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Rosie and The Operator got to sleep in till 8.00am!  Yay!!!!!  We are staying in Williamsburg Virginia and the start to our day was touring Colonial Williamsburg, just down the road and it doesn’t open till 9.00am, extra yay!!!!!!!

 

Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
Colonial  Williamsburg is the restored 18th-century capital of Britain’s largest, wealthiest, and most populous outpost in the New World of the Americas at the time.  It is a total reflection of how the town was in the 1770s down to the last building.

 

Originally the town was left to decay and a few locals with the help of the Rockerfellers recognised the importance of preserving the town and its history.  They purchased it and rebuilt everything in an exact replica during the 1920s.
Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
This is the model of the village outside the Visitors Centre, Main Street is one mile long by half a mile wide.  The whole complex is 302 acres and has 88 fully restored buildings.  Not every building is open to view in the park, some of the buildings are used for administration of the park and others open only on alternate days.  A shuttle bus operates a loop around the town to take visitors from the ticketing area to certain areas of the village.  Rosie and The Operator arrived at about 9.08 and the carpark was already a quarter full…..
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
We started at the Governor’s Mansion at the head of the town.  The Governor was a Scotsman sent by the King of England to rule the colony on his behalf….unrest was already rife, as the village is set  in the time leading up to the Civil War and just before the Declaration of Independence.
We waited at the door of the mansion for the next tour, they started every 15 mins for 20 people or so.
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
This is our tour lady, she is the House Keeper to the Governor, every person is dressed in period costume and plays a role in this village.  They speak in the first person and tell us about their role and show us the house and rooms as if we were a confidant to the gossip, facts and intrigue within the house while she shows us around. It was brilliant, she was entertaining and so funny.
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
The main entrance way is very manly and grand, modelled on the his Scottish castle no doubt…..The bedrooms are very womanly and are an exact replica fabric of the draperies being bought over from Britain.
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
This is the ballroom and the paintings are of the English King George the Third and his beautiful Queen on his wedding day.  There are only about 20 originals left in the world, the royal painter made multiple copies in England to be sent to the colonies and outposts of the realm.
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
 Check out the fireplace!  Is that the coolest thing you have ever seen.  A revolutionary pot belly!
The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA

 This room is directly on the other side of the Ballroom and is the Supper Room.  Look at the carpet, apparently it is a copy of the carpet that would have originally been made in England, they made it in narrow strips and then sewed it together.  Looks way to modern and complicated for the time…

The Governors Mansion Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA

 

 When you buy your entry ticket you also get a town map and a programme of what special talks or features were on for the day so you can be in a certain place at a certain time.  We headed for the common…

 

The Common Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA

On the Common an uprising was igniting, the villagers cache of gunpowder had been stolen, they blamed it on the loyalists (those loyal to the crown) and an angry outcry went up and a call to arms to storm the Governor’s mansion to demand some answers.

Uprising The Common Williamsburg Virginia USA

The character’s were so good, they did their bit and you watched from whatever vantage was available…

Uprising The Common Williamsburg Virginia USA

‘Locals’ were interspersed throughout the crowd of tourists, watching the uprising and commenting on what was being said, it was very well done.

Uprising The Common Williamsburg Virginia USA

Off they marched followed by the watching crowd, ‘To the Governors Mansion’!

Shops Williamsburg Virginia USA

You can go into any of the shops along the main street and some are selling their wares, they are actually selling equivalents of what they would have back in the day.  When we entered Rosie couldn’t believe the array of goods for sale and asked what he would have sold…he said everything in here….from china tea sets, maple syrup, baskets, toys, lollies in jars, wine, old style clothing….the shop keeper serves the customers, but he is also playing his role, the town is very interactive, you speak to these people and ask questions and he answers them.

Doesn’t The Operator look dashing in his jaunty tri corn….matches his eyes.  This one he would wear to the ball where he would show off his dance moves in the minuet.

Shops Williamsburg Virginia USA

Rosie asked how often the ships came in from England with goods to sell?  The shopkeeper said it was erratic, but at least a couple of merchant ships a month were coming in, he had not had one for the last two months and stocks were getting a little low.  The foodstuffs were regular but the fancygoods like cloth, ribbon and ladies accoutrement’s went very quickly as the English ladies did not like the coarse Virginia cotton to wear.  Everything was sold on account, and written up in the store ledger, most of the account holders were plantation owners or business people who got paid twice a year when crops were harvested and that’s when accounts were settled.

