We drove out this morning to check out Lake Lure, NC. It was pretty and the city of Lake Lure looked very nice. We stopped and had a hot drink and were surprised by snow falling from the sky. The Frankenstorm Sandy caused a very early snowfall in the higher altitudes and the border of Tennessee and North Carolina got quite a bit of snowfall overnight.
Since we were so close, we decided to drive to Ashville, NC and visit the Biltmore Estate. If you haven't seen it, put it on your bucket list. It's amazing.
There are 8,000 acres of Appalachian Mountains that make up this gorgeous estate. It was built by a bachelor George Vanderbilt over a six year period starting in 1895. It's an American castle, filled to the brim with interesting labor saving devices and leading edge technology; this home was a showplace in 1900.
Like a museum, you can't take any photos inside, but I took quite a few snaps in the gardens and outside the manse. I gotta say, I wish I'd known the guy who built this great house. He had a full sized portrait painted of the architect and the landscape designer. Both men toiled for years to make George's vision a reality.
He wanted a castle like many he'd visited in Europe so he set about designing this home as a mountain retreat for his family.
Once it was completed, he found and married his wife and brought her to the estate she would manage until her death years later. During their lives, they hosted myriad famous people, gave parties and entertained in style at this gorgeous home.
Vanderbilt is credited with forming one of the first forestry conservation efforts. Biltmore was a self sustaining, working farm and dairy at its heyday. Today, the entire property is open to the public and provides recreation and educational opportunities for the surrounding area.
The gardens are extensive and provide seasonal foliage to make any fall tour complete. Their geometric planting of mums was colorful and expansive. All I could think was, "I've killed one that color!"
The Biltmore was an amazing tour. I highly recommend it for anyone with a few pennies to spend. It's pricey, but the ticket prices go toward their conservation efforts, so I guess it's money well spent.
-- Sandee Wagner
There are 8,000 acres of Appalachian Mountains that make up this gorgeous estate. It was built by a bachelor George Vanderbilt over a six year period starting in 1895. It's an American castle, filled to the brim with interesting labor saving devices and leading edge technology; this home was a showplace in 1900.Like a museum, you can't take any photos inside, but I took quite a few snaps in the gardens and outside the manse. I gotta say, I wish I'd known the guy who built this great house. He had a full sized portrait painted of the architect and the landscape designer. Both men toiled for years to make George's vision a reality.
He wanted a castle like many he'd visited in Europe so he set about designing this home as a mountain retreat for his family.
Once it was completed, he found and married his wife and brought her to the estate she would manage until her death years later. During their lives, they hosted myriad famous people, gave parties and entertained in style at this gorgeous home.
The Biltmore was an amazing tour. I highly recommend it for anyone with a few pennies to spend. It's pricey, but the ticket prices go toward their conservation efforts, so I guess it's money well spent.
-- Sandee Wagner
2 comments:
Totally adding this to my bucket list. Absolutely breathtaking!
Alexa,
The house and gardens were tremendous. Not really a kid friendly place at all. But like your arboretum, I think it might need to be visited several times a year to see all the flowers, foliage and decorations. spw
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