Be Still and Know...Then and Now

Just down these steps and a short walk from the main house is the Conservatory.   There were no restrictions on picture taking in there so having been restrained for the better portion of the day I had an absolutely wonderful time snapping away to my hearts content. It was just amazing inside. If you are a regular visitor here at my blog you will know how exacted I get over God’s creation, and boy was He showing of in big way inside the walls of that conservatory. Here is my tropical adventure in the middle of a winter wonderland! Y’all take my advice if you make a visit to Biltmore make sure you take the short walk down those steps and explore the Conservatory. To sum up our visit to Biltmore, it really made me think. On the way home my husband and I discussed how different life must have been, and the reality that we have no concept what it must have been like growing up with that sort of privilege. Cornelia Vanderbilt, the only child of George and Ed...

  Without boring you to tears here is a very brief background on the Vanderbilt's and Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt III (he was not married when he began building the house, I would call this the ultimate bachelor's pad wouldn't you) opened Biltmore on Christmas Eve in 1895. It still maintains the title of the largest private residence in the United States. It took six years to build. The total floor space of the estate is 4 acres, y’all want to vacuum that???? The mansion has a total of 250 rooms, 43 bathrooms, 33 family an guest rooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens, and indoor swimming pool as well as the very first bowling alley built inside a private residence. In 1650 Jan Aertsen van der Bilt emigrated to the United States. The family did not become the American industrial icon’s until Cornelius Vanderbilt began the family empire, legend has it that he borrowed $100.00 for his mother and then launched a ferry service across New York Bay which he eventua...