I have wanted to see Biltmore since I found out it existed, and we finally made the trip down. We stayed in Asheville, which is a bit too hippie-ish for my liking, but Biltmore was pretty amazing.
The area has been getting a lot of rain recently, and when we first arrived, the driveway to Biltmore was completely flooded out. We had to go on a long detour through a back way to get into the estate. We parked, took the shuttle to the house, and stared in awe at the big house. And then it started pouring rain and we had to make a run for the cover. And I mean POURING.
The stable has been turned into a restaurant and shops. We had lunch in this stall – The walls seemed to have genuine horse pawing damage.
All the time I spent doing my hair was basically pointless because it was like I took a shower in my clothes.
A little bit scraggly looking
After finishing lunch, we went into the main house, which has been kept as original as possible – meaning there’s no public restroom in the house. Keep this in mind and visit the stable first. The restroom is a great attraction.
I feel like I need a winter garden now.
The formal dining room
Biltmore is mostly self guided (unless you pay for one of the extended tours), so I got us little audio tours to carry around. They were really helpful in pointing out secret doors, and giving us context, although some of the descriptions were a bit long winded. That’s probably due to my short attention span though – it’s better to have more information than not enough.
Dave on the terrace, multitasking with the audio tour and his phone.
I asked Dave to get a few photos of me here, but they were all pretty terrible. The best ones are the ones I took myself, in the mirror. So here it is!
Wow! It’s my image reflected in a genuine Biltmore mirror!
The house is really neat, and there’s so many rooms to look at. I highly recommend it! I would go back again, and this time get one of the extended tours.
After the house, we headed out to the huge gardens. I could fit a nice sized arena in these gardens, as well as some pastures, but they choose to use the space for landscaping, and they currently have glass sculptures by Chihuly mixed in.
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After the gardens we were feeling pretty sore. So much walking! But we headed over to Antler Village, and visited the museum there, and naturally, the petting zoo to admire the chickens.
As we were leaving, I noticed how high the water still was. I’m not sure where this road leads, but I’m pretty sure it’s not supposed to be under water.
I would love to come again, and this time bring the horses. The estate has trails, and it would be amazing to explore them! I just need to figure out overnighting with the horses first – it’s not something we have ever done before. Off to google!