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Biltmore House Christmas
On December 4th, several of us rallied in Buford, Ga. to head for our first stop on our annual Christmas trip. The first stop was lunch at the Sweet Onion in Waynesville, N.C. Several others joined us here and we had sixteen for lunch. No small portions at the Sweet Onion! Everything was delicious and the weather was mild enough for a quick stroll and peek into the shops.
Soon we were on way to the Doubletree and Sleep Inn hotels in Biltmore to settle in and meet in the hospitality suite before heading to the Biltmore Estate for the candlelight tour of the mansion. We had a group of 29 on the tour of the mansion and there are no words to describe the opulence and innovation embodied in these walls. Only a portion of the 175,000 sq. ft house is open for the tour but the trees and Christmas décor are mind boggling. The entry way had beautiful music and ballroom dancers dressed in period style to entertain. The upper levels were the bedrooms and library. 10,400 of the 23,000 volume collection are in this magnificent floor to ceiling book lined room. It is said that George Vanderbilt read over 3,500 of the volumes in his collection. After the tour, some of the group went to the restaurant on the estate and others opted for the TGI Friday’s at the hotel. It was great fun!
Early Saturday morning, we had breakfast and a quick meeting with our trip coordinator (Paula) to line up our activity options for the day. It was snowing which made for a beautiful atmosphere but it was warm enough that the roads remained clear. Some of the group went to the Biltmore Village for shopping, some opted to stay in the hospitality suite and watch football while the rest went to the estate for a tour of the farm, gardens and winery. The gardens and the gift shop were a treat of unique decorations and gift ideas. The winery had complimentary tasting and a tour of the inner workings of the wine making process. After visiting their gift shop of fabulous gifts and assorted Biltmore brand wines, we went to lunch at the Bistro on the estate. Everyone agreed their entree’ was absolutely delicious. Later in the afternoon, some of us were able to find parking at the Grove Park Inn and see the Gingerbread House Show and Competition. It is amazing what people can do with gingerbread, sugar and candies. The hotel itself is quite an architectural wonder and beautiful for photos.
We had a private dining room in the Ducker Tea Room for our dinner. We had a buffet with a variety of dishes to please every taste. Just before dinner and during dinner, we played a game. It was Team Gents vs. Team Ladies! It was a neat game brought to us by our member Jim Sebastian. He gave us a list of 40 holiday songs to be identified from the first letters of the title or a phrase in the song. (i.e. my personal favorite GGROBAR…….Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer)! It sounded like an easy game….NOT! Anyway, the prize was chocolate so between that and perhaps better skills and higher intellect,( JUST KIDDING, IT WAS THE CHOCOLATE) the LADIES WON!!!!!! After dinner, our president Norman thanked everyone for coming especially some first time guests and guests from other clubs. Dave from the Florida Allante’ club drove over 700 miles to join us and Henry and Francine drove over 800 miles from Connecticut to claim the longest drive.
Sunday morning we headed our separate ways filled with the holiday spirit. Fun, Friends, Food, Fabulous Decorations, Flakes of Snow and other FANTASTIC to our Allante’ adventure memory book.
See you next year at the WINTER DINNER. Check those emails and Evites for details. You don’t want to miss this one.
PEACE, LOVE and JOY to all!
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