Denmark Anyone?

Thursday morning (yes, I am running late with my blogging) saw us heading for Santa Barbara but bypassing it by going further north to a place called Solvang.  (Sunny Meadow)

"Solvang was founded in 1911 by three members of a group of Danish educators whom a year earlier had formed the Danish-American Corp.  Their plan was to form a Danish village where the arts, crafts and customs of their homeland could be created anew and to build and staff a Danish Folk School similar to those which were successful in Denmark.  To begin they purchased 9,000 acres of the old Spanish land grant, Rancho San Carlos de Jonata and Old Mission Santa Inez, which had stood so long by itself on this remote mesa, was to begin seeing great changes with the birth of Solvang."

Having spent a holiday in Denmark many years ago when I was in hospitality courtesy of the Girl Guide/Scout Movement I was particularly eager to see the buildings and what the town had to offer.  It was breathtaking.  The buildings are amazing, the people are lovely and the shops are works of art.  The way they display their wares shows how much pride the people have in their town.

The first place we saw when we parked was this Antique Shop - and what an antique shop it was.  We spent ages inside - it was clock heaven having so many grandfather and grandmother clocks - some of which showed that the movement had come from places such as Blackburn and Preston.

This is the outside of the shop

The entrance above and to your right is the room below

This was a moving scene in a globe

Pity neither of these would fit in my suitcase

Mary & Chas outside The Mole Hole (gift shop)

and one of the displays inside

I could have spent a fortune here

A Courtyard leading to more shops

Looking down one of the streets

and a peek through a doorway

Mary & Chas strolling along

A sock with a difference

  A thatched roof

and a water wheel

Looks as if I have reached my quota for the day of photographs as Blogger won't let me upload any more - I'll try to carry on with another blog entry.  If not I will carry on tomorrow - there's the old Mission at Santa Barbara to show you - beautiful!