On Saturday, April 1st, we went to Biltmore House again. Yes, I thought the Christmas candlelight tour would be our last visit for awhile, but Mr. Forest Manor decided to renew our annual membership. That suited me just fine. :) The reason for our trip this time was to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday. He turned 80 back in February, the same week that his mother turned 100. For this reason, his birthday got somewhat overshadowed. I was glad Hal thought of this because we all enjoyed the trip.
You may remember we visited the Biltmore Gardens around this time last year, but we didn't go inside the house. This time, we spent most of the visit inside the house, but we managed to get a few pictures of the beautiful gardens.
This trip to Biltmore will most likely be broken into about five posts because there was so much to see and my husband took beaucoup pictures. I thoroughly enjoyed this visit because it seemed there was something for everyone at the estate that day. There were gorgeous flowers, both inside and out, there was a costume exhibit in the house (more on that) and there was good food, as well.
We'll begin at the Winter Garden, which is where the tour usually starts. At Christmas, this room was filled with Poinsettias, but I've never seen it in the Spring. I love how it was decorated.
I thought the Japanese lanterns were an inspired idea and a great way to add color and whimsy to this indoor garden.
This picture is a little blurred. There was a pretty good-sized crowd there, and it was difficult for Hal to take the time he needed for his individual shots.
Now we proceed to the dining room or banquet hall. I like this display of medieval weaponry on the wall.
The dining table had a centerpiece of flowers that ran the length of this long table.
Biltmore has a greenhouse with an impressive amount of flowers and plants, and I believe many of the arrangements throughout the house came from there.
The first clothing exhibit was in the Banquet Hall. This event/exhibit is titled "Designed for Drama -- Fashion From the Classics."
"The artistry of great literary works, costume design, and movie-making comes together in a new exhibition premiering in Biltmore House. More than 40 award-winning movie costumes are on display throughout America's largest home, accompanied by the original books in George Vanderbilt's 22,000-volume library that inspired the films." source
The costumes in the Banquet Hall are from the movie "Finding Neverland," starring Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet. Costumes worn by other main characters were featured as well.
In all, there were 11 movies represented in this exhibit. I can't believe it, but we haven't seen any of them. After touring this exhibit, I'm going to try and see them all now. I'll show more costumes in the next post.
Above is a painting of George Vanderbilt, with his parents and siblings, in their home in New York City. The house, which is no longer there, stood at the corner of 40th Street and Fifth Avenue -- a rather prestigious address, yes?
This is a beautiful cabinet,
and another pretty flower arrangement.
Honestly, I had expected to see some flower arrangements here and there in the house, but I never imagined there would be so many gorgeous flowers. If you live anywhere remotely close to Biltmore House and have any interest in seeing it, now would be a wonderful time to visit. The tulips are at their peak in the gardens and other places on the grounds of the estate, and the costume exhibit adds extra interest to the normal tour. Also, on our way from the house to the winery, we passed a rather large herd of sheep with baby lambs. Oh they were precious -- such cute little darlings!! I could kick myself for not whipping out my iPhone and taking some pictures from the car (big slap to forehead).
Thank you so much for your visit today. I hope you enjoyed the tour of Biltmore House. I'll be sharing Part 2 in a few days. Have a great day!!
XX,
Denise
Could you take pictures in the Biltmore? They wouldn't let us when we went.
ReplyDeleteWell howdy! Nice to hear from you again and it is not a surprise to me that you are reporting in for the Biltmore. Your husband was very good to remember his dad...80 is no small feat! Glad that he enjoyed the time as well. You are going to have so much fun seeing some of those movies. I really enjoyed Finding Neverland.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy seeing your posts about the Biltmore. It's nice to see it in different seasons. Wow 100 and 80 both important to celebrate! Hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice that they allow pictures now isn't it!! I did a post on the Dressed for Drama event when we went in March. Love the tulip pictures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful house and gardens. But the costumes took my breath away - they look so sumptuous!
ReplyDeleteBiltmore House is on my bucket list....one day. Not sure if I've seen Finding Neverland but I like Johnny Depp so I'll check it out.
ReplyDeleteIt is an incredible place isn't it, lovely to see more of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a place I definitely want to visit. The flowers are gorgeous and the outfits on display are fantastic! Thank you for sharing these pictures!
ReplyDeleteThe costumes are so pretty. I need to look up the movie Neverland ,too. The flower arrangements would have been a treat since I love flowers. I have seen the greenhouse years back and drooled over the lovely orchids and all the flowers. I know the tulips were lovely. I went before my blogging era so didn't take any pictures, therefore, other than it was during my sons college days I can't think of the time of year we were there.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for email notifications when you post but I didn't get an email. Just happened to see your blog from Kitty's Kozy Corner. I miss my blogroll. It quit working!! Just went away!
I look forward to more of your Biltmore posts. Glad you had fun.