Biltmore: A Broad Brush

by Julianna Squicciarini

The time has come. The end is nigh. My 12-month Biltmore Pass will expire at the end of this month. But I have enjoyed it like you wouldn’t believe I have used it more than even I thought possible. And these past twelve months have shown me the beauty of the estate in every season.

For those of you who don’t know, my parents gave me the pass for my graduation last April (recommended reading includes Grad Prep, Grad Prep II: Update, Grad Prep III: Update, Grad Prep IV: Breaking News, Grad Prep V: Extra!, and Graduation – Finally!; I know, I got a little carried away…). I had put it on the Graduation Gift List, with the note that one should only purchase it if they wanted to spend some real money. It was kind of pricey. Anyway, I received it and was very excited about using it. Basically, pricewise, you have to go at least twice to make it worth it. <grin> Biltmore lost some money this year, because I went way more than twice!

1. May 2008
   Due to our exceptionally busy schedule in April, the first trip ended up in May, with Christine. We went exactly one week before her 17th birthday, so that she could get in *for free* with me (one of the many benefits of being a Passholder – children 16 and under get in free with you).
   Memories: It was absolutely freezing and we were not dressed for the weather, so we purchased matching Biltmore sweatshirts and walked around in those for most of the day. We also took enough pictures to make a slideshow
   Read all about it: May Biltmore Trip.
2. July 2008
   I also skipped June, for some inexplicable reason. Might have had something to do with the fact that I was focusing all of my attention on my friend Kelly’s visit and my huge 19th birthday party (19). For my birthday, however, Morgan gave me a trip to Biltmore to stay at the beautiful Inn together.
   Memories: It was very hot. But we tried several new things, like having afternoon tea and doing a trail ride. The together-time was priceless. It is unbelievable how much bonding takes place when there are quarts of perspiration pouring out of you
   Read all about it: July Biltmore Trip.
3. August 2008
   In the middle of August, I took Christine, Mary, and Anna Gordon. Anna was 14, so she and Mary got in for free. It was also her first time there. I love showing someone something that is completely new to them. It’s almost like it’s partly mine, and I get to show it off.
   Memories: We took TONS of pictures. We did photo shoots *everywhere*. We even snapped a few inside the house, before learning that you’re not supposed to (whoops). Driving from the house to one of the restaurants on the estate, Mary and Anna stood up and stuck their heads through my sunroof for a really great ride
   Read all about it: August Biltmore Trip.
4. September 2008
   Ever since I got the pass, I had wanted to take my piano teacher, Phyllis Teague, on a little daytrip. Turns out she hadn’t been in 30 years. Well, a lot changes in 30 years There were more floors open in the house, and many more gardens and restaurants to see and experience.
   Memories: We went on the last day of the gorgeous Carpet of Flowers exhibit. It was amazing, especially if, like Mrs. Teague, you love flowers. We also had afternoon tea (again), and spent an inordinate amount of time chatting over our scones.
   Read all about it: September Biltmore Trip.
5. November 2008
   Yes, I had to skip October. Various reasons. This November trip, though, was planned months in advance. Mary and I decided to go with Rachel & Julia Allison while Morgan and Christine were in Israel. Can’t let them have all the fun, right?! I think Rachel and I put this on the calendar sometime in May or June. I’m a planner…
   Memories: Rachel was *constantly* snapping pictures. I mean, how many scenery shots taken from a moving car do we need?? We also walked down one of the garden paths to Bass Pond Waterfall. I stayed at the top of the pond, while Rachel took Mary and Julia down to the bottom. I was able to take pictures of them, and vice versa. Then, when they disappeared into the shrubbery to meet me back up top, they really did disappear. For 10 minutes, I stood there waiting for them to show. Finally, I felt the need to go search for them, while trying to get Rachel on her cell phone. Needless to say, they were fine and had just taken some kind of really long detour :-S
   Read all about it: November Biltmore Trip.
6. December 2008
   My mother had apparently had a big hand in getting me this pass. So I definitely wanted to make sure she got a trip, too. We planned an overnight stay toward the beginning of December. Unfortunately, she was not feeling well enough to come. The day before our trip, she told me this, and we were both very disappointed. After all, we had planned it well in advance due to the hotel reservations. So, being my spontaneous self, and not wanting to lose my deposit on the room, I called Rachel Allison and asked her to come with me instead…again. Oddly enough, not only did she want to come, but she was actually able to
   Memories: Rachel and I picked up identical diamond costume rings at exactly the same time without knowing it. We held up our hands at the same moment and our jaws dropped as we realized how alike we actually are. The pictorial proof is in existence, and we’ve had fun joking about that picture.
   Unfortunately, you can’t read all about it. I didn’t blog it when I came home. Whoops…
7. January 2009
   Naturally, I rescheduled my mother’s trip for the next month. And it turned out that she couldn’t make it then, either, as she was taking Mary to the beach for a birthday getaway. So I had these hotel reservations that I could cancel or use. WHY CANCEL!? Girls’ party! We grabbed Emily Hergenreter and whisked her off to Biltmore, by way of the Tanger Outlets (!), and had a blast.
   Memories: Emily, Morgan, and I had all purchased these really cute boots. We wore them on the trip and loved matching. Also, we had planned dinner at this unheard-of, rustic mountain restaurant called The Stoney Knob Cafe. When we finally arrived, starved and exhausted, they told us there was no room and we would have to go elsewhere. Disappointed, we started to leave, when the hostess came running after us, practically begging us to stay. *Somehow* there was now a table for four. I think the all-male kitchen staff had something to do with it, personally…
   Read all about it: January Biltmore Trip.
8. February 2009
   I wasn’t sure I would be able to fit in a trip in February, but it worked out. I invited Susan Lindsey to experience the special Chocolate Tea they were offering in honor of Valentine’s Day. I know it sounds gross – it wasn’t
   Memories: Mrs. Lindsey and I split a “fried green tomato” sandwich…something I had never even *thought* about trying. Apparently a Southern thing Wasn’t bad at all – very interesting.
   Um…missed the blog opportunity on this trip, as well. Sorry…
9. March 2009
   Obviously, the final month needed to have the most special guests. I finally got to go with my mom, and we decided to do a daytrip instead of overnight, and to bring my dad along as well. The drive in the MINI Cooper was a highlight. And somehow, it seemed to me that it took less time to get there than normal…perhaps because my father was driving…
   Memories: It is an amazing and incredible day when I, with four siblings, actually feel like an only child. This was one of those days. Besides, I got to impress my parents with my knowledge of the ins-and-outs of Biltmore, since I’ve been so often Gotta love it.

