December 28, 2021 - Biltmore House (Part Two)

The Third Floor Living Hall where guests could relax.
   
Looks like a comfortable place to hang out.
   
George Vanderbilt was a collector of prints made from engraved images; this is just one of hundreds he acquired.
   
The massive stone spiral Grand Staircase rises four floors and has 102 steps.
   
A print that reminded of us of Chambord, the ginormous French chateau.
   
Biltmore has 34 guest rooms!  This is one of them: the Damask Room.
   
The Claude Room.
   
The Tyrolean Chimney room named for its hand-painted 18th-century Swiss porcelain tile overmantel.
   
The Louix XV Room where their George and Edith's daughter, Cornelia, was born.
   
Down in the basement.  Here you can see that Biltmore is actually made of brick and steel faced with stone and plaster. It’s not a stone building at all.
   
The Vanderbilts had their own bowling alley.
   
And indoor swimming pool.
   
And gymnasium, with the latest equipment of the day.
   
The giant rotisserie grill; necessary when you have four meat courses.
   
Big stove.
   
Massive Biltmore gingerbread house which took 1200 hours over five months to make.
   
Dumb waiter to send the food up to the Banquet Hall.
   
The Smoking Room where male guests ONLY could enjoy after-dinner cigars, pipes, and brandy.
   
We met up with Don and Lucy after the house tour.  They had an earlier timed entry than us.
   
Despite the high cost, we thoroughly enjoyed the house tour and were glad we did it.  But we probably don't need to do it again.  We would like to see the gardens in springtime, however.
   
Approaching the side of the mansion.
   
Another view of Deer Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
   
P33
   
P34
   
The Italian Garden; not much to look at in winter.
   
We left the Mansion and headed over to the Biltmore Estate Winery.  We didn't know you need a reservation to do the free winetasting.  But they did have a small but interesting museum about the Vanderbilts and the history of Biltmore Estate.  One of George Vanderbilt's prize possessions was this chess set and game table that Napoleon played on during his exile at remote St. Helena island.
   
George Vanderbilt had travelled to Japan and was interested in Samurai arms and armor.  Another of Vanderbilt's prize possessions was this suit of Samurai armor from the Edo period (1612-1868).
   
 
   
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