Biltmore Estate!

Yes, I'm terribly behind in my posts!  But I can't skip anything about our recent trip to the Carolinas...  One of the highlights was our trip to the Biltmore Estate!  After the Southern Star conference ended, Melinda and I drove the 90 minutes south to meet up with in-laws Betty, Susan and Shannon on the outskirts of Ashville, North Carolina. 

The Biltmore is a truly incredible place - the largest privately-owned house in the United States at nearly 180,000 square feet!  The only thing I've seen that comes close in scale (about half the area, but comparable in splendor) is the Hearst Castle in California, built over a generation later.  Biltmore has over 250 rooms and built in an age well before most homes had indoor plumbing, boasts 45 bathrooms.  Built over 6 years and finished in 1895, owner George Washington Vanderbilt replicated it after the working estates of Europe, with its own village and farms spread over the original 125,000 acres.  There are extensive gardens and forests designed by Olmsted, perhaps better known as the designer of New York's Central Park.  In reading some of the displays regarding the construction of the estate, over 2,500,000 plants were planted/cultivated on the grounds...  The estate remains in the family - currently owned by Vanderbilt's grandson, and is supported by public tours since depression days, employing 1,800 workers in supporting the enterprise.

We took the self-guided tour, following along with the supplied guidebooks.  Nearly every room had personnel stationed to answer questions and explain what we were seeing.  I was amazed at the knowledge of all the people we talked to - they all were able to answer the pointed questions I had about the minutia I saw and were well-acquainted with the detailed history of the place.  Unfortunately, photography of the interior was not allowed, though I didn't have to check my camera gear...  They seemed satisfied with my carrying the camera, though I heard some strong admonishments for tourists using their I-phones for pictures...  So there are a few exteriors here - there are gargoyles (!) of course, up on the roof drain spouts, and intricate stonework on most of the exteriors.  The knight shown at right is just exterior to the grand staircase which is the main route to the various floors...

 

We spent a good hour touring the house interior,

from the banquet hall as big as a gymnasium, to the library, to the main bedrooms, down to the basement swimming pools, kitchens and servants quarters.  All truly astounding!  The tour comes to a natural conclusion at the stables and carraige house which has been converted to shops and restaurants which is a natural place to finally sit and relax after climbing stairs for an hour!  The panorama shot at left shows the open area where horses were once housed and tourists now relax.  At right Melinda and Shannon enjoy a cone. 

 

Of course, this is where the only tourist-use bathrooms are located, so is a popular place...  And besides ice cream, sandwiches and bakery, there are also souvenir shops selling books, Christmas ornaments (holiday season does big business here), and there is also a sizeable store that sells reproductions of many of the decorations that the tourists saw in the interior, from Tiffany lamps to oil paintings...

 

After our respite, we wanted to head down to the

gardens.  Unfortunately, Springtime was delayed a bit by recent cold weather, and the exterior gardens were still a little bare.  The tulips were just coming out, and while there was some growth, only a few blooms.  But regardless, the layout of the gardens was impressive - I caught the girls in the south terrace, shown at left, with Betty fashionably posed in the background.  And at right, I caught Shannon in a silly mood - we had spotted a tree branch made for sitting, and I convinced her to jump the fence for a pose.


We finally made it down to the conservatory, where there was an amazing assortment of flowering plants - especially orchids.  Now I've seen orchids before from the rain forest gardens of leeward Hawaii, but the variety displayed here was beyond words!  The combined image shown at left is but a very tiny percentage of what was shown.  After plenty of time looking at the displays, we ambled back towards the main house.  Walking back in that direction, the view of the house across the gardens was very striking... 

Our day drawing to a close, we caught a shuttle back to the public parking lots and went to town to catch some dinner.  Afterwards, Susan and Shannon headed back to Atlanta for Susan to fly back to Dallas the next morning.  We took Betty back to Columbia where we spent the next few days with her and exploring the Midlands of South Carolina, where Spring had definately sprung.  More on that next time...