Back from North Carolina

[ellen_denham]

Stephan and I returned today from North Carolina, where we visited my parents and my sister and her husband. We also drug my parents along for a few days on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Balsam Mountain Inn, which was fabulous! No TV, no phone, no internet--in other words, very little to distract us from the pleasures of the mountains and

Comments

[kannibal_kat]

Sounds like you had a wonderful time!

[hildebabble]

Yes, sounds like fun! Do you recommend the Biltmore tour?

[ellen_denham]

Definitely, though it's a bit pricey ($47/person if I recall correctly and no discount for seniors). It was fun to see not only the opulent rooms full of art and treasures, but the servants' quarters and more mundane parts of the house.

The house is the main feature, but once you buy your ticket it also admits you to the gardens, winery tour, and a working farm. The gardens are spectacular. The winery tour was a short-self guided thing that wasn't nearly as in-depth as a tour I went on in California, but the wine tasting at the end was definitely worthwhile.