Biltmore - Asheville, NC - May 16, 2011

Today was the big outing to the Biltmore.  Now, I don't know exactly what to call it, but mansion just doesn't seem quite appropriate.  

It was busy as you can tell from all the buses and people outside but not too bad.  They said that during Christmas they would see 10,000 visitors per day - No Thank You!!

 Lets play another round of "Did you know???"

• The home is still owned by the descendent's of the Vanderbuilt family\
• The home has 175,000 square feet in 250 rooms - I really have nothing to compare this to and could not picture how large it was until I was actually inside
• It took 6 years to build (1889 to 1895)
• The current estate includes 8,000 acres, but it was originally 125,000 acres
• The home was originally opened to the public in 1930 to help boost tourism to the Asheville area
• Over 1 million visitors will visit the home each year...  At an average ticket price of $60 per person, well, you do the math...  quite the $60 million dollar revenue generator...
• Was built by George Vanderbuilt for his wife Edith...  Don't know about you, but I've never received such a gift before...

We had a great time marveling at both the interior, exterior and gardens of the "home".  The interior was every bit as spectacular as the outside with 7 story rooms and amazing wood and stone carvings everywhere.  With 65 fireplaces, the mantles themselves were amazing, not to mention the entire carvings from floor to ceiling on them.

 

Here are a few textures that I captured from the limestone of the exterior:

 

Beautiful stone carvings

More Stone Carvings from around the entryway

The front doors of the "home"

We had a great time photographing the outside and the gardens.  The old Conservatory was beautiful and served as a great display area for the many varieties of flowers grown on the grounds. 

The Conservatory filled with many beautiful varieties of flowers and shrubs

We toured the home in the morning and then headed over to Antler Village on the grounds for lunch at Cedric's Tavern.  Once we finished with lunch, we did a quick tour through the winery and had a few samplings at the Wine Tasting Room.  Back over to the house area for the afternoon stroll through the gardens and some time for more photos as things cleared out around the house.

Gorgeous Flowers in the Conservatory

More wonderful flowers