So all in all, I visited the Estate nine times, and stayed overnight three times. Plus all those extra shopping and dining discounts – this was totally worth it. And now it’s time to say goodbye to Biltmore, at least for the next few months. What a year this has been!

“IF they have their seatbelts on…”

During the second half of our oh-so-early USO shift yesterday morning, Julianna and I observed that exactly a week ago we were contentedly waking up in a gorgeous hotel room, to a scenic view of the sunny NC mountains… getting ready to order our customary room service breakfast of grapefruit juice. <blissful sigh>

It was a quick escape from Charlotte to enjoy the wintery mountain air and scenery, accompanied by two amiable friends, our cute Garmin Nuvi and the equally cute Emily Hergenreter. Having calculated that 4 girls + VW Beetle + mountains + shopping = FUN, we packed everything into my car and headed north. I say, “packed everything” but that was harder than it sounds. Using our new Vera Bradley “weekenders,” we went bohemian chic and confined ourselves each to one bag… but then Emily shows up with what appeared to be the entire contents of her wardrobe plus a hair dryer, and expects that it’s all going to come with us. She had about 14 pieces of luggage… it was astonishing.  

Somehow it all fit. I’m still not sure how that happened.

So, once on our way, we discovered the Garmin Nuvi was unfamiliar with the legendary shopping available in Blowing Rock, strangely enough. Emily, the navigational assistant, set our course for Tweetsie Railroad instead. Nothing like a spontaneous change of plans to make the trip memorable.

…and we ended up shopping after all. [Q: Can you ever get away from places to shop? A: No. Christine and I were at the top of a mountain in the Israeli desert, and sure enough, the place was swarming with bedouin merchants selling beads] Emily, it turns out, is a professional shopper. Professional shoppers spend most of their time in the dressing room. And they usually buy something. It’s all kinds of fun.

