This is the Biltmore, a county home built in 1895 by the Vanderbilt family in Asheville, North Carolina. I've known about this house for a long time, but have only just visited it.
It is certainly an astonishing estate!
I started to take photos here in the "Winter Garden," but abandoned my camera pretty quickly because there was just too much to take in.
I was amazed by all of the huge entertaining areas and dining rooms and bedrooms and the library.
However, what interested me most were the little changing rooms downstairs and the indoor pool and bowling alley. Imagine! They changed the water in the pool every three days because there was no chlorine.
I enjoyed seeing the clothing (replicated) from the period in the rooms as well.
If I went back some day, I would like to go more into the servants' passageways. We got to see some of their bedrooms and the kitchen and laundry (oh the laundry of all those fancy clothes and table linens!), but I would really like to go through those little unobtrusive doorways everywhere and see how those passages connect.
The views were stunning--even on a cloudy day. It is mindboggling to imagine being a land owner of this magnitude.
We also toured the gardens and the conservatory.
Once again, there were just too many amazing plants to photograph. However, this particular orchid was just so beyond the norm I had to take a picture of it. I think of it as a 'man in the moon' plant. The color of it was extraordinary!
It was a lovely day. And I only twisted my foot once while looking at some beautiful thing and not watching my feet on the steps.
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