Autumn in Asheville - Part One

Last week, my mom and I took a Mother Daughter vacation to Asheville, NC.  We heard autumn in that part of the country is spectacular and I had some down time at work so the timing worked out perfect for a beautiful and relaxing trip!

I really didn't know much about Asheville prior to leaving, except that it is the home of the Biltmore Estate, which was one of the main attractions during our visit.  When we arrived on Thursday afternoon, we were greated with beautiful trees and wonderful weather.  We ventured downtown for lunch and some shopping.  Downtown Asheville reminds me a lot of Boulder, CO.  Its very eclectic with a little hippy flair.  There were dogs lounging near cafe tables that were on the sidewalk, dogs being walked up and down the streets, and there were even dogs in a few stores.  There was also a strong "Buy Local" message downtown and a lot of the shops were little mom and pop type shops and boutiques as opposed to chain stores.  Mom and I stopped for lunch at a crepe restautrant and had a delicious crepe sandwich and a dessert crepe called a "Dirty Banana".  It was stuffed with Nutella and bananas and drizzled with caramel.  Delicious!

After we browsed around downtown, we decided to drive around and see what we could stumble upon.  After noticing a few signs for the Historic Grove Park Inn, we decided to go check it out.  One of my mom's friends, who is actually from the area, told us to make dinner reservations at the Inn, so we thought we would do that while we were there.  It is a very old hotel and resort nestled back in the trees and many famous people have stayed there including Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Ford, and most recently President Obama.



{That is one of the two fireplaces in the lobby area of the hotel.  It was HUGE!}

 Since we had been traveling all day, we headed back to the hotel and decided to catch a movie that evening.  We ended up seeing The Help and it was fabulous.  Mom had read the book, but I had not so it was all new to me.  I'm usually not a crier, but the ending killed me!

The next morning, we got up and headed to the Biltmore Estate, which was the main focus of our trip.  The only word I can think of to describe this place is "unfathomable"!  The place was enormous and lavish and I just can't imagine having that kind of money during that time period.  We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but here are a few from the outside:

And a few stats:

• The estate sits on 125,000 acres.  The landscaping was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park.
• It took five years to build the estate.
• There are 250 rooms inside.
• George Vanderbilt was a bachelor when he built the estate.
• The land was pretty much beran so he planted 3 million trees on the property.
• They opened a dairy on the property, not for milk but for the manure so they could plant all of those trees. 
• In the basement there is a 70,000 gallon pool, a bowling alley, a workout facility, and a party room.  And that doesn't even begin to include the multiple kitchens, pantries, changing rooms, etc.

The craftsmanship inside the home is beautiful.  The banquet room reminded us of a church sactuary because of the high ceilings, the organ pipes, and the large chairs.  The textiles that were used for the bedding and drapery were exquisite.  The views that looked out over the Blue Ridge Mountains were breathtaking.  It is just something you have to see to believe. 

The estate is still the largest privately owned estate in the country and the family has put a lot of effort into preserving it and keeping it in the family.  They turned the carriage house, which is not shown in these pictures, into a little gift shop and restaurant corridor.  There are a couple of outdoor cafes, along with the Stable Cafe, which is where we had lunch, and then several shops.  Here is a picture from our lunch:

After lunch we headed to Antler Hill Village, which is also on the Biltmore property.  It is the area where the dairy, turned winery, is located along with the barns and a produce garden.  We had to drive a couple of miles to reach Antler Hill and passed through the Biltmore Gardens on our way.  They were busy preparing for fall, so the gardens were full of beautiful mums!

A few pics from Antler Hill:



{The large hotel in the back of the picture is the Biltmore Inn}



{Produce garden}

We toured the winery while we were there and then headed up to the Biltmore Inn for afternoon tea.  The Inn is a very nice hotel that is located on the property.  It also provided amazing views of the mountains and we had a lovely afternoon tea.  We were still full from lunch so we ended up taking half of our tea goodies to-go.

Here are a few pictures from the Inn:

{If you look close, you can see the roofline of the Biltmore Estate.}

By the end fo the day, we were pretty wiped out!  We headed back to the hotel to rest up for our adventures the next day.  Stay tuned!