Then we were faced with the difficult choice of what to leave in Blowing Rock: 1) Emily, 2) her stuff, or 3) her shopping bags…

We “came across” a quaint and unusual place for dinner, on the outskirts of Asheville, in a town called Weaverville. It was basically an exotic upscale Greek diner, if that makes sense. When we arrived, they said regretfully that it would be at least half an hour, so we made plans to go elsewhere, but as we reached the door, they came running after us, practically begging us to stay… so we did, and it was the best dinner I’ve ever had in NC west of Hickory.

The rest of that evening is a blur. We drove through a dark forest, on narrow winding roads… large wrought iron gates slowly opened, revealing a beautiful castle illuminated from within… I think Dougray Scott was there to meet us…

Sorry… got lost in Ever After for a minute there. But it was a magical evening.

 

Emily, chérie, you are an ideal traveling companion. Thank you for coming with us – we’d love to repeat the trip sometime.

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 5

Mary and I spent the entire day at Biltmore Estate with Rachel & Julia Allison.    Since we knew the girls would be gone these two particular weeks in November, we planned this GirlTrip way in advance.  The house and grounds were completely decorated for Christmas, including the enormous Banquet Hall Christmas tree.  Some of the displays were simply breathtaking, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The weather was also perfect, which was a godsend.  I have never, even with my frequent trips to the Estate this year, seen the house after dark.  It is absolutely lovely!

A big plus about today?  It was Passholder Shopping Day, which means I get 20% off all my purchases.  Plus they have food samples out all over the place.  What fun!

Our dad also received an email from Morgan today.  It went like this:

!hello family
.having a great time ,christine and i are in jerusalem
!yay ,down to ben yehudah street \we are going for a walk tonight .everything is fantastic .better today than yesterday 200%we feel
i think we will be in our rooms after ?night call us maybe tomorrow .love everybody and will talk to you soon
.erev shabbat
t talked to yet’who i haven ,and pete ,mary ,hugs to julianna
from christine and morgan
!miss you sooooo much

Now, is it just me, or does all that sound a little garbled?  Is it because they’re in Israel that the email appears to be written backwards?!

Teacher’s Pet II

by Julianna Squicciarini

Forget meeting for lunch – this time I really did it!  I invited my (former) piano teacher, Phyllis Teague, to come with me to Biltmore Estate this past Sunday to see the amazing Carpet of Flowers.  I know it seems like I am going off to Asheville every other week, but as a matter of fact I have only been three times prior to this as of April of this year   With a 12-Month Pass, I NEED to go as often as possible, right?  Right.

So anyway, August 29-September 14, Biltmore Estate advertised this Carpet of Flowers.  They had pictures up on their website to let you know what it looks like.  Believe it or not, it really does look like a carpet – very colorful – and is a 1/4 acre in length.

That was the draw, but as it turned out, Mrs. Teague had not been to Biltmore in 30 years.  <shocked expression>  We went ahead and toured the house, winery, and some of the gardens, because Biltmore has grown so much since she was last there.

The more the merrier, so I invited Morgan to come along.  Some of you may be unaware of her masterful powers of conversation.  This was, I have to admit, the primary reason I asked her to come :)  May no one ever say I don’t know a good thing when I see it.

The weather was absolutely perfect, although it did get just a little warm walking the gardens at the heat of the day.  But brunch at Deerpark was sumptuous and afternoon tea in the gorgeous Inn on Biltmore Estate was so elegant and delicious.  We had such fun just spending time together.  I am happy to say that Mrs. Teague really enjoyed the whole trip.  And although I drove both ways (which is 5 hours round trip), the car and passengers were still completely intact when we returned home

Who’s up for the next Biltmore trip?  I haven’t scheduled one for October yet, but if you want to go – let me know!  My pass gets discounts for friends…

Another Asheville Adventure – with Anna!

by Julianna Squicciarini

Does anyone reading this think I am posting too much?  I think this is my third IN A ROW.  But I have been doing a lot lately, and I really want to fill everyone in on my activities.  Plus, you want to hear about them, right? 

Oh, and I hope you’re all impressed with my aliteration

On Thursday of this week, the 14th, I took yet another trip to Biltmore.  I don’t know if I mentioned it previously, but for my graduation, my parents gave me a 12-month pass.  Therefore, I go to Biltmore as often as physically possible.  It expires in March.  Because of my wonderful pass, I am able to go for free (of course) and all “children” 16 and under get in for free with me.  So on this particular trip, I was accompanied by my sisters Christine (who, incidentally, was willing to pay her discounted admission) and Mary (free!) and one of our newest friends, Anna Gordon from Rock Hill, SC (also free!).

