A wander through the gilded age...

I had the great good fortune of visiting the Biltmore last weekend.  I took these pics of the exterior, and would have loved to photo-document the interior... but photography inside the mansion is not allowed.

Imagine you were a Van der Bilt coming home to this place!

What a grand estate.  The largest private "home" in the US.   I think it's over 100,000 square feet.

The view of the "back yard."  Incredible...

Naturally an estate this large had an enormous staff.  When you tour through the house most of the living areas are shown.  This includes staff, kitchens, bedrooms, the game room, the indoor pool, a bowling alley, opulent dining areas, a grand library... and a lot more.  If you are ever in the Asheville area I recommend taking the tour.  It will easily take a whole day, but well worth the experience.

The estate has an enormous greenhouse with amazing plants!

Van der Bilt took styling cues from these two European estates to create the Biltmore...  See if you can find the similarities!

Waddesdon Manor

and...

Chateau Royal de Blois

 Very cool!



And now for something totally different!

A great static display of a Jump Jet - the Harrier

Awesome!

The Harrier in action...

and... NOT a Harrier! I wonder what the glide ratio would be?