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I've often thought about visiting Monticello in passing
but hadn't given it any serious thought on this trip.
Then I found myself in Virginia with a few extra hours
before visiting friends in Maryland and decided to go
for it.
It was a little discomforting in some ways. There were
lots of people and school groups milling around. The
visitors center isn't 18th century at all with its bustle of
tickets, shops and galleries. The tour guide was very
well informed but seemed disgusted either with us or
the repetitiveness of his job or something.
Monticello was Jefferson's place to experiment on all
sorts of things chief among them being the house itself.
He built up. He tore down. He tinkered. Even now it
has a restless quality to it that reflects Jefferson's
curiosity. His true architectural masterpiece is the
University of Virginia which is lumped together with
Monticello as a UN World Heritage Site.
The grounds around the house are beautiful, full of
gardens of all kinds. The inside of the house seemed
kind of small. It was after all a private house and not
designed for hordes of people.
You need a ticket for the shuttle bus and the house tour
but you can wander around the grounds and check out
some of the self-guided tours for free if you didn't mind
the 10-minute walk up from the visitors center.
