I visited Biltmore House on Saturday, the first day of Spring!  It was a beautiful sunny and warm day, (although somewhat windy). That's pretty normal for the mountains though.  I went with friends, Karen, Chimey, Carolyn, Monique and Matt.  We did the audio tour of the Biltmore House.  It took about 2 hours.  The house has a total of 250 rooms and 43 bathrooms (none of which are for visitors, by the way).  During the tour visitors get to see 55 rooms and they are magnificent.  We were a little early for the gardens, they were not in bloom yet. There is a total of 8000 acres on the estate.  Biltmore estate was first opened to the public to visit in 1930.  The French chateau was built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt who died at the young age of 51 from complications from an appendectemy.  Only married for 14 years at the time of his death, his wife Edith was left with an 11 year old daughter Cornelia.  It was up to Edith to keep the huge estate running.  After the crash of the stock market in 1929, Edith made the decision to open the house and  grounds to visitors which would bring in needed revenue to maintain it.  Today, admission to the estate still contributes to the preservation of the property, as it is not privately funded nor is it funded by grants.  It is 100% self supporting from revenue produced from it's many lines of items for purchase and the hundred of thousands of visitors each year.  I think we are really fortunate to have this legacy so close to us in SC.  If possible, visit the Biltmore Estate. It is a magnificent place and you come away learning a great deal. 

We ate lunch at the Stable Cafe and it was very good.  I plan to post a slideshow of pictures on this blog as soon as I get them developed later this next week.  Be sure to look for it!

Until next time have a great day............!