I recently visited my best friend, who moved to the Orlando area in August 2020. Yes, I had to fly there. No, there was no social distancing on the plane. Yes, I double-masked on the aircraft before double-masking was a thing. I was careful during this season of Covid 19. In any event, I got there and back safely with no illness. I stayed with a friend for 9 days, but unfortunately, she did have to work part of that time, so I had to entertain myself during those times.
On one of the days my friend had to work, I went to the Morse Museum in Winter Park, Florida, just north of Downtown Orlando. The museum houses an extensive collection of Comfort Tiffany’s Art. This is the same Tiffany of Tiffany & Co. designs jewelry and the famous Tiffany lamps and lighting. The museum also houses work by various other American artists.
A trip to the Morse museum is well worth your time, I consider it a hidden gem! During the age of Covid, visitors must go to their website to make a reservation and purchase tickets beforehand. I had no trouble with this task. A free parking garage is available a block away. I had a little trouble finding the museum’s main entrance, but signs led me to the backside of the building. I realized in hindsight that I could have taken a shorter route from the parking garage, but it was a beautiful day in Florida, so I didn’t mind the stroll around the block. I noticed along the way that the streets were lined with lovely boutiques and shops and quite a few restaurants from which to choose. I made a note of that because, by the time I got finished with my tour of the museum, I would be hungry.
Upon entering the museum’s lobby, I had to check in at the front desk to confirm my reservation. The lady on duty gave me a map and general instructions about the museum. From there, I could choose to go one of three ways: to the left, to the right, or straight ahead. I started to go straight ahead because I was struck by the beauty of a stained-glass garden window with a small garden statue behind it.
The lobby was somewhat dark, but the garden vignette was lit with natural lighting. It was breathtaking. As I walked through the square archway, I realized that I should backtrack and enter the exhibits to the left so as not to have to backtrack. I did not want to miss anything.
The first exhibit area was filled with vases from various artists. The vases were grouped by color variety and placed in a glass case. Each room in the gallery has a publication stating the era, artist, information about each piece, the procedure for creating it, historical background, and any other relevant information.
The following gallery had some beautiful jewelry pieces made by Comfort Tiffany. There were various pieces here, but I thought there would be more jewelry items since jewelry is one of the practices Tiffany is known for. A design book Tiffany used was displayed in one of the cases that showed some of his drawings.
One of the larger galleries in the museum contained some stained glass windows taken from churches. Below a larger circular window was what I thought was a table with 3 beautiful wood music boxes on top of it. The music boxes were still in working order, playing their melodies for the visitors to hear, but I realized that the table was not a table. It was a piano! I had never seen a piano like that before.
I exited the window gallery and crossed the hall with the garden window to the other side of the museum. This next gallery was filled with Tiffany lamps.
The room was filled with light as most of the lamps were turned on. The delicate nature and artistry that went into making those lamps are certainly art. The following few galleries, beyond the lamps, contained historical pieces and furniture significant to the period. Beyond one of these galleries was a massive wooden door with a cross. The door was placed on a false wall, so visitors had to go around either side of it to go to the next gallery. What was behind the gallery was truly breathtaking!
On the other side of the wall was a beautiful chapel. Yes….an entire chapel. The chapel included pews, an altar, a pulpit, and a baptismal font on its right side. Turning around, one can view the massive circular stained glass window above the door. Looking up was an enormous chandelier shaped like a cross and made with multi-colored green glass. To the right, substantial marble columns separated the baptismal font from the rest of the chapel. A room-sized stained glass window served as a backdrop to the font. This gallery was hard to leave because it was so beautiful.
Many of the other galleries contained complete rooms from the Comfort Tiffany Estate. After Tiffany died, the estate was turned into a home for budding artists to hone their craft. Unfortunately, the foundation could not maintain the property and it fell into disrepair. Some benefactors were able to save some of the pieces in the estate and they were restored at the museum before the estate was torn down.
I spent several hours at the museum and ventured down the sidewalks to view menus to see what might appeal to me. It was a nice day, and many of the restaurants had outdoor seating. I settled on a café called The Briar Patch, which served farm-to-table meals and ice cream. All the outdoor tables were occupied, so I was seated at a table by the window. My waiter was very nice and reminded me of my nephew!
I ordered a glass of wine while I waited for my order. The restaurant was across from a lovely park, so I enjoyed my wine while waiting. I was not disappointed with my choice. I ordered The Godfather Sandwich, served with French fries and a pickle. The sandwich was a meat lover’s dream come true! It was piled high with capicola, soppressata and mortadella meats topped with arugula and a unique spread made of balsamic vinegar and sweet peppers. The housemade bread was dusted with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. My fries were crisp and thin-cut. Delicious and huge! I took half the sandwich home to save for lunch the next day.
All in all, this was a lovely afternoon spent on my own!
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