Biltmore (and Booze...)

Biltmore is America's largest private residence. It's also quite old for America.

This means it gets quite busy and you follow Americans round who say things like "Oh My God!!! It's, like, so AMAZING that they could build something like this 100 years ago...!!!"

I think if you took them to, let's say, Chatsworth, or a castle, they would probably go into meltdown.

None of this is to say it's not impressive...



...because it is.

But it's not really that old.

It was built with proper plumbing, lifts, electricity, central heating etc., by the Vanderbilt family on the proceeds of their trade and commerce. (So at least it was earned and not just inherited...) Today, they don't live there, it's just a going concern as a tourist attraction. You can't take photos inside so if you want to see what it's like, you'll have to look at the website. Or go yourself.

Some of the best views are from, and in, the formal gardens and grounds...



...which are huge.

About three miles from the house, but still in the grounds, is a converted dairy which is now a winery...



If you're not driving, you can taste up to eight wines, guided by a professional wine professional. Ours didn't seem to be counting how many we tasted. The plan is that if you taste eight each, you buy eight each, thus enabling the whole enterprise to do better as a winery than it ever did selling milk. We tasted at least eight each and bought three bottles in total, so we probably weren't the best customers.

But back in Greensboro later that evening, we drank the wine and discovered that it was cheaper in Harris Teeter anyway...