Biltmore Beauty

Jack and I are road tripping through the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway this week. It is our first time seeing this beautiful part of the country. Today we toured the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. What can one say about a "house" that has 250 rooms, 175,000 square feet, and covers four full acres (just the house, not the grounds)? All I could think of was "king's castle." It was magnificent, yes, but I guess I understand a little better now why the common people and peasants left Europe to escape the aristocracy.

What I loved more than the house was the grounds. We walked through some of the eight thousand acres, which included forests, gardens, ponds, and meadows. Most of it had been professionally landscaped when the estate was first constructed more than a century ago, so everything now mature and lush. I was told by one of the employees that more than 1800 people work on the estate. I wasn't surprised to hear his estimate, considering that the Biltmore also has a working farm with livestock, vineyards, and a winery. It is certainly a beautiful and fantastic place to visit and is rich (pun intended) in American history.

Jack and I worked up an appetite from all of our walking, so we ate at one of the restaurants on the grounds. Cedric's Tavern was named after the Vanderbilt family's St Bernard. The restaurant was an Irish pub, and you all know how much Jack loves those places! He ordered Shepherd's Pie and a beer sampler tray. I had a wonderful grilled beef and pork meatloaf, which was drizzled with chipotle ketchup and rested on buttermilk-and-roasted-garlic mashed potatoes. Delicious! But even more tasty and unique were the beer battered green beans. They had a slightly sweet coating, which lightly covered each bean...just enough to give a little crunch and flavor. I'll have to figure out how to make them at home.

I've included a few photos of our day.

                                             Today was also Jack's birthday. Happy 61st!

                                            This was the beautiful Italian garden.
                                           

                                             The gardeners planted thousands of mums
                                             for a spectacular autumn display.

Monday morning we start on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I excited to see the colorful vistas which I've heard so much about.