We met the Gordons at our Passover Seder this year; we had invited our Aunt Lynn, and told her she was welcome to bring anyone along.  What we didn’t expect was for her to bring a whole family, consisting of 10 people (okay, only 8 showed up for Passover, but you get the point).  As I mentioned in a long-ago post, this was an excellent decision on her part.  We enjoyed meeting the Gordons, and they have become very much a part of our social life, due to the fact that they are willing to drive upwards of 45 minutes to get together with us

So anyway, the four of us girls drove to Biltmore and spent the day.  This was Anna and Mary’s first time there, and they LOVED it!  The house is always magnificently impressive, and the gardens are in full bloom right now.  Anna is tons of fun, and willing to take any and all crazy pictures.  So we ended up with loads of cute photos of the four or three of us.  Ask for a Biltmore slide show next time you’re here – it’s totally worth it!

Even though Anna and her mom had forgotten about the trip when we arrived to pick Anna up at around 9:00am, she was able to hop right into the car without a second thought.  Spontaneity is a very valuable characteristic

I think we decided that we had walked over 5 miles by the time we finished all tours.  Huge house and extensive grounds make for a great workout.  And once again, I can’t wait to go back!

Biltmore Birthdays!

by Julianna Squicciarini

As previously posted, Morgan and I have been celebrating our birthdays at Biltmore these past two days!  We returned home last night at around 7:00pm, right before the biweekly occurence of Mysteries Al Fresco.

This was the first time for a few things: first, we stayed at the Inn on Biltmore for one night.  An exorbitantly expensive hotel, it is everything it is cracked up to be.  Four star, at least!  My two favorite things about it were the valet parking (!) and the room service.  We drove up while a storm was brewing, and the valets took care of everything – the bags, the car, us, etc.  Very elegant.  And for breakfast, we ordered in and had breakfast in bed on Monday morning!!  Something I never get to do, even on special occasions.  And the food at Biltmore is always fantastic.  Our room had an incredible view of the mountains and the Biltmore Winery.  The only downside?  No lock on the bathroom door.  <gasp>

Anyway, the second thing we did for the first time at Biltmore was horseback riding.  Morgan and I agreed that it was our birthday, so to speak, and we should live it up.  So we did, and the hour-long horseback ride was really cool.  I haven’t been on a horse in 10 years.  They’re a lot bigger than I remembered!  I am a little stiff today, but I would do it again.  Lots of fun.

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting the Otts.  At our special birthday dinner at The Bistro on Sunday evening, we happened to strike up an acquaintance with a couple from Cincinnati, Ohio.  Dave & Sandy Ott were there celebrating their 40th anniversary – congratulations to them!  To make a long story short, we ended up joining them at their table for dessert, and talking the night away.  In fact, the three-way conference call we had planned between Asheville, Ocean Isle, and Matthews was forgotten in the excitement of our conversation.  I think our parents started to get worried…but anyway, we agreed to meet the Otts for tea the next day.

Which is another first-time event – afternoon tea at the Inn on Biltmore Estate.  Wow!  It was incredible and beautiful.  Biltmore had a lot to live up to, since I have had high tea at the Savoy in London, but they pulled it off with aplomb.  I can’t wait to do it again.

Which really sums up my feelings with regard to the entire trip – I can’t wait to go back!

I Love a Rainy Night

Julianna and I are off to Asheville for our joint birthday celebration this morning… we’re staying at the Inn on Biltmore Estate in case anyone wants to send flowers. We have two very full days planned, but it’s our goal to be back in time for Mysteries Al Fresco tomorrow night (who could miss Remington Steele?).  It’s not uncommon for us to go places, but the strange thing is that a few other family members have also left this morning on vacation… leaving the house somewhat empty and far too quiet.

Time now for strong coffee, “Drivin’ My Life Away,” and choosing the perfect travel oufit. Perhaps some packing would also be in order, since it’s hard to stay at Biltmore with an empty suitcase. ;)

(the post title is kind of a musical tribute… and besides, it did rain quite heavily last night.)