Downton Revisited

On Friday, I had the pleasure of visiting New York City with a special friend who knows the city like the back of her hand.  She had asked me if I was interested in joining her to visit the Downton Abbey Exhibition, and I was thrilled to be able to go with her.
We boarded a bus in Kutztown and the time passed by quickly as we caught up with each others lives.   Soon we were in the city and we headed towards one end of Central Park to enjoy some scenery.
It wasn't long before I spied Christopher Columbus standing high upon a tower

overlooking the world.

There was still some snow on the ground, adding to the charm of a horse and carriage in the distance.

and we even had the chance to see a few up close!

We made our way to the Brooklyn Diner.  

The place was hopping with activity, and we managed to arrive just in time for the brunch menu.  The staff was entertaining, and we met up with yet another friend from my past and her sister, who had come to enjoy the exhibit with us. 

I opted for the Tony Bennet Chocolate Walnut Babka French Toast.

Believe me.......it did not disappointed.  And neither did the company!

The Diner was conveniently located right next door to the exhibit

so we didn't need to walk far, and, as luck would have it, we were granted admission early so we didn't have to stand outside in the cold to wait for our scheduled admittance time.

The Exhibition is laid out on three floors of a building on 57th Street.  We entered through wooden doors and found ourselves in the servants quarters, at the foot of the stairs.  We were greeted by a hologram of Carson and Mrs. Hughes wishing us a pleasant visit.

I thought that was a brilliant way to begin our tour, and we turned the corner to explore the ground floor of the building, which primarily featured the servants' area of the bottom floor of the house.

In addition to a remake of the kitchen, there was the servants' table where meals were served

Carson's office which is often featured in the series

And, of course the infamous bells which lead to the various rooms needing attention.

In addition to the recreated rooms, there were informative displays that discussed the life of servants during the times covered by the series, and there was even a question and answer quiz to determine how efficient one would be in service.  But the many booths were busy with occupants, so we just decided to make our way up to the second level.    I'm not sure how well I would have fared taking the test, as the British have strict rules on many protocols of which I am completely unfamiliar.

The second floor was a real treat, featuring costumes and jewelry that had been used on the set.

There were many dresses on display;

An original cornflower blue cotton enhanced with clear glass beading, worn by Lady Edith

evening gowns worn by Rose and Lady Grantham

A Silver sequined antique cotton enhanced with glass silver bugle beading, worn by Lady Mary, just to list a few.

We were ushered into a large area that appeared to be the library, and we were soon fascinated by many of the characters that popped up in various spots, recreating scenes from the many years that Downton Abbey was featured on PBS.   The library suddenly changed to a World War I battlefield, taking us through those scenes of war, surrounding us on 3 sides,  gradually moving forward in time and the many changes that occurred in the house after the war. 

The exit from this library led us to the Dining Room, where the table was set, ready for dinner, and complete with mannequins featuring the Earl and Lady Grantham's evening wear.

There were displays explaining the seating protocol as well as the layout of the silver, dishes and glasses.  There were three forks to the left of the plate, and two knives, sandwiched between two large spoons, on the right side of the plates.  Of course, there was an explanation for all of this protocol, but don't ask me to set you straight on that!

We quickly went from dining to sleeping as we soon find ourselves staring at the duplicate of Mary's bedroom.

I thought it looked much larger than what I had imagined on the actual show. But certainly beautiful.

Around the corner, there was a special feature devoted to Violet, known as the dowager countess.  Those who are familiar with Violet know that she is known for her wit and comic relief in the show.

There was a movie running that featured nearly all of her clever comments, bringing quite a laugh to all of us in attendance.

Moving through the exhibit, we came to a rather large room that featured bios on the Downton Abbey Characters and a corresponding history of a real person who would have filled those shoes.  Explanations were given for all facets of life, and many items from certain time periods were featured behind glass.  There were brief movie clips running around various spots in the room, adding a bit of spark to the exhibit. 

It really wasn't difficult to imagine that one might actually be on the set.

We finally made our way up to the third floor, which primarily featured mannequins in costumes as well as many of the hats that had been worn, true to the time period.  If you are familiar with the show, then many of these costumes will be quite familiar.  

Edith wore the gold enhanced gown on the left, towards the end of the series, and, of course, how could we forget Sybil's shocking pantaloons?

There was Mary's garden party dress

and Mrs. Hughes and Carson in their wedding finery,

as well as Edith's two wedding gowns, with Mary's in the distance. 

Our final stop of the tour found us once again being entertained by Mrs. Hughes and Carson, this time joined by the Earl and Lady Grantham,  as they thanked us for visiting.

All in all, it was an extremely entertaining day, and we managed to find someone to take our photo as a memory. 

Lots of smiles, as you can see.

And, I couldn't resist one last photo op with the Downton Abbey group.

Isn't that a hoot?  As you can see, I'm not quite dressed for dinner.  Perhaps that is why Violet, the Dowager Countess, has that scowl on her face.  But no one else seems to really mind.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank my friend for her awesome invitation.  She and I made quite the gallivanting team if I do say so myself!  

Thanks, Kathy, the entire adventure was absolutely brilliant!