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Jul

2010

My visit to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC

Author: Administrator

I just returned from a great weekend at Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. We are lucky to have such a magnificent year-round attraction and resort just a day’s ride away. Vanderbilt and the best home and landscape architects create his country estate around 1900. He built a railway spur to the area to bring in materials and workmen. The retreat took several years to build and noone knows the exact cost. It is probably the largest private residence ever built in the USA. They planted a thousand trees a day for 10 years. The entrance to the home is a three mile twisting road designed to keep you in suspence until you reach the final turn and lay eyes on this huge building. The gardens and grounds cover thousands of acres and are just as incredible.

Last year we went for the Christmas season. Starting Nov. 1st each year, every room is decorated for the season. A tour of the house at that time is breath taking. We took the basic guided tour, a behind the scenes tour from the servants’ point of view, and a roof top tour to see the detail of construction. The grounds offer a winery, a farm, a barn with animals, carriage house and stables with rides available, an outdoor center for biking, fishing, kyacing, Segway riding and hiking tours, restaurants, giftshops, and overnight accomadations. We returned on the July 4th weekend to take advantage of the outdoor activities we missed in the winter. We took our granddaughters with us both times to enhance the experience. They love dressing up for the Dining Room and the beauty of the Inn at Biltmore. They got me up on a Segway one day and a horse the next. A free shuttle bus took us to all the attractions. On July 4th we were at the outdoor pool at 10PM when the fireworks started. The Inn sits on top of a big hill. The fireworks were shot from a platform at the bottom of the hill and exploded right over the pool. It was like being in a I-Max theater while little pieces of the burnt out fireworks fell on and around us.

The food and wine at the Inn were first class. Put Biltmore House on Google and plan a trip. You will be glad you did. You can stay on the grounds or in Asheville. They have prices to fit all budgets.

I hope you enjoy these pictures