Sunday Morning in Asheville

Having left the tour of the mansion itself til Sunday thinking that every day we were there, it was going to rain, Sunday turned into an absolutely picture perfect day.  Brilliant blue sky, puffy white clouds, gorgeous!  We enjoyed it on our way into the house. :)

I'm not real sure what one can say about a 250 room "house".  It certainly is big and eye-boggling.  We rented those audio things to tour the house and that probably took around two hours or so.  Then after a brief respite and lunch there at one of the courtyard eateries, we took one of the special tours.  There are three and Chris has done two of them so we opted for the third one "Lifestyles" (it didn't say "of the rich and famous" but easily could have!) cause that one appealed to me more than the other two and I liked that we'd both be seeing it for the first time.

You are not allowed to take any pictures inside, so afterward I went in search of postcards that I could then photograph and there were only three!  Apparently their theory is if you want to have pictures of all the rooms then buy a book.  But I didn't.  So here are the three postcards I did buy:

This was the banquet hall which seated up to 40 people.  George apparently did all his decorating prior to his marriage.  I think a wife might have gently suggested that perhaps all the deer heads could go somewhere else.  If I remember right, I think there were three fireplaces at the other end of the room also.  At least some room had fireplaces at both ends of the room.

Probably should have had this one first - it's off to the right of the grand entrance hall and is a lovely spot.  It's two or three steps down from the hall and is all open but has a nice enclosed feeling.  They have various string quartets, wind instrument groups, etc., that perform during the day, at least on Sundays.  It was a room that you could actually picture yourself enjoying.

And this is the library - gorgeous, obviously and filled with some of the 23,000 books in George's vast collection.  He also collected prints and engravings (I think the amount stated in the tour was 16,000) and both books and prints are scattered throughout all the rooms, hallways, and such.

It really is fantastically impressive - just somewhat hard to relate to.  His bedroom, for instance.  He decorated it all in red and black which I can certainly relate to, and covered the walls in gold leaf!!! which I really can't relate to.  Why not gold wallpaper or, like his wife did in her room, gold sateen fabric (which was lovely by the way).  His room was really attractive also, but good grief - gold leaf!

The lifestyles tour was interesting because they took you through the kitchen areas and a lot of the guest room suites.  The kitchen areas included a kitchen with sinks and all the pots and pans, knives, and a wood-burning stove, etc.  But all the stuff we have in our kitchens was in its own separate rooms.  There was a room for produce, a refrigerated room, a pantry for just canned goods, and a room where they roasted all their roasts - turkeys (at least twice a week!), venison, and whatever.  It was a room with a door and inside up against the back wall were numerous long spits in brackets in front of whatever the heating method was - I couldn't really tell.  So, in essence, I guess it was an oven.  The wood-burning stove in the kitchen was used for baked goods, not meats.

The guest rooms were all very nice.  The ones we saw included four sort of normal sized ones (actually George and Edith's rooms were relatively normal sized also), each with their own complete bathroom (the house has 43 bathrooms, total) and then two basically "master" guestrooms.  They were located in a tower(?) or something that gave them windows wrapping around a curved wall in one set and I think two full walls in the other.  Each set had a woman's bedroom and a gent's bedroom both beautifully decorated.  My favorite was the lady's bedroom in the curved wall bedroom.  Just beautiful!

We also saw some of the servants rooms which were certainly pleasant enough - each with a window looking out on a beautiful view.  There couldn't be a window that didn't have a beautiful view in that setting.  Oh, and we saw the bowling alley, the swimming pool, and the "fitness center", all pretty amazing for the time period of the house.  As were the elevators - one for residents/guests and a service elevator.

That whole tour took about an hour and again involved much up and downstairs trekking.  Felt like I was back in Florence all weekend!

These last two pictures were taken on the loggia which if I remember correctly was off the main hall:

The lord of the manor observing his estate...

and the dowager mother (tee hee)

The rest of the day since it was so gorgeous, we drove off the estate and took a look at Biltmore Village which originally was where homes were provided for a lot of the workers involved in building the house.  They're nice cottage type homes and are mostly used now for shops and businesses.  There is also a nice, comfortable looking church there that George built and it was nice to see that his money did more than build the country's largest house.  He and his wife were actually involved in a number of philanthropic endeavors...This is a picture of the church:

There's an educational building attached at the side and the church is still in use today.

