Biltmore Estate

Another beautiful day ... sunny, clear and crisp/warm, without being hot.

Fall has definitely arrived.  The closer I got to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the more tree color viable.  A truly great day to be out and about!  Unfortunately there was no where to pull over to get pictures of the mountains.

I had a lot of stops planned, but since it was couple hundred miles to Asheville, I needed to move along in order to have time at the Biltmore Estate.

My first stop was an overlook on Hwy 181 ...

From there I took a short hike to Linville Falls ...

And then onto Biltmore.  The first surprise was the price of admission; it was $70 after my Senior discount.  Apparently it is spectacular in the Spring, with the 75 acres of formal gardens, and at Christmas time when it goes full out. The finished home contains over four acres of floor space, including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces; it is the largest house in America.  The grounds are over 8,000 acres.

The Banquet Hall was the most impressive room, with its 7 story high ceiling and the organ loft, which houses a 1916 Skinner pipe organ.  When the family lived/entertained there, they had a Christmas tree in this room with 500 lights, 500 ornaments and 500 gift boxes hanging on the tree.

Add captionThis is the ceiling of the Winter Garden in the Entrance Hall

70,000 gallon indoor pool; original underwater lighting

Some of the servant's rooms; each servant had a comfortably furnished, heated, private room

Main kitchen; there was also a pastry kitchen and rotisserie kitchen

Billiard Room; note the raised "gallery" seating

Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding gown with the "famous" Lee family veil worn by Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at her wedding to JFK.

Servant's Dining Room

Bowing Alley; Since automatic pinsetters were yet to be invented, a servant would set the pins up and roll the balls back

Stone Hallway; it took almost 2 years to build the foundations and footing, which extend down 29 feet

One of the bathroom; no sinks.  They still preferred to wash in their private quarters

Louis XV Room where Cornelia was born and both of Cornelia's sons.

Some of the guest rooms

Third Floor Living Room

Mr. Vanderbilt's Bedroom, offering a view of his estate.

Library; contains half of Vanderbilt's 22,000 volume collection

Second Floor Living Hall

Grand staircase and the 4 story chandelier

And the Loggia with it's view of Deer Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains ....

On the drive home I stopped at the Waffle House, totally expecting to see waffles served with every meal.  There was not one waffle on the entire menu!  They did serve hash browns and bacon with everything, however; actually the best hash browns I think I've ever eaten.  The three staff members, the cook and 2 waitresses, were the nicest and kept me totally entertained.

A very nice day.