|
Monday, September 3, 2007 -
From our cabin in Morganton, we ventured about 1.5 hours northeast toward Asheville, North Carolina to see the famous Biltmore House. We arrived soon after it opened and began our tour equipped with the self-paced audio tapes. Visiting the Biltmore can be an expensive endeavor, about $50 per person by the time admission and audio tour is purchased, but I had a couple of free passes and children were free this week so we lucked out and only had to pay about $8 each for the audio tour. It was a bargain! The audio tour is a definite MUST HAVE when visiting the Biltmore House as it points out all of the interesting items and artwork as you stroll through the rooms providing lots of rich and fascinating history.
Before the trip, the kids read the book The Mystery of Biltmore House by Carole Marsh. She has a great series of mystery books for kids set in all different locations around the globe. This one was fun because although it is fiction, it got the kids interested in looking for things she referenced in the book. We spent several the day meandering through the house and around the estate.
The Biltmore House is a 250-room family home and country retreat built for George and Edith Vanderbilt. It includes original art from masters such as Renoir, magnificent 16th-century tapestries, Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a Banquet Hall with a 70-foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and priceless antiques. The home was first opened to friends of the Vanderbilt's on Christmas Eve 1895, and this French Renaissance chateáu remains America's largest privately owned home.
|