Cobbler Shop Williamsburg Virginia USA
There was a cobbler actually making shoes…

Williamsburg Virginia USA

Williamsburg Virginia USA

Beautiful gardens behind every house and a garden centre of sorts selling anything from wooden handmade rakes and brooms to wasp catchers.  They also sold heritage plants and flowers from the time period….Rosie wants the wheelbarrow…

Williamsburg Virginia USA

The Courthouse Williamsburg Virginia USA

The Magistrate was at the courthouse today passing judgement on a few misdemeanours, we went inside to watch the proceedings of which there were three locals on trial today.  Once again brilliantly acted and the rules of the day left no mistake who was in charge.

The Courthouse Williamsburg Virginia USA

 It was illegal not to attend church. A local had been noted to be absent for 1 month. He claimed he was affiliated with the church of Scotland and thus was exempt for having to attend the church of England. All well and good but you had to apply to be on the register and as you had not you are fined 5 shillings….he said he could not pay….alternative, 5 lashes in the town square…..he paid. Parting shot from the magistrate….don’t forget to register or we will be back in 1 month and will gladly take another fee from you.
The Wigmaker Williamsburg Virginia USAThe wig maker was the most amusing and interesting occupant of Williamsburg!  She made and maintained all of the hairpieces for the  local dignitaries.  No one of any standing had their own hair, it was all cut off and the ladies wore mob caps around the house when in private and had at least 4 wigs for differing social occasions.
The Wigmaker Williamsburg Virginia USAAs it was the evening of the ball at the Governor’s mansion the ladies had their hair in to be washed with lux soap, styled and trimmed with colours of their gowns.  The wigmaker was a busy lady who didnt tolerate fools (which most of the nobility were, according to her…)  Rosie was taking special interest in the amazing range and style  of the mens wigs, which were all white and needed to be powdered.  The type of mens hair piece you wore dictated your rank in society…..an engineers wig was terribly curly, row after row of curls…..not a good look Operator.

The Wigmaker Williamsburg Virginia USA For those gentlemen that could not afford a whole head of hair there were pieces which had holes in the crown, like a bald spot…..your hat covered the hole and you hoped you didnt have to take your hat off….You know the poem…’Yankee Doodle went to town riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his cap and called it Macaroni’.  A Yankee Doodle was the youngest son of the aristocracy, he wasnt going to inherit or have to go to University, he had an allowance, not many brains and normally went to Europe on an OE and then flounced around whoring and gambling…he wore a macaroni wig, with small curls just like its namesake, macaroni seen in Italy.  Rosie was getting hungry and The Operator was getting thirsty, time for a stop and a visit to one of the Olde English Taverns in the Village.

Tavern Williamsburg Virginia USA
 The faire was simple, authentic to the period and tasty, as was the booze, The Operators dark ale in the pottery tankard was very….dark.  Rosies rum punch on the other hand was delish.  The pub was dim and basic, scrubbed board tables and serving girls in caps and aprons scuttled between the tables.  The innkeeper never moved from behind the serving hatch, he poured the drinks and kept a beady eye on the girls.
Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USA
 And so you get the jist of the village, Rosie could go on forever about all of the sights seen.  It was so impressively done, we attended political rallies, watched a duel and learnt all about the tradesmen and men and womans day to day lives from every social perspective by entering their homes and seeing how they lived.

 

Colonial Williamsburg Virginia USAThe footpaths were dust and the street was littered with horse poo as the carriages ferried the tourists around, it was hot and humid and you really did pity those ladies in long skirts and fitted bodices who still looked so cool, calm and collected.  This was one of the best museums Rosie and The Operator have ever been too, the fact that it was living and interactive was fantastic and an added bonus.
There are multiple tickets you can buy for your visit to Williamsburg, these include one, two and three day passes plus they have evening shows of which you can purchase tickets.  Our day pass for an access all areas was $45 per adult.    For a whole days entertainment from 9.00am to 5pm it was a steal.  Be sure to come early to get the most out of your day, wear comfy shoes as there is a lot of walking and it was really sticky, hot and humid weather, carry water and insect repellent….Rosie saw alot of people with big red insect bites…..and was very thankful she came away unscathed.
It was a weary Rosie and The Operator that ended the day with a cold Coors sitting in their underwear under the cool blast of the air conditioner.
Tomorrow we were heading for the picturesque town of Lewes in the state of Delaware, but first we had to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge…..and its not just any bridge…..