the big house

Friday we visited Biltmore, the estate George W. Vanderbilt created outside of Asheville, North Carolina. The outside structure is impressive, but the inside has the feel of a well appointed train station.

I enjoyed seeing F.L.Olmstead's siting of the house on the property and his massive redesigning of the exterior space. The best moment inside was standing in the main kitchen and looking out a very narrow window to see the vista of mountains and trees, and to feel the cool air pour in through the window. It was not hard to imagine that some wandering cook's assistant stopped for ten seconds to look out at the view, and to feel the invigorating morning air.

Most of the gardens were either just past blooming (azaleas, roses, e.g.) or waiting to bloom.