Biltmore Estate

One of the advantages of being retired is that you have the time to visit places that you haven't had time to visit in the past. Biltmore Estate is a great example. We would go down to Georgia every couple of years at Xmas time to stay visit my sister and brother in law, but because I had to be back at work, there was no time to stop off in Asheville, NC to check out Biltmore.

It's expensive to visit with tickets costing about $50, but we spent most of a day there.

There is a sign in the parking lot that says it is an eight minute walk to the estate. In fact it is only a couple of minutes walk along this path to the Belvedere that offers a great view of the main building. I would not bother to take the shuttle.

And here it is, the largest house in the USA. It's really quite impressive, especially with the hills in the distance. However, for real grandeur you have to see Chambord in France which has two of the grand circular staircases big enough that the nobles could ride their horses up the stairs. See some of these French chateaus and you understand why the French had a revolution. Given the choice, I would rather live at Biltmore.

Pathway leading to the Belvedere from which you get the view of the house.

In summer, there would be fountains playing.

The main entrance and the circular staircase. When you buy your tickets, you have to pick a time of day since they stagger the entrance times. Make sure you go early in the day to avoid the busloads of children later in the day. I would avoid this place in summer.

A guard at the entrance.

There is something of the gothic cathedral about the exterior with numerous statues.

Even a few gargoyles.

Detail of a column.

Intricate carving.

Unfortunately, taking photographs inside is not allowed. I would suggest finding a book on Biltmore at your local libary to see photos of the rooms. This would have been an interesting place to live in or be a guest since many of the rooms somehow make you feel comfortable when you are in them. One thing that intrigued us were the bath tubs in the bathrooms. There were knobs to turn on the hot and cold water, but no visible place where the water would enter the bath. A guide explained that the bath tubs filled from a device at the bottom of the tub.

The tour is self guided and we took about two hours. Although you don't get to see all the rooms in the house, you do get to see a large proportion of them, particularly the important rooms. Fortunately, I managed to get a ride on the elevator which is the oldest in the USA that has been in continuous use.

One feature we enjoyed were the open windows that let in a cool breeze with flapping curtains and distant views to the hills. This place must have been delightful in summer compared to the heat of New York.

The area for outside parties.

The pavilion with gorgeous views to the mountains.

This area was initially set up to play lawn bowls. It probably also served for large garden parties. The stately homes of England obviously were a huge influence on the design of Biltmore.

Mountains in the distance.

The gardens and conservatory. Unfortunately we were too early for flowers in the gardens.

I couldn't resist this portrait photo.

The conservatory.

Various plants in the conservatory.

There is more to do at Biltmore including a wine tasting area. They do grow grapes on the estate but they also import grapes and bottles from other parts of the country such as Napa. Many of their wines are quite good. In addition there is an old farm building that included stables. Obviously they are trying hard to include more attractions.

We enjoyed our time at Biltmore, but we felt it was a 'oncer' as my mother would have put it. Seen that, done that.

Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, Durham, Hillsborough - North Carolina

While Marianne was off at her scrap booking event, I took the opportunity to look around.

It was a beautiful spring morning and I decided to check out Chapel Hill, the home of the University of North Carolina. The trees were out in bloom and I have no idea what kind of tree this was. Chapel Hill is not all that large a town, probably a similar size to Athens, GA or Newark, DE. The centre of town actually does appear to sit on a bit of a hill, and there are a number of chuches scattered around.

The symbol of UNC. There is a water fountain inside which is supposed to bring you academic success if you drink from it. I tried it, but I doubt the academic success is going to come to me now.

The older buildings all appear to have columns in front. This part of the campus is part of the town and is pleasant to stroll around.

The fraterinty / sorority houses are numerous and some are quite grand.

I was intrigued by the red drink cup on the beautiful green lawn.

A large sundial in front of the Planetarium. Two bus loads of school kids had just unloaded, so I decided to give the Planetarium a miss.

Chapel Hill struck me as a very pleasant place with beautiful tree lined streets and a decent standard of housing which appeared to be superior to Athens, GA. The down town area itself reminded me more of Newark, DE rather than Athens, GA. Most of the shops were squarely aimed at the students with little for the remainder of the population. Downtown Athens caters to more than students.

