Asheville - Day Five

Today, we visited the historic Biltmore Estate. Built between 1889 and 1895 by George Vanderbilt, it is the largest privately owned home in the United States. George called the 189,000 square foot house his "little mountain escape." The estate covers 8,000 acres, so a visit is not just to see the mansion. We'd hoped to enjoy "Biltmore Blooms" (as in lots of springtime flowers) but instead it was pretty much "Biltmore Bloomless." With cold and windy weather, nothing was really blooming except for inside the conservatory. Those flowers were gorgeous, though, and I had a chance to photograph many orchids that I don't normally get to see. Here are a few of today's photographs...unfortunately, no photography is allowed inside the mansion.