We have seen a lot of castles in Europe, but I had never been to the Biltmore and had heard that it is exceptional at Christmas with all the decorations.
I wish I had taken more pictures, but I think I was just too busy taking it all in throughout the day.
I was amazed at the size of the property! It really is like its own village. And in many ways very humble. We have been to the Hearst Castle in California and that was a huge, showy,party house- once the second largest home in America. It now belongs to the state of California because the Hearst's just couldn't keep paying the taxes on the property.
I felt that the Biltmore really was a home to the Vanderbilt family and the family has done an incredible job preserving it. Just the fact that they still own it shows how responsible they have been about caring for the property. They apparently are a wonderful family to work for as well. In the 1900's they had 35 servants- all of which had private rooms, heated with bathrooms. Just that says ALOT, right?
Before going into the house, we had a fabulous lunch on the property. They have turned the dairy into a winery, preserved the farm buildings and have renovated many of the other buildings on the property to shops and restaurants.
There was lots for the kids to do before we took them into the house and started saying the "don't touch"
A petting farm
Rocking chairs
Playing farm in the barn
Climbing on the equipment
Who says tractors are just for boys?
Next up- our tour! (with a quick snooze for Macy)
The tour is wonderful. Self guided, with audio. 40+ rooms, 4 floors. We could have gone through a second time and just taken it all in again. YOU MUST GO!
The views were incredible! It's no wonder George Biltmore came down from NY and fell in love with th is property in the NC mountains and the views of the Smokey Mountains.
As we were leaving, the staff was lighting hundreds of candles in white bags around the outside of the property. You can see several of them in the picture below
After our tour, we went to see the exhibit of Tiffany glass. We didn't buy any..
Before leaving, we wanted to see the house one more time all lit up at night with the Christmas trees and luminary bags. It was breathtaking
We had an awesome day. What a place of American history and luxury. It was fun sharing this all with Brian's family too. Our kids were incredible all day long. It was a 2.5 hour drive each way and they rocked! I guess being dragged through all those castles in Europe really helped!
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