I always wanted to visit Asheville, NC to enjoy the wonders of nature surrounding this little town, the amazing hipster ambience everywhere you go and the refreshing of daily cold-brewed tea. Finally, during a thanksgiving time we just rented a car and headed there from South Florida. It took around 12 hours but we made it!

The Biltmore Estates…Family Traditions

Our trip started with a visit to the marvelous Biltmore State. One of the largest Mansions in USA, owned by the Vanderbilt Family (Wealthy Family from the Railroad Industry that migrated from Holland in the 1960s). This majestic French Renaissance Chateau includes 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms and 65 fireplaces. The estate took 6 years to be built and treasures the hospitality traditions of the Vanderbilt family to entertain their guests at a home equipped with cutting-edge technology at the time to make their visit the most pleasant experience.

Thanksgiving is a very special time to visit, since the home first opened on Christmas Eve 1865, the entire Biltmore Estate prepare itself to received Christmas Holidays. There is more than 55 Christmas trees surrounding the mansion and extravagant decorations take place everywhere. The Gardens transform with autumn’s colors with amazing views of the blue ridge mountains while you can enjoy a wine tasting (grape juice for kids) at the Antler Hill Village and Winery.

I do take very good care of myself, and I’m always in love. And by that I mean I have an appetite for life. I’m in love with beauty and things and people and love and being in love, and those things I think, on the inside, show in the outside.”

Gloria Vanderbilt

The house itself is a paradise for entertainment, with a lot of amenities some of the must see features includes:

1. Victorian Era Glass Roofed Garden which holds a marble and bronze fountain sculpture, Boy Stealing Geese, by Karl Bitter.
2. Impressive 72 feet long Banquet hall which can seat up to 67 people (can you imagine the size of that table…Yes that was my face when I saw it :)).
3. The Library, you can miss this one is a spectacular collection of more that 10,000 volumes which reflects Mr Vanderbilt personality and intellect.
4. The Basement, the underground floor of the Biltmore estates was created to provide guest a fair amount of amenities and recreational areas that includes a Halloween Room, Gym, Saunas, Bowling Alley and a 53 feet long by 27 feet wide indoor pool all from the lates 1800s (unbelievable)