Biltmore Estate

     Saturday, May 25, we visited the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.  We knew it would be very busy (Memorial Day weekend), but we found that it really wasn’t a problem since they are well organized and have good crowd control procedures in place.  Mark was not thrilled about spending the day there, but he did it for me.  Even though it cost $80 per person, he encouraged me to spend the additional $13 to get the Audio Guided Tour so I could listen to it while we toured the mansion.  I think the Audio was definitely helpful to get the full benefit and enjoyment from the tour.  We spent about 2 hours touring the house and then had lunch. 

     After lunch we headed out to walk through the extensive gardens and the Conservatory.  It was about 90 degrees and very humid.  I’ve never tolerated heat and humidity very well, so we only did the Conservatory and part of the gardens before returning to the food court for some ice cream to cool off.

     We then drove across the estate to visit the farm exhibit, the Winery (which was originally the estate’s dairy), and a small informative museum about the Biltmore Legacy.

     I enjoyed learning about the Vanderbilts and the Estate, but agree with Mark that the cost was excessive.