Scroll on down for Afternoon and Evening in Asheville.:)

Sunday Afternoon and Evening in Asheville

After our drive through Biltmore Village, we headed to downtown Asheville to do some exploring there.  And from what I've read and been told about Asheville for years I was pretty sure I would love it and I certainly do.  And can't remember if I've already written this or just told my sister when I talked to her, but after wandering around downtown, I was all set to start planning a future move to Asheville, kind of seriously.  Only thing is, any time I think of a move, I can't imagine leaving all my friends and acquaintances here and knowing no one there.  Seems kind of late in life to be making all new friends. :)  I suppose I would just start some volunteering here and there, maybe find some type of group - needleworking, miniatures, or something - that I could join and slowly get new friends.  And at least living in a place like Asheville, my old friends might be happy to come visit!

Anyway, there were some neat buildings downtown and I took some pictures.  It was still a beautiful day but was very windy and quite chilly.  But the streets were full of folks enjoying themselves and it certainly looks like a convivial place.  Here are my pics:

Bronze pigs and turkeys represent Asheville's crossroads history at Pack Square right in the middle of downtown.  Looking online I see there is something called the Urban Trail and this is stop 2 on that trail.  I really like it and especially like all the footprints.

This is a monument to Zebulon Baird Vance, the governor of North Carolina during the Civil War who is remembered for his dedication to encouraging tolerance among Christians and Jews.  I looked him up and found this link of interest:  http://www.mountainx.com/news/2003/0507vance.php It is also located at Pack Square as is the following statue:

Below is the county courthouse building - fantastic!

And an attractive and interesting building that I don't know the name of...

and a close-up of this building from another side:

Next we drove out to the Grove Park Inn, a HUGE resort hotel.  My picture (below) doesn't even begin to give an idea of its size.  This is just the entry part of the hotel. 

We had thought we might have dinner there, but the only place we saw people eating was on an outdoor terrace and it was way too chilly to do that.  So we wandered around inside a little and then headed back to the Biltmore.

Finally, it was a beautiful evening which was what Chris had been waiting for.  He wanted photos of the house from the front and from the back with the golden glow of the setting sun.  So, we hiked back up to that little Diana statue and started from there taking pictures as we walked down toward the house front.  There were only two or three people near the house, no buses except the now and then shuttle bus, so it was a perfect time to take pictures.  I took some just because that's what there was to do!

This is one of the gateposts of one of the two entrance gates to the esplanade in front of the house.  And this was my best attempt at getting a shot of the house at this time of day with the sun pretty much shining directly into the camera:

And because of that sun, the beautiful blue sky and white clouds are invisible.

Finally, (no offense Chris!) we hiked back up to the greenhouse for a quick pit stop, then drove around to the lagoon, where you can get a beautiful view of the back of the house.  I've already posted a picture from the lagoon, but there I was again so took some more. :)

Beautiful, isn't it?  The Biltmore offers a 12-month ticket and at first I thought "why would I want that - you can only tour a house so many times".  But after walking the grounds and enjoying their loveliness, I could easily go numerous times a year if I lived nearby, just to do more walking and enjoying during all the seasons of the year.

And, finally, (no offense, Chris) Chris managed to tear himself away I think for my sake more than anything.  I think he would gladly have stayed til dark.  But I was getting hungry and cold so we took ourselves off for dinner and went, again, to Cedric's Pub.  This time we both had fish and chips - tender, crispy and greasy!  Chris also ordered a shrimp ceviche appetizer and a bowl of smoked bacon/brown ale coated almonds that were sinfully delicious.

One more picture out in front of Cedric's Pub:

That's Cedric and Cornelia, George and Edith's daughter.

So that's it - a wonderful long weekend, made more wonderful because it was my son who suggested we do it together.  Thanks, Chris!  xo

Saturday in Asheville, Part IV (and the last one for Saturday!)

As far as fauna goes, we saw rabbits, squirrels, wild turkeys, cows, horses and geese and ducks.  But it's only the geese and ducks I have pictures of.  I was entranced with them because they have all kinds of babies in various stages of development.  Even saw one mama goose nesting on top of a little batch of them.  So without further ado, here are some geese and ducks - all seen at the bass pond and the lagoon.

Not sure what bird this is, but he was very definitely on the trail of a tasty bite - still as a statue at the water's edge...

Mama and babies...

More babies - we saw much smaller ones also, but I guess I didn't get a picture of them.

