A day at the Biltmore Estates

Just one day to experience the Biltmore Estates is not enough time. We left early in the morning to get there and left at the end of the day. This place is a vacation in itself. 

My husband and I decided to walk the gardens in the morning, upon our arrival, before it became too hot to enjoy it. The first section when entering the path to the garden area is the Italian Garden. It was a large rectangular area with a water feature in the center. There was koi in the water swimming about.

This is the gorgeous pathway leading to a lookout area and eventually to the large garden before the conservatory. 

The conservatory just blew my mind. I couldn't believe how huge it was. This place is every gardeners dream. Inside is filled with many varieties of plants. There is just too much to go over here. The next picture is the overview of the formal garden in front of the conservatory. It's filled with rose bushes in full beautiful bloom. 

Wayne and I had a much needed lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant. The Carriage House is located to the right of the Biltmore Estate if your facing it. They made a restaurant inside what was originally where horses were kept. The stalls had large bench seating built in. The center of the room was filled with round tables, which is where we were seated. The place was packed as to be expected because there was no choice of where to eat unless you wanted overpriced snack foods located in the courtyard. The food was delicious and refreshing after our long walk through the seemingly never ending gardens.

Also inside the carriage house was a series of gift shops going down a corridor. Inside were many Biltmore trinkets and memorabilia you could purchase to help remind you of your trip in the future. There was one shop that was specifically all Christmas items. Many beautiful ornaments and decorations were consuming the room. It sparked instant Christmas spirit, even though it is summer time.

Wayne and I waited for a bit through the line to get in the house for our turn to take the much awaited tour. My anticipation grew as we drew closer to the enormous front door. I have never been to a place of such grandeur scale. It was a bit overwhelming, but very joyful. Here is the entrance:

Finally, we are next to be let in for the tour. The place where they let you start is roped off and people have to wait to enter. Unfortunately there is a rule against taking photographs inside the Biltmore Estate. Very disappointing news. The view from this spot was a large sun room area, which there was no access to. It was filled with large potted plants and whicker type seating. It was a circular section surrounded by pillars going up to a very high ceiling with a sun roof. Around the circular section there was tiered entrance going down to the furnished area. 

As my husband and I walked the vast house room after room of the best craftsmanship and styles know to man. During the tour you do not see each and every room in the place, but only a portion that is sectioned off with ropes. Also your not able to walk around the rooms and explore or touch things. It's set up to keep the flow of pedestrians in the roped walkways. After seeing how extravagant their lives have been, beautiful furniture and decorations, luxurious baths, staff to suit your every need, I thought this is the kind of life you could only dream about. But here it did indeed exist for these fortunate souls. 

After the sections for the family, we were led to the maids' living quarters. It was a long corridor of rooms. These rooms were very plain each only having a few pieces of practical furniture. There was a shared bathroom and they had a dining hall.

Next part was leading to the basement area which is where the kitchen staffs' quarters where located. The bedrooms were not as nice as the maids' and my thought was why wouldn't you treat the people in charge of feeding you better than they were forced to live. They also had a shared bathroom and small room to eat in. I loved the large kitchen areas where all the food was prepared. There was several different rooms, each serving a different purpose. The pantry rooms were quite large.

The Biltmore Estates was built as a self sustaining community. With in the property borders there is a farm village to tour and also it's own winery. First we walked through the farm village. I fell in love with the vegetable gardens. Here is just a segment.
The winery was an educational experience. We took the tour and had our chance to sample the many fine wines available for purchase at the gift shop exit area.

After the Biltmore, we were beat. Sore all over from standing and walking all day, it felt good to be leaving. Wayne and I went exploring the Asheville area and did a little shopping at Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond. For dinner we ended up in the west Asheville area and found a pizza place to eat at. It was the worst pizza we ever had.

We returned to the cabin for a much needed nights rest.