Touring Biltmore with tea friends

Before the Afternoon Tea I wrote about in yesterday's post, five of us had a great and busy day of exploring Biltmore House and Gardens, including some fun behind-the-scenes touring! In front of the Winter Garden are, from left, Linda, me, Phyllis, Lynn and Sandy.

The cover of this souvenir book includes the classic shot of Biltmore. When you first see the sweeping grandeur of the house, it nearly takes your breath away! I had been there before, and yet it continues to impress!

You enter here. On Linda's recommendation, we all purchased the audio tour, and like her, I highly recommend that! When I first visited years ago I don't believe that was available, so it very much helped me to see Biltmore through new eyes.

The sheer size of the 250-room mansion is just incredible, and I can never quite wrap my mind around the fact that George Washington Vanderbilt had the vision in the late 1800s to bring this house to life in western North Carolina. (With no internet to consult! And no iPhone to check in with his construction crew!)

And no, the Christmas wreath on this marble lion statue is not a sign someone forgot to take down the Christmas decorations! Biltmore was filming Christmas commercials while we were there, and it was quite fun to get a behind-the-scenes peek at how early they begin planning for the holidays.

After we finished the regular tour, invaded the gift shops and ate lunch, we cued up once more for a behind-the-scenes "Butler's Tour" we were greatly anticipating. I wish I had taken note of the last name of Marilyn, the charming lady who led our small group on this tour. She did a fantastic job of keeping it lively, interesting and fun. (Normally, I would rather have a root canal than go on a group tour. This one was quite the exception!) Here, we are on a balcony and had one of the rare opportunities to take photos, since they aren't allowed inside the house. (And you can just imagine how our group of bloggers would have been reaching for our cameras!)

After our behind-the-scenes tour, one unique thing we got to see was the Banquet Hall all decked out for Christmas (go here to see it in its "everyday" look) since one of the commercials was being filmed there! Ohhhhhh ... the china! The flowers! My friend Susan would have swooned at all the silver, glass, china and roses, and I mourned the fact I couldn't share it with her. Still, it was a sight to behold. And while I can't share those images, I *can* share a few links to photos that may be of interest to my fellow tea lovers! (Note to Biltmore: I would like to see a "Tea Lover's Tour" of the house, and I'll gladly drive up and create it for you sometime if you'd like!)

• To see George and Edith Vanderbilt's only child, Cornelia, with her little tea set, go here and scroll down to the bottom.

• To see the property's Tea House (which I did not know about, alas, until I got home and read my book), go here and here.

• If you'd like to see reproductions of some Vanderbilt china which you may purchase today, go here. (I'll bet you can guess which one of these items I got! I'll tell you tomorrow when I share some wonderful tea-related souvenirs I came home with.)