In the winter of 1990, I spent six weeks traveling in the canyons of Utah and the redwoods of California with a dog, car and oh yeah, a boyfriend. The following year, we bought a small pop up trailer that we towed with a VW Golf and traveled to Ashville NC, Charleston, Okeefanokee Swamp, Edisto Island in Georgia and landed at Mardi Gras in New Orleans just by luck. I was hooked. For the past 25 years I've been wanting to do this again, but one thing or the other made it just not feel like the "right time." So now it is. Me, dog, car. No boyfriend.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

America's Downton Abbey

I first want to thank my wonderful host, Patricia for her hospitality and this adorable cottage in the heart of Asheville's historic district, and a short walk to all the action downtown.


A super stunning photo of Patricia



 Probably the biggest attraction in Asheville other than the charming town itself is the Biltmore Estate. George (son of Cornellius) Vanderbuilt's 250 room mansion and surrounding forests and gardens. I love these kinds of tours, but I have to say, after seeing the Alcazar in Seville, Spain which was an absolute open air Moorish carved dream, I think I'm done with the 19th Century Industrialists mansions and their dark decor for a while. But it was still a grand experience.

Biltmore Estate is a large (6950.4 acre or 10.86 square miles) private estate and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House, the main house on the estate, is a Châteauesque-styled mansion built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895 and is the largest privately owned house in the United States, at 178,926 square feet (16,622.8 m2)[2] of floor space (135,280 square feet (12,568 m2) of living area). Still owned by one of Vanderbilt's descendants, it stands today as one of the most prominent remaining examples of the Gilded Age.

Fantastic central courtyard.

Dining Hall with cathedral scale  pipe organ and three huge fireplaces.

Very Downtony music room.




George loved Durer and collected extensively. Also several Renoirs in the collection. 



There were whole wings and floors dedicated to guest rooms and suites.






.
And an ultra modern bowling alley, pool and gym.




Apparently, the Vanderbuilts were kind to their staff, and that shows in the architecture. What I found different from other big houses of that time were the windows in the "downstairs" part that allowed a beautiful inspiring view from work areas and bedrooms. Clearly, the Vanderbuilt's dedication to the land is reflected in the understanding that this would make a difference to people who worked for them.

View from a maid's bedroom


View from the kitchen area.



And the grounds........ amazing views and formal gardens.






It's always a good day when Pan shows up.


and it's the birthplace of American Forestry which is pretty great.


 a rather silly and humiliated looking lion .


Heading south to Charleston on Thursday.
See you there!
xo
Laura and Choochi


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2 comments:

  1. RandyDecember 13, 2016 at 2:51 PM

    Thanks for taking us with you through the mansion. Lovely as it is I would not trade my trailer for it.
    "On wheels and light hearted I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me" (Whitman--except for the wheels)

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  2. laura skutchDecember 16, 2016 at 11:09 AM

    Yeah 250 rooms is a bit much!

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