Asheville, North Carolina

We drove down to Asheville for day trip to see the Biltmore Estate. We started with wine tasting and a snack at the winery, and explored Antler Hill Village's farm and little museum about the Vanderbilt family. All of this was fun, but it was all just a warm-up for the HOUSE. Let me put a few facts out there, to save you from googling:

• The estate covers 8,000 acres. (It was originally 125,000 acres, but most was sold to the federal government to create Pisgah National Forest.)

• Biltmore House was built by George Vanderbilt from 1889 to 1895, as his country home. It is the largest house in the country, with 125,000 square feet and 250 rooms.

• The house was designed by Richard Morris Hunt in the style of a French Renaissance Chateau. The gardens cover 75 acres and were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed New York's Central Park.

• Biltmore Estate is still owned by the family, and the house contains the family's original furniture and art.

We were awed by the scale and magnificence of the house and the surrounding grounds. Near the entrance to the gardens, there was a tent set up for a wedding reception. The guests would have the same panoramic view of the mountains that George and Edith Vanderbilt had enjoyed from the gallery at the back of their house. WOW.

We took a self-guided audio tour of the house, and it was impressive - huge, opulent spaces, with a definite Downton Abbey vibe. For example, this is the dining room, with a huge fireplace, and a table that can be extended to seat 64 guests. Crazy, right?

What I really loved most were the fresh flower arrangements gracing most rooms in the house. Every bloom was grown on the estate and arranged by Biltmore staff. Each arrangement was a work of art. Here's just a taste:

After touring Biltmore House, we celebrated Steve's birthday with dinner in Asheville. Sovereign Remedies had delicious food and a funky, artsy, relaxed Asheville vibe. It was a perfect way to end our day.