Y'all can stop hassling me now
Since moving to North Carolina in 1975 and living all but about 6 months since then within the borders of the Old North State, I've constantly caught grief from family and friends for having never been to Biltmore Estate. Ok, you can let up now (of course, now I'll catch it for never having been during Christmas). It was very cool - I enjoyed it in large part because I didn't find it overwhelming. I actually found it quite comfortable - I assume in part because it was a vacation house with much less gilt and glitter than the Vanderbilt's New York homes probably had. If you haven't been lately, I understand that the below-stairs part of the tour is new - that was one of the best parts, seeing the kitchens and pantries and servants' quarters and such. I would absolutely suggest renting Altman's Gosford Park, then going on the tour - it makes the below-stairs part much better I think.After we go someplace new, JennySlash and I typically discuss what we learned - maybe we saw a wall color that we think would look nice in the kitchen, or a grouping of shrubs that might work in a corner of the yard. So I think she was a little surprised when my answer to "did you learn anything?" was "yes, I would really enjoy being rich". It's not something I think a lot about and not something that I have any interest in pursuing in any meaningful way, but I'm pretty sure that I would enjoy it. So if anyone wants to give me gobs of money for free so that I can live the life to which I'd like to become accustomed, pop me an e-mail and we'll talk...
