The Biltmore and the Boldt

Last month a friend of mine asked if she could take me to Christmas at the Biltmore as my Christmas present. She said it was wheelchair friendly, so I said sure, even though the reason I have never been to the Biltmore is because photography is not allowed inside. I am in awe of all the little details they put into this house, and all the details they put into the Christmas trees. But damn, if I can't take pictures to share, my interest goes waaaaay down. 

All I can say is that in their 7 story tall banquet hall was a 7 story tall REAL Christmas tree with ornaments the size of my head. The smell was divine. It was by far my favorite room and tree.

Here are a few pictures from outside. None of them are the least bit Christmasy, except the poinsettias. Even though we were in the mountains, temperatures were in the 60s. We are having quite the tropical Christmas this year. 

I am highly jealous of their view to the west. 

We went down to the gardens and the conservatories (which prompted me to keep saying "it was colonel Mustard, in the conservatory, with the wrench" - which no one thought was funny). 

Photography was permitted in these buildings. I think:

All in all it was a beautiful day. I would like to go back to their gardens when they are in full bloom, but I think one has to buy house tickets to access the gardens, not sold separately.

My friends were surprised to hear I've been to another castle, also built by a extremely wealthy man for his wife, in the U.S. It's called Boldt Castle in upstate NY:

Thumbs up to the Biltmore for being EXTREMELY handicap friendly.