Archive for the ‘Biltmore Estate’ Category
Oh boy, it’s going to be sunny and happy around here today. Up to the 80′s for goodness sakes. Can’t figure what the weather will be from day to day. But today, today is the day to drive through Biltmore Estate with the family to see the flowers in bloom. Well it is for us today. The Flower Festival will actually be going on all the way til May 25th. Of course the Estate is always gorgeous, even in the drudge of Winter, but this time of the year is spectacular. Azaleas blooming, tulips, trees, bushes, all blooming, gorgeous.
The flowers are blooming all over Asheville and all over the property at the Asheville Pet Friendly Vacation Cabin , Cabin Cove Farm. Flowers here, flowers there, awesome, one can really feel the approach of Spring.
Vadim Bora, 56, died recently this month following complications from a massive stroke in December. He may have left this city in body form, but he remains with us in spirit as his artwork is found throughout the city. Leave your Asheville pet friendly cabin and take a Vadim tour around the city.
Look for the crucifix on St. Mary’s Episcopal Church off Charlotte Street. Then on Wall Street you will see a trio of cats named appropriately “cat walk” slinking down Wall St that he created for the Urban Trail. When you go to Biltmore, Cornelia Vanderbilt playing with her dog Cedric at the Biltmore Estate’s Antler Hill Village outside Cedric’s Tavern is Vadim’s creation. At Mission Hospital’s Reuters Children’s Outpatient Center you will see “On the Mend,” a 10 piece life-size figurative sculpture grouping. At the VA Medical Center Asheville there is a memorial stone sculpture, “The Wings of Freedom.” Another place to find one of his sculptures is at the Modesto restaurant in the Grove Arcade. There you will find medieval-style grotesques of synthetic stone.
I had the opportunity to stay at an Asheville rental cabin – pet friendly mind you - with a huge great yard, that was a partner of Biltmore Estate. Basically what that means is that Biltmore Estate allows a facility to purchase tickets wholesale and sell them for whatever price they want. Kind of like legal scalping. LOL
So, I stayed at this cabin and we purchased our Biltmore Estate tickets for so much less than if we purchased them on line or at the gate because these folks didn’t make any money on their tickets. They sell them special to us – their rentors – at the price they buy them at. We couldn’t believe our fortune of picking a place we could do this with. On top of the discounted ticket, for December, the cabin we are renting provides one free ticket with two complimentary candlelight tickets. What a great deal! We’re having a beautiful Biltmore Christmas.
When you turn onto the road to go into the Estate, don’t make the mistake of stopping at the buildings that are there at that point. The one on the left is the gift shop, the one on the right is for groups. Keep driving to the stone gate and go under it and through it. At that point you will drive several miles to the Welcome Center where tickets can be purchased.
But then why stop there even when you can pre-purchase your tickets and just drive on through to the parking area of the house itself. When you vacation at a partner of Biltmore Estate, you can purchase Biltmore Estate tickets at a discount from the propriety of the establishment you are staying at. You can just drive in like you are a guest of the Vanderbilts. Cabin Cove Farm offers Complimentary and Discounted tickets all through the Christmas season. Check out their site to see just how inexpensive those tickets can be!!
George Vanderbilt opened his 250 room French Renaissance chateau to family and friends on Christmas Eve 1895. Three years later he brought his new bride Edith Dresser Vanderbilt to the estate. The employees at the estate lined the road leading to the house to greet her. She was known for her care and concern for her employees of the estate.
“Vanderbilt Family & Friends Tour” is a new addition to the Estate experience. It offers a glimpse of what it was like to stay at the house. In some of the rooms you will find period dress gowns, riding clothes, tuxedos, and stories from letters the guests themselves wrote to friends while at the estate sharing their experiences. Staying at an accomodation that is a partner of the Estate allows you to get Biltmore tickets at an incredibly reasonable rate so that you can experience it all for yourself firsthand. You may even get complimentary Biltmore Estate Tickets.
You must see Biltmore Estate during the Christmas Season. The house is so beautifully decorated. Vanderbilt opened his home to his friends and family in December of 1895. It was quite the gala affair. Today there are outfits in each room on display that someone wore to give you an historic feel for that time. There are Christmas decorations throughout the house as only a Vanderbilt could decorate. The tradition continues to celebrate the anniversary of it’s opening.
It’s good to stay at an accomodation that is a partner of Biltmore Estate. You can get discounted Biltmore Estate tickets for a fraction of the price that allow you to come and go on the estate for two full days. You can also get tickets for the candlelight evenings that take you through the illumination of the entire house inside and out. There is live music on each floor. This only happens once a year, at Christmas.
This is a great time to see Biltmore Estate. It gets decorated so beautifully for Christmas. The family members who are running the Estate now are really family oriented and have attempted to make all the guests feel as if they are visiting the family when they visit the Estate, and I might add they are very successful at it.
Take a vacation and come stay in an Asheville vacation Cabin. Cabin Cove Farm offers with your stay very discounted Biltmore Estate tickets . For only $48 two people can spend two full days at Biltmore Estate, coming and going during the day, and then come back or stay for the candlelight ceremony that night. It’s a really great deal.
If you’ve seen Biltmore Estate already you know how beautiful the grounds are. If you’ve seen it in the fall, you are priviledged. It’s a magnificent thing to see and to be in the middle of. Trees of every color all around you. The reds, the oranges, the yellows, just beautiful. You will want to walk from the house to the gardens and then keep walking along the path to the lake. There you can see the colors reflected in the lake. Yummy.
Try to stay at a cabin that partners with Biltmore Estate. You can get really good discounted Biltmore Estate tickets that are for two days and you can come and go on and off the property all you want for two full days.
I love how the employees at Biltmore Estate make you feel. The whole theme of the place is to help you feel like a guest of the Estate, just like when George and Edith Vanderbilt lived in it. Each one of the employees must be trained to keep with that theme. When we visit, we are all guests and we are treated as guests.
You can get some great Biltmore tickets on your Asheville vacation. The only way to get these tickets is to stay at a “partner” cabin, one that sells Biltmore Estate tickets as an agent. These are two day tickets so that you can come and go as you’d like during those two days. It’s as if you are staying at a cabin of the Estate off the Estate.
What I like about Biltmore Estate currently is the focus on the Estate being someone’s home. The new group that’s running the estate now, the next generation of ascendants, reinstall that concept more and more as the home and grounds are updated. You hear it on the tapes when you visit the home, you hear it at Antler Village in the museum, you are reminded of it everywhere you go on the grounds. This last addition has really touched my heart. It’s a sculpture of George and Edith’s daughter, Cornelia, playing with her beloved St. Bernard.
You can see this sculpture at Antler Village on your visit to Biltmore Estate on your Asheville vacation. Get your Biltmore Estate tickets from the folks you will be renting your vacation cabin from, and not only are they discounted but they are two day tickets. You can come and go on the grounds for a full two days.