Chalet Suzanne

Our girls' weekend to Lake Wales started with a rainy drive. The rain was still coming down when we arrived at Bok Tower Gardens. Gropius and I toured the gardens with our volunteer guide. The rain was steady but very peaceful and tranquil. Our walk along natural, wooded trails reminded me of the walks I used to take (in the rain) in the botanical nursery next to my house in Pines Lake.

We had a very nice lunch at the gardens cafe and warmed up a little bit. I don't think the weather got out of the 50's during our tour. After lunch we visited the adjoining Pinewood Estate. It's a Mediterranean Revival style house built in the 1930's. The house was beautiful and I could easily live there. The rain had stopped by this point but alas, our cameras were in the car.

We decided to drive to Chalet Suzanne, our accommodations for the night. We were a little concerned/skeptical/nervous when we pulled up. Chalet Suzanne is quite the eccentric bed & breakfast. I would describe the architecture as Hansel & Gretel meets Dr. Suess. It was obvious that the buildings were added onto again and again over the years. Plus someone there has a strange obsession with tile and ceramics.

After checking in, we visited the on-site soup cannery. That's right, Chalet Suzanne has it's own line of soups. The original recipe even went to the moon during the Apollo missions. They are very proud of this fact and now refer to it as "Moon Soup." The gentleman who gave us our tour of the cannery was the Soup Nazi incarnate - except only sweeter. But Gropy and I could easily imagine him saying, "No soup for you!"

A quick driving tour of Lake Wales produced well, not much. We only saw BBQ joints for eating establishments. While I'm sure they were delicious, I didn't want to subject my vegetarian friend to that torture. So we opted to eat at the Chalet's dining room. It was an excellent decision. We felt a little under dressed in our blue jeans but the staff didn't seem to mind. It turns out that the Chalet is a popular place for romantic dinners and special occasions and people come from all around.

Chalet Suzanne

We stayed in the "Lakeview Suite" in this building. You can see our door and crooked window.

Yes, it's on the National Register of Historic Places

The moss and fern covered roofs only add to the charm.

Mural inside the "Swedish Bar."


Ceramic plates were embedded in the stucco of the exterior walls everywhere!

There are nine different tiles in the listello in our bath.

Early morning fog on the lake.

The Chalet Kitty

On Sunday morning we woke up to clear skies (as you can see in the above photos). We went back to Bok Gardens for some actual picture taking. You'll see those tomorrow. In the meantime, go over to Gropius to read her recap of the weekend.

Update: Gropius took this photo of me. The ceilings were a little low in our "suite." Anyone taller that 6 ft. would have to stoop. This beam ran across the room where the steps lead down to the "sitting area." I could not stand up to my full height (5' 8.5") while under the beam.