2nd Day At The Biltmore Estate

1.
1. The roof top panels with GV
2. One of the lightning rods on roof
3. A small portion of the garden area
4. One of the ponds on the Esplanade
5. The greenhouse



July 21, Tuesday: We were glad that our tickets were good for two days. Arrived at the Biltmore early as we had signed up for the Rooftop tour. Surprise1 we have the same guide as we had for the first tour. This is odd because each of the staff does only one tour a day. We were glad because he had a good voice that carried which helped Larry hear. We headed up to the third floor to begin our tour. We were able to see more guestrooms that were being renovated and should be opened for 2009. An interesting fact about the wallpaper the manufacturer in France can only make 10 inches a day. The reason is it is hand woven on a loom just like the original. Now you know Larry, he starts calculating and he figures it would take around 120 working days to finish just one room.


On the balcony of Mr. Vanderbilt's bedroom, our guide pointed to west where there was a second mountain range and informed us it was about 15 miles away. He also told us that used to be the boundary of the Estate. To add a different perspective... if rode the perimeter of the property on horseback it would take you a week.


When we walked out on the rooftop our guide pointed out the lightning rods all around the roof. They have a lot of lightning storms here. These rods are wired to a devise down in the basement. So far no one has figured out how they worked but they did. I could go on and on about the details but they are toooooo numerous. Okay, one more thing about the roof. Under the slate tiled roof there are panels made from copper. Every other panel had George Vanderbilt's initials G with a V over the G. circled with acorns and leaves for good luck. Now the G and V were originally gold-leafed. Several guest wrote in their letters about the golden glow from the roof as they approached the Estate.


After the tour we went back to the basement to see the indoor swimming pool with 5-6 individual dressing rooms next. He also had a state of the art gymnasium. The kitchens, pantry,


canning room, and florist room were also in the basement.


After some refreshment in the stable, we walked around the grounds. This involved several ponds and gardens. They estimated the landscaper planted 3 million plants and trees to complete the gardens.


As you are driving around you are reminded that this Estate is still a working "farm". It has cornfields, grape vineyards, some crop which we could not identify, and cattle.


Needless to say IT IS VERY IMPRESSIVE.





Goodnight!!!!!!!!!