When we arrived at our motel, like any male, I turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. The breaking news was that a Court House was burning but it didn't mean anything to me. By chance, one of the guide books mentioned that just south of Chapel Hill was a little town called Pittsboro and it was worth a visit so I drove down there. To my surprise, I found that this was where the fire had occurred and here is the remains of the Court House. The fire was still smoldering and an occasional puff of smoke would billow forth. Apparently, there had been a huge argument about whether renovations should be done to the building and I was told that the fire was caused by welders.

There were quite a few people gathered to see what had happened and it was obvious that the locals were devastated by what had happened and were comforting each other. However, just as I was leaving the area, an African American couple walked by me and the lady said to her husband "Finally, justice is served. Ain't it beautiful."

I couldn't see too much of the town because much of it was barricaded off. This wood-working shop looked interesting and at the time, a class was being conducted inside.

The tour books had talked about barbeque in North Carolina and how it was a special treat that could only be done correctly in little roadside humble restaurants. I noticed this place and since it was lunch time, I decided to try it out. It was very basic inside with long tables and I sat with a couple of local retirees, one of who you can see with the white hat. They were very friendly, told me to definitely get the barbeque since they came there every week and that is what they ate.

So here is the feast for $9. Barbeque made of pork, hushpuppies and coldslaw. It was absolutely delicious, but I couldn't finish it.

The following morning, I drove up to Durham and this is the main street. This was not a very successful visit. It was cold, there was a walkathon going on that disrupted where I went to go, sign posting is poor and I didn't find anything interesting to look at in the down town area. Even the tour booklet at the hotel had pathetic maps that didn't really help. I eventually used Google Maps to find my way in.

Fortunately I knew that Duke University was somewhere to the west of downtown so I eventually came across the West Campus. Here is Mr Duke in front of the Chapel.

This part of the campus was built in Gothic Revival style and is worth visiting, even if you have seen the real stuff in England.

Inside the chapel.

This is one of the three separate organs installed in the chapel. I asked an attendant why there were three when most churches make do with one. She didn't know but when I looked it up on Wikipedia, I realized that each organ could be used for the appropriate style of music.

Another of the organs. There is also a fourth organ, a portable version. No, it is not a mouth organ, but a 'box' organ that accompanies small groups.

One of the stained glass windows.

One of the Stations of the Cross that line the walls of the Chapel. They appear to be some sort of metal on a white cloth background.

Carving in the door of the Chapel.

The Kronos Quartet was coming to play and note the ticket price of just $5. I would have loved to have heard them and I have a few of their CDs.

Just imagine how much money is represented by these few prospective students. Tuition, fees, alumni donations. Somebody has to pay to keep this place looking so good.

And yes, the grounds are beautifully maintained. There is no rubbish / trash visible and no sign of graffiti.

On the other of the wall on the right is a student cafeteria. Imagine what this would like like in most colleges, all junked up with notice boards.

Spring was definitely in evidence. Not all of the university looked like this. Beyond the few central buildings were the usual modern buildings that sprang up on most college campuses that bore no architectural relation to the older buildings at the core. It is a large university and students would get fit from all the walking they would need to do to cross campus.

I was touched by the Honor Roll wall to the fallen in the various wars. The first eight panels are just for WWII and the remaining four for Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.

There were a couple of Perry's.

At dinner the night before, one of the locals recommended that I visit Hillsborough, a few miles north west of Durham. Here is the Court House.

All through the town are markers likje this one which in this case, really gets your attention. You can read about the Regulators here. To be honest, I had never heard of them.

Hillsborough appears to be a very prosperous little town with a goodly number of interesting buildings and towns. This former public building was for sale. I suspect this town is a bedroom community for the Duke and UNC professors.

A laneway from the main street to a parking lot. The people of this town care about their town.

This stark looking building is the Masonic Hall.

An old hotel in need of restoration.

Spring.

This is a delightful town to walk around, especially in Spring.

Some lucky person enjoys this house.

Everybody comes from somewhere.

After a while, I realized that this little town was not like most other small towns. The only supermarket in town was a COOP with only organic food for sale. Prices were 25 to 50 percent higher than regular supermarket prices, but there were plenty of customers.

Outside the COOP a bunch of people were sitting at these tables having breakfast that they could buy inside the COOP.

Down the hill by the river was this market where locals can bring their produce for sale.

 

Some of the stands had just a couple of greens for sale, but others had beef, eggs, bread and dog biscuits. I really enjoyed this town. It's worth visiting.