This weekend, Brett's parents came into town to join us on our trip to the
Biltmore. We had bought tickets to the Candlelight Christmas Evenings to get into the Christmas mood. Plus it was something fun to do on our first weekend without a football game.
Here's a bit of background I took from the Biltmore's
website:
The Vanderbilts were one of the oldest and best-known families in
America...Upon his death, the Commodore (Cornelius Vanderbilt) left most of his $100 million estate—a sum
that made him the wealthiest industrialist of his time—to his eldest
son, William Henry.
One of the eight children of William Henry...George Washington Vanderbilt [was] born in 1862. Unlike the rest of his family, however, George Vanderbilt was little
attracted to commerce and fashionable society. He preferred the world
of learning and travel, visiting Europe at age 10 and journeying to
Europe, Asia, or Africa about once a year throughout his adult life. It
was while traveling in the mountains of North Carolina that Vanderbilt
first glimpsed the site for his future country home.
Construction of Biltmore House was under way in 1889. The celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house on three
famous châteaux built in France in the early16th-century. It would feature 4 acres of floor
space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The
basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing
rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more.
Even after six years, Biltmore House was not complete when George
Vanderbilt opened it on Christmas Eve 1895; work would continue for years. Its scale
continues to be astounding: the house contains more than 11 million
bricks; the massive stone spiral staircase rises four floors and has 102
steps. Through its center hangs an iron chandelier suspended from a
single point, containing 72 electric light bulbs.
So now that you know a little bit, I'll tell you about my Biltmore experience. We decided to leave around 3:30 and got to the Biltmore around 4:30. Once we entered the Estate, we had to drive down a 3-mile "driveway" to get to the house. After we parked, we walked to the house. We're walking through the woods when all of the sudden, BAM, there's the house!
I honestly had no idea what to expect. I knew what it looked like (from Richie Rich and history books), but didn't know anything else aside from that. I kept on telling Brett over and over that I didn't feel like I was in the United States. I don't mean to be rude but it seemed un-American. I say that because of its grandeur. I have never seen a building, let alone a house, like that in my entire life. As you read above, the house was modeled off of three 16th century French châteaux. Maybe that's also why I didn't feel like I was in the United States... the architecture was different from anything I've see. To know that a family lived in there until the 1950s blows my mind. I can't even fathom it. I'd be scared living in a house that huge!
Since we had some time before our 7 p.m. house entry, we went to the
stables. The stables are located on the left of the house (when you're
looking at the front). Though they once held horses, the stables now
contain multiple shops. Needless to say, Gail and I enjoyed our time
looking at all the Christmas ornaments and little stores. One of the
stores had some samples to taste and drink. Yogi really liked the key lime cheeseball, and Brett LOVED the wassail, a spice blend that you can mix with hot apple cider or tea.
We were allowed to enter the home around 7. On our way in, we picked up a little booklet. The booklet contained maps and room-by-room information. When we entered each room, we read what the booklet said about it. Here are some of the things that wowed me:
- The grandeur of all the rooms was just awesome...really I was left in awe and disbelief.
- Many of the rooms had tapestries made in the mid-1500s. I've never seen something in person that was that old.
- The library contained nearly half of George's 23,000-volume collection. There was a spiral staircase that led to a second story full of books. This was Brett's favorite room.
- The women servants/workers lived in the house in the servants' quarters, but the male servants lived above the stables.
The house just seemed to keep on going and going. It took us about an hour and a half to get through the whole tour. I would definitely go again, but probably during the daytime so you can see the estate through the windows of the house. Once we left, we had to drive about 8 miles to get out of the estate, riding along the French Broad ad Swannanoa Rivers.
Sorry for the long post. We didn't make it to see the Antler Hill Village or the Gardens, but I'm sure they are beautiful. I would highly, highly recommend going to see the Estate. You won't regret it.