These siblings are really close - they refused to spread apart and look like baby ducks!

Saturday finally concluded with a late dinner in downtown Asheville at The Market Place.  Again, everything we ordered was truly delicious.  We were puzzled, though, by how long it took to get our food since when we got there, things were clearing out rather than filling up.  But the food was worth waiting for!  Below is our shared menu:

smoked chicken spring roll with brown ale collards, smoked cheddar cheese, and a sweet chili sauce (I think my favorite - every bite was just mmm - mmm - oh my gosh!)

pecan crusted fried goat brie with a cranberry chutney - also very good

seared yellowfin tuna, togarashi, sea salt, asian "slaw", sriracha aioli (very good although not as "special" as the others)

and
pan seared sea scallops, cous cous pilaf, roasted red peppers, parsley, leek coulis, benton's bacon onion marmalade (the scallops were cooked perfectly and the cous cous was very tasty with all that "stuff" in it)

So, from beginning to end, an enjoyable - and tasty - day!

Saturday in Asheville, Part III

Now for the big hike.  We decided on taking the bass pond/waterfall trail which was listed as a third of a mile one way which seemed quite doable.  And it was...but it was a real hike.  A fair amount of up and down and we extended it at the end instead of turning around and coming back the exact same way and that made for a little extra up and down.  But I enjoyed it so much!  I told Chris as we parted this morning (Monday) that it made me think I should find places to just go hike occasionally.  Of course, it didn't hurt at all that even though everything seemed like it had been there forever, the entire landscape has grown out of the plans and designs of Frederick Law Olmsted, a noted landscape architect of that era.  So it is all "naturally" lovely.  And it's been long enough now that the trees especially and most likely some of the many, many different species of flowering bushes and such are quite old.  At any rate it is glorious.  Incidentally, Mr. Olmsted was respobnsible for hiring Chauncey Beadle, a young horticulturist, as his assitant.  Mr. Beadle ended up living on the Biltmore Estate in that lovely gardener's cottage with his wife I believe for the remainder of his life, overseeing the care of the landscape and gardens.

And having written more this time than in Part I, I'll now do the pictures the same way, mostly one after another with an interjection here and there.  There are really way too many, but it's hard for me to weed them out (although I did!)

I love this tree.  There are two of them, one at each end of a paved-road bridge and they appear to have been planted on the big rocks with their roots draped over going into the soil.  They are perfectly, absolutely straight.

 This was attractive and interesting - all sorts of new growth coming out of the trunk area and all along the big bough bending over the path.  And what's especially interesting is that it's called a Japanese Upright Yew!

 Another bridge picture - I hope I'm not repeating myself - they were scattered all around the areas where we walked...

 The boat house in a truly peaceful setting

 A bank full of beautiful rhodendrons

 The "waterfall" - kind of a cheater, but a very nice walk to get there.  And we had to climb down rocks and such which is always an adventure.

 Following the water down from the fall on our "new way back" hike, we came across this little rapid caused by the huge slab of rock in the stream.  It was almost completely hidden by the overhanging brush.  We heard it and then had to search to find it.

 Yep, another bridge!

Late afternoon found us at the lagoon looking across to the house.  I actually managed to get a shot that includes the reflection of the house in the water and was quite pleased with myself. :)

And, I guess there's going to be a Part IV because I've posted all this flora and need to post some fauna.  And report on another wonderful dinner. :)

Incidentally, I see that the setting I put on my camera is causing the date to print on each picture.  I thought it was just for printed photos and that it would be on the back of the photo.  I'm going to have to remember to change that cause I don't like it.  Wonder if there's a way to remove it???

Saturday in Asheville, Part II

So, to continue...After the greenhouse and gardens visit we walked up to the house and decided that most likely the genteel ladies of yesteryear didn't really make a habit of walking to and from the greenhouse!  All our walking there was of the aerobic sort.  We had decided that even though it wasn't very sunny, as long as it wasn't raining, we would try and see as much as possible of the grounds and then do the house tomorrow when it could rain if it wanted to.  We wandered around the immediate grounds some and I took a few pictures there.

On the way up...

A trellised approach to the house where the genteel ladies probably loved to stroll - it's beautiful.  There are busts on pedestals all the way down the length of it and looking out towards the view, there is the sunken Italian garden - don't know why it's called Italian but it's three pools with various water plants growing abundantly.  And this next picture is at the end of the arbor nearest the house.

