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Here it is the end of the week and the conclusion of our vacation pictures. You are probably tired of looking at all of them and are thinking WHAT IN THE HELL WAS SHE COMPLAINING ABOUT, LOOK AT ALL THE FUN THINGS THEY DID!!
Yes, we had the opportunity to see a lot of cool things. I am amazed at how close we are to all these wonderful places. There are still other places for us to explore that we haven’t been to yet. It certainly is a nice place to relocate!
The Biltmore was a destination I had wanted to explore for quite some time. I finally convinced Tim to make the trip AND the financial plunge. It was certainly our most expensive venture. Thank goodness the kids got in free!
A brief history about the Biltmore (taken directly from their website): Building Biltmore was, at the time (opened in 1895), one of the largest undertakings in the history of American residential architecture and the results were astounding. Over a six-year period, an entire community of craftsmen worked to build the country’s premier home. The estate boasted its own brick factory, woodworking shop, and a three-mile railway spur for transporting materials to the site. The celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house on three châteaux built in 16th-century France. It would feature 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants’ quarters, kitchens, and more. The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York’s Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America’s first managed forest.
Impressive right? Well, I guess, that would be a matter of opinion. I’m not sure what I expected but… Everything was kept authentic. Good for the historians. However, the huge damask prints, although a sign of the times, I thought were hideous. I kept telling Tim that this was our inspiration for drapes for our new home. He was not amused. They also had not upgraded to central air. Lots of fans were placed along the tour in an attempt to cool you. The heat sucked the patience out of us while the kids complained about how hot and bored they were. And don’t forget all the WALKING we were doing. The kids would complain MY LEGS ARE TIRED! C’mon, you guys will go outside and play all day, what’s the difference?
Apparently even the rich get bored. Back in the day when the Vanderbilts tired of all the amenities the Biltmore offered they didn’t know what they wanted to do. So they decided to start a winery. They grow and harvest the grapes on the property. I skipped the tour and went directly to the tasting room. For some reason after my fifteenth sample they asked me to leave.
All in all it was amazing to see the visions these men had back then and it still remains a major attraction today.
September 11th, 2009 at 11:48 am
I love the wine tasting part!!
September 11th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I found your blog on MSN Search. Nice writing. I will check back to read more.
Eric Hundin