Jim decided to relax on the 25th, while I drove to the Biltmore Estate alone, since it was quite expensive and tiring. The exit road from our Airbnb room was scary when a car delivery truck was parked at the top of the blind hill. Screech! I missed it.
It took 5 hours to tour the Biltmore house. It was so huge! Unfortunately, there were many workers decorating for Christmas that day, so there was lots of scaffolding and boxes everywhere. The front lawn was full of workers too. The rooms were dark; probably to preserve the furniture, so photography was strictly high speed. The rooms were spectacular. I couldn't imagine living in such splendor. A visit to Biltmore Estate is quite a treat and I recommend buying tickets in advance.
Please note, none of these photos are for sale.
Biltmore Reflection
Horses on the property designed by Frederick Law Olmstead
Frederick Law Olmstead, Landscape Architect
Library ceiling, "The Chariot of Aurora" by Giovanni Pellegrini from Pisini Palace in Venice 1720's
Edith Vanderbilt by Giovanni Boldini
George and Edith Vanderbilt
Italian Garden from the Biltmore
I particularly enjoyed the painting of Rosita by Ignacio Zuloaga, purchased by George Vanderbilt at age 51 right before his death from complications of Appendicitis. His wife Edith didn͛t like the painting when it arrived from the framers a month after his death, so she sent it to the National Gallery in DC. Cornelia and John Francis Cecil, George͛s daughter and son-in-law, brought it back to Biltmore.
Tyrolean Chimney Room, 18th century Swiss porcelain overmantel
Louis XV room, sometimes used as a birthing room
Stone hallway in the basement
Swimming pool in the basement
Servant's Dining room
Gingerbread Houses in one of the stores
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