In Asheville, we decided to visit Eric and Kyle's old house where their family lived sometime around 1991-1993. We found it and were excited that it had been well taken care of. It was a beautiful place.
Then, of couse, we had to visit the famous Biltmore House. It is a Châteauesque-styled mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States around 175,000 square feet and featuring 250 rooms including 65 fireplaces, 34 bedrooms, an indoor pool, a bowling alley and more.
Filling the rooms are priceless treasures including paintings by some of the world's most highly esteemed artists such as Renoir, Sargent and Whistler. In the salon, a gaming table and chess set, once owned by Napoleon, are displayed and Ming Dynasty goldfish bowls grace the 10,000 volume library. Covering the marble and oak flooring are 50 exquisite Persian and Oriental rugs, while fine 16th-century tapestries adorn the walls.
Still owned by one of Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age. It was a bit pricey, so we decided to buy a year membership and we actually saved money. I think it was worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a beautiful home and had a lot of things that were ahead of it's time. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photos inside (although I was SO tempted to sneak a couple).
It was a very rainy day, so we kept our umbrellas close all day.
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| Eric, Kyle, Jessica, and Alex walking toward the house. |
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| This picture was taken from the back porch looking toward the back the house |
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| On the back porch |
Here are a couple of pictures I found online of the inside:
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| Banquet Room |
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| 2 story library |
Since we didn't have a lot of time and it was raining too, we just drove through the gardens. However, since we have a membership now, we can go back and enjoy them another day.
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| A gorgeous waterfall |
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| Sunflowers as we were driving through the property. |
Before heading back home, we stopped by Five Guys for a delicious lunch! Our drive home seemed very long due to accidents, traffic and the incessant rain. Eric was a trooper and drove all the way. I really appreciated it since I hate driving when it is dark and rainy. It finally stopped raining about 20 minutes before we got home. We didn't arrive home until around 9:30 Monday night.
3 comments:
The Biltmore is so beautiful. Too bad you didn't give in to your naughty inner voice and sneak some pictures! ;) The gardens looked pretty. That's cool that you were able to get a membership for less $$. Now you can take me when I come to Tennessee. How far away is it from your house?
Thanks for posting that, Jared really loved seeing his old house- he loved it there! Makes me want to go out there and visit, it's so beautiful! That Vanderbuilt house looks so neat!! I wish they would have allowed you to take pictures of the inside- I can only imagine how beautiful it is! Hope you guys are doing well!
Oooh, I'd love to see the Biltmore. That looks like a lot of fun.
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