I think this stunning Italianate villa housing the Museum of Decorative Arts was one of our favorite finds. The lovely house, perched on a bluff, was built in 1924 by David Adler for the Smith family, inspired by Villa Cicogna (1500s) in Lombardy, Italy.

The back of the house overlooked the lake, with a large sloping garden and "waterfall stairway" (cascading waterfall down to the lake level, not currently in repair).

The interior was a little too sparse to make a great museum. There were a few paintings, some nice wall papers, some lovely blue and white antique English porcelain, and a couple of fully furnished rooms from the original family.

There was also an exhibit of contemporary art in two rooms (not very interesting), and a very well displayed exhibit of hand-wrought iron by the craftsman (Cyril Colnik) who designed many of the original fittings for the house.

But the most interesting parts were the house itself.

Upon arrival, you immediately notice the gorgeous front gardens. But when you reach the big room (with the views out to the lake), you realize how truly "Italian" this villa is. Great loggias, porticoes, and vistas. I was particularly taken by the story of how the lady of the house and her children were instructed to go down to the beach every day and pick up an exact number of blue and white pebbles to create the mosaic pattern in the main courtyard.

After visiting the Villa Terrace, we headed north on Lincoln Drive, along the lakefront, for 10 miles north to an Audubon nature conservancy. Then we stopped at a local park, Doctors Park, hoping to find access to the beaches, but with no luck. Driving back to downtown, we marvelled at the houses along the road--large, magnificent, very reminiscent of Chicago's North Shore.