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Visiting the Beautiful Biltmore

Welcome to Monday.

I’ve shared our visits to Savannah and Charleston (and also here) and the great food we ate.

Now it’s time to share the last leg our bucket list trip to beautiful western North Carolina (another new state for me) and specifically, visiting the beautiful Biltmore Estate, the largest home in America. Built in 1895 by (mega) wealthy George W. Vanderbilt as an escape from everyday life (O.K. his real life couldn’t have been bad.) for family and friends on 8,000 acres of pristine forest and pasture, the mansion today is still owned and operated by his descendants.

Visiting the Beautiful Biltmore

Like you, I’ve heard about, read about and seen pictures of Biltmore for years. But, I can tell you for a fact, nothing prepares you for the size, beauty, and detail of this iconic house. Biltmore is located abut a 15 minute drive from downtown Asheville. After picking up your tickets at the visitor center (We purchased our tickets online, which I highly recommend), watching the short, informative film, driving to the parking areas, parking your car, and getting picked up by the shuttle bus, you are driven down a winding road, through trees and forest to arrive at the entrance. It’s breathtaking ~ reminded me of the size and scope of Versailles outside Paris.

You enter through the front door ~ just like guests a hundred years ago ~ into the massive entry way. You pick up your audio cassette (I highly recommended this ~ you can go at your own pace and you can hear clearly the commentary about each room.) and proceed to right, passed the flower~filled conservatory. Down the hall you see the massive dining room. Each room at Biltmore is very, very large and was designed by George Vanderbilt with meticulous care. Many of the furnishings and design elements were chosen in Europe before construction began so that they could be incorporated into the home. Today, many of the furnishings, drapes, artwork, and accessories are original. I encourage you to check out the Biltmore for a detailed explanation of the rooms, the decor, the grounds and how the Vanderbilts and their guests lived, partied and played.

I took a hundred photos with my iPad. Rather than show you each one individually and caption each one, which would take days and a week’s worth of posts, I decided to make a video and share that format with you.

This is my first time to make a slideshow and share it on a post and I’m really excited about this new feature. I plan to try it again. It was a bit of a challenge learning a new program, but it was fun.

2 Caveats:

The lighting in the Biltmore is intended to resemble the lighting from the era. It’s relatively dark and has a slightly yellow cast. I’ve lightened the photos as much as possible. Secondly, for some reason, a few photos are upside down in the slideshow. Hopefully, it won’t distract from the show.

Grab some popcorn and enjoy the Beautiful Biltmore.

Biltmore 2016 by Slidely Slideshow

 

 

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4 Comments

    1. Stacey, thanks. It took a few hours to find out what was the best software to use and Slide.ly was really easy. Can’t wait to use it again.