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Sisters Weekend at BiltmoreSep 18, 2009
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| A few years ago, me and my three sisters started an annual tradition of taking a trip together each fall. Just a quick weekend getaway, but still the same it has become something we all look forward to now. Three years ago we (except Roberta) went to the Amish community in Lancaster, PA. Last year we all went to Gatlinburg during the Christmas Parade weekend. This year, we decided to tour the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. What an experience. The Biltmore was built in the late 1800's by George Vanderbilt, heir to a fortune made by his grandfather in the shipping business in NY. According to the tour narration, the Vanderbilts were very much celebrities in their day and subjected to paparazzi of their time. Since George obviously didn't have to work for a living, he struck out to the rolling Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to build the grandest of all homes for his family and friends to enjoy. Still a bachelor at the time, his design was still inspired by the desire to provide for a large family and friends. The home, if you can call it that, contains 255 rooms, over 40 bathrooms, and covers more than 4 acres of floor space. Now comprised of over 8,000 acres, the original estate covered more than 125,000 acres and was a working farm that provided fruits, vegetables and dairy products to the estate and the surrounding community. The original dairy barn now houses a winery that can be toured and gives free wine tastings. I would highly, highly recommend anyone who tours Biltmore utilize the headsets available for an extra $10 to supplement your tour. The details of how the mansion was built, the tapestries, furnishings, traditions, etc. cannot be learned otherwise. Also, plan to spend an entire day on the estate. There are numerous cafes and restaurants on the estate, with foods ranging from a hotdog (@ $6) up to a very nice sitdown meal (@ $20) or a grill at the winery (hamburgers @ $15). If cost is an issue, you can pack a cooler and leave it in your car in the parking lot and picnic there between touring the mansion and driving around the estate to the winery and other sites. Tickets to the estate cost $55 per person for the basic tour, but using my AAA discount reduced them to only $46 each. There are add-on tours that you can add once there, such as touring the attic area. Also, be sure to check their website (www.biltmore.com) before planning your visit to see if there are any special offers or if they are having any special events at the time that might raise the price or generate a large crowd that might hamper your touring experience. At night, we enjoyed shopping at some of the local malls in the area. The Village is just outside the entrance and includes higher end shops such as Chicos, Coldwater Creek, etc. Or, just off Tunnel Road is a large mall and shopping district that includes JC Penneys, Dillards, Belk, TJ Maxx, Ross, etc. Tunnel Road is called "Restaurant Mile" by the locals...and for good reason. All in all, this makes for a great three day weekend trip. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. |
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