making up for having to wear ballet slippers back when he danced in the Natchez Tableaux.  :)

After the grandeur of the previous two homes, Airlie seemed somewhat of a let down, but we did see the most amazing "fancy chairs" from New York that are the prized possession of the owner.  The chairs still had their original finish intact, but the decorative painting that once adorned the backs was so worn that it was barely visible.  Have any of you ever heard of fancy chairs?  The seats were rush and woven in an unusual pattern.  I googled fancy chairs and here's what I learned........

During the opening decade of the nineteenth century, delicately fashioned and elegantly painted English-style chairs became popular in America. The period name, “Fancy chairs,” referred to their decoratively painted surfaces. Fancy chairs were painted in fancy colors (poppy, green, yellow, cream, white, and black) and were decorated in a specific vocabulary of neoclassical motifs: musical trophies, clusters of shells, scrolling vines, and foliated vines, urns, cornucopia, and eagles, and were painted to simulate bamboo.

Here's a picture of some very well preserved fancy chairs....  Aren't they lovely?

We spent the afternoon in downtown Natchez ducking in and out of antique and thrift shops, ate some awesome wraps at Slick Rick's, and sat on the levee just enjoying the beautiful spring day.  If you're in the market for massive antique mirrors, armoires, and canopied beds, Natchez is the place to shop.....

We also strolled through The Eola Hotel, built in 1927.  What a beautiful place!

I tried to make a reservation here when we were first planning the trip but the hotel was booked weeks in advance of the pilgrimage.... There is a gorgeous courtyard area out front with a huge fountain.  Been googling fountains all afternoon..... ;)

Check out Johnny in this king sized chair in the lobby but please ignore what appears to be a drug deal taking place outside.....  LOL

Here's yet another shot.....

Joining up with http://www.abeachcottage.com/ for Good Life Wednesday... 

What a wonderful weekend!  Hmmmm, where to next?  :)