I have this alarm clock that wakes me up by gradually lighting up like the sunrise and then playing sweet sounds of birds chirping when it’s really time to get up. I kept trying to turn it off on Saturday morning until I realized that I was in Asheville, and that was the real sunrise, and yes, those were real birds singing. I had been wanting to go to Asheville forever, and we were headed to the Biltmore!
From the moment we turned into the Biltmore entrance gates, I was so excited. I’ve been to Biltmore before, but it had been a long time, and this Southern Weddings editorial may be my favorite. This is just my kind of Disney World (and the tickets cost almost as much, y’all, yikes!). History, a castle, beautiful views, Southern hospitality, and manicured gardens full of tulips. I love getting caught up in the stories of a completely different time while also being out in nature. We also had the most perfect weather! A little windy, but it really felt like spring.
As I’ve discussed, taking a baby sightseeing is a new adventure. I am thinking a very lightweight, small umbrella stroller is in our near future. After we drove through the estate to the parking lot, We warily looked at the shuttle as a daunting obstacle that could force us into baby-wearing. We basically rode with our Vista on our laps.
When you show up in the same outfit as your mother-in-law!
All that being said, Victoria was awesome for the house tour. She’s really very easy-going as long as she doesn’t need anything. I loved imagining the dinner parties people must have had at the time in their personal home that is really more like their own private Greenbrier. They also had costumes from Titanic (the movie) on display, which was at times distracting but also helped to show what they would have been wearing.
It’s really crazy to me that George Vanderbilt built this house when he was a bachelor. His focus on hospitality and fresh flowers really spoke to me. 🙂
Three generations of white jeans! We love Mimi!
I just kept thinking, “we’re in the mountains of North Carolina!” Because the Biltmore really feels like it’s in Europe.
We could have spent a couple more hours in the house, but we saw it, and headed to lunch at the Stable Cafe as soon as we exited. It was so delicious and Southern–the perfect ladies lunch, plus Will. There are also so many cute little gift shops, including a toy store and a Christmas store! I collect ornaments from the places we visit, so the Biltmore ornament was a must!
It was so fun to set Cora Jane down and say, “Look! It’s spring, and there’s beautiful green grass!” She was so little in the fall, so we’re excited to finally get to play outside with her! We took some time to just enjoy the weather and frolic on the lawn, and it was so sweet.
I took a quick stroll to see the tulips, because we all know I’m a sucker for tulips. At that point, though, getting the stroller down there was too much, and we were on a time crunch for naptime.
We didn’t get to spend time at the winery or the Village, so that will have to be for a future trip. It really could be an entire weekend without even getting into Asheville! I was impressed that we made it back to our Airbnb in time for the afternoon nap and that Miss V still slept. Sometimes if she’s overtired and missed her morning nap it’s just a sleep strike day, so we were thankful. But next time there’s also a whole village of shops at the Biltmore entrance with our names on them! 🙂
A friend of mine recommended The Last Castle for further reading, and I am thinking it may be the perfect read for this year’s beach trip!