Next are several shots of parts of the exterior representing a drop in the bucket of the whole structure!

 Lots and lots of gargoyles everywhere...

 A very ornate facade and more gargoyles...

 The exterior of the grand staircase - I think this is my favorite portion of the entire building.

And this is looking across from a terrace to the windows of George's den - he certainly had a wonderful view!

Next, we either had lunch or took a very long, very picture-taking walk.  So, I'm going to report on lunch and save the 19 pictures I took(!) for a Saturday, Part III.

On the Biltmore Estate (it's 8,000 acres by the way, down from the original land purchase of 125,000 acres!!) is the Antler Village area where we had our wine tour on Friday.  There are two restaurants there - The Bistro (Friday night's dinner spot) and Cedric's Pub named after George Washington Vanderbilt's dog, a big, very pleasant looking St. Bernard.  And I just realized I haven't done very well at telling you what little I can about Biltmore.  George Washington Vanderbilt is the man behind the magnificence.  He started out wanting a small get-away (say 10,000 sq. feet. :) ) nestled in his 125,000 acres in the beautiful hills and mountains of North Carolina.  The architect he hired was Richard Morris Hunt, a famous man known for, among other things, designing the base of the Statue of Liberty.  Chris told me that he read that Mr. Hunt, when he took the commission, privately decided that this would be his biggest, best, and any other superlatives, project - a lasting icon of his brilliance.  It's believed that he encouraged George to keep adding, changing, improving, etc., his 10,000 square foot cottage and they ended up with a 250-room (largest home in America) mansion - a very weak word for this building.

So that's the George that had the dog Cedric for whom the pub is named. :)  Anyway, I ordered two appetizers - a Scotch egg which turned out to be a hard boiled egg which is then rolled in their own homemade sausage (just a thin coating), then in bread crumbs and then deep fried!  It was served with Lusty Monk mustard which I didn't care for but I love the name.  The sausage was real tasty but essentially it was a hard boiled egg.  I also ordered what they called a ham and cheese fondue but it was more of a little gratin with exceptionally delicious shaved ham nestled in Gruyere cheese and baked til brown and bubbly.  Wonderful, wonderful.  Chris ordered the ploughman's sandwich, a big heaping of ham served with pickles and the lusty monk mustard along with homemade potato chips.  Thus, we were quite well fortified for the coming hike which will be detailed in Saturday, Part III.

Saturday in Asheville, Part I

Saturday was a wonderful day in spite of several mess-ups on my part and on-again, off-again showers.  Chris wanted to get to a good photo-op place he likes fairly early in the morning before bunches of people were on the scene so we started out around 8:30 or so, and went to this little "temple of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt" which is just a sort of gazebo type structure made out of vines (I'd assume either wisteria or grape) with a small statue of Diana inside.  But it stands at the top of a hill (up which we trekked) and looks directly across to the Biltmore mansion on another hill so it is a nice place for pictures.  I, of course, discovered when we got to the top of the hill, that I had forgotten to put my memory card back in my camera the night before but I used my phone and took a couple pictures.

and here is a view of the Biltmore mansion from Diana's hill:

And the next is just one of the many little fences all over the grounds and woodland walkways and I found them delightful.

We then made a quick trip back to the hotel to get my card because this was going to be a picture taking day.

Next stop was the greenhouse and it was just fantastic.  A huge, beautiful structure crammed with all varieties of plants, all very lush, some exotic, some familiar, lots of colors, lots of aromas, and beautifully displayed.  For example, there was one small room that had almost all of the plants displayed in old suitcases and steamer trunks!  Another small room was just succulents.  I'm just going to post a picture of the greenhouse first of all, then post all the pictures I took inside the greenhouse just as a show - no tell. :)

 I will say I thought this looked like a tiny miniature silver dollar plant - they were probably only about 1/4".

The next batch of pictures are of the gardens in front of the greenhouse.  The pictures just don't do them justice at all, particularly the ones where I try and get a large area in the picture.  The colors were so bright and pretty!

  The gardener's house - a delightful perc for some lucky gardener!

Lots of large beds of alyssum and oh, what a delicious aroma...

The lattice work at the back of this bed is part of a long arbor walk from the front of the greenhouse to the back wall of the enclosed garden.

 and, espaliered trees of various types along the back wall of the garden.

And this was just the start of our day!!  I have probably way too many pictures - for sure too many to upload to one post, so I will post another batch in "Saturday, Part II".