Biltmore Estate-June 7, 2011

Oh my are we ever tired. The Biltmore Estate covers 8000 acres. I think we walked half of it today. Not really, but we did walk a lot. I think I need retreads on my tennis shoes! We climbed steps up and down 4 or 5 floors of the house and from one end to the other. It is a monstrous house, more like a massive castle. I would not have wanted to live there, but it was fun to see how they did live. It was quite beautiful in places and in other places it was almost depressing. The library was most impressive with 23,000 books. The upkeep on that place has to be astronomical. Jerry did not like the furniture but in the late 1800s that's all they had. It is easy to see that they were tiny little people. And they could not have been overweight if they lived in that place which required extensive walking just to get to the dining room for dinner. The estate sits along the French Broad River. We have crossed that river about two dozen times both in Tennessee and here in North Carolina. It is not a particularly pretty river. I hope I'm neither broad or French. Neither of us had ever heard of this river but it apparently is a big deal. I think we have crashed for the day. Not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow.