One of the pleasures of a trip to Europe is touring all the grand manors and estates, with their classic architecture and their manicured gardens. You just don’t find many of those places in the U.S. – and most certainly not in Northern California.
Filoli is the exception.
Also known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, Filoli is a country house set in 16 acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 600-acre estate. Located about 25 miles south of San Francisco (just a few miles from my hometown, Millbrae!), it was built between 1915-1917, during the height of WWI, by William Bowers Bourn II, owner of one of California’s richest gold mines, and his wife Agnes Moody Bourn.
Interestingly, the name of the Filoli estate is an acronym, combining the first two letters from the key words of William Bourn’s credo: “Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life.
With its grand residence, expansive gardens, well-placed restaurants, and charming hiking trails, Filoli is a lovely, relaxing place to visit.
The home, itself, could be teleported straight from an English country manor. With 56 rooms (!), it includes a ballroom, a dining room, several cozy family rooms and a large number of servant quarters. The kitchen is enormous! Stepping inside is like taking a time machine back to the early part of the 20th century.
Outside, a pleasant shop and nursery where you can purchase a variety of plants, including bonsai, leads to the garden — a series of striking symmetrical lawns, brick and gravel paths, formal reflecting pools and sunken flower beds bursting with colorful flowers (and bees). The roses are particularly spectacular.
For the garden alone, one could spend a few idle hours at Filoli snapping photographs and enjoying a local Chardonnay (or two) in one of the side bar-restaurants.
For me, however, the real delight of Filoli is the hiking trail, home of Dambo’s Trolls.
Trolls in Northern California? Absolutely!
The brainchild of artist Thomas Dambo, six troll sculptures cavort in Filoli’s woods, teaching humans how to rediscover nature and be good stewards of the earth. Monumental in scale, the whimsical, 10-foot trolls – built from reclaimed materials – inspire visitors to recycle, plant trees and gardens, and create art. During your short 1-mile walk, you’ll encounter the Painting Troll, the Birdhouse Troll, the Treasure Troll, the Speaker Troll, the Botanical Troll, and the Listening Troll.
Spaced evenly along the winding nature trail, these charming trolls form a kind of natural treasure hunt, great for families (and adult children like me).
You better hurry up, though. The Trolls are a temporary exhibit, here only through November. I say come to Filoli now for the trolls, stay for the peaceful, European garden vibe.
(It’s funny how many travelers exhibit “distance bias.” Rather than exploring their own country, they opt instead for traveling to far-flung overseas locations. The reason? “Oh, I can visit my own country later, when I’m old.” And then they never get around to it. I think this speaks to two misperceptions: 1) What’s in front of us is familiar and hence boring. 2) The grass is always greener somewhere far away. Although true that we receive tremendous insight from traveling in foreign cultures different from our own, I believe it’s a mistake to discount what’s available locally. Even your own neighborhood can transform into a treasure trove if you simply slow down and take off the blinders. This weekend, go for a slow walk around your area. Take a day trip 3 hours away. Drape a camera around your neck and don your favorite Bermuda shorts. Be a tourist in your own neck of the woods and make some discoveries!)