2 Big Spirits, Falling in Love, Finding a Dream - Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelations Part 7 Continued 1

The wallpaper in the music room was nature-based with a gorgeous acorn design.
Look how carefully the surrounding woodwork is painted. Wowzers!

One area of the music room. Places to sit and listen,
places to play all kinds of instruments.
Room to dance, to sing.

Look at the rugs, the places to sit,
look at that chair which has been sat upon hundreds of times throughout the years,
oh! The stories it could tell.

One of the beautiful ceilings, and they're ALL beautiful!

I know I'm going to have to speed this up, and it's hard. I took 586 photos of the gorgeousness and vibrancy of this home. This incredible place that's become the foundation of an absolutely thriving community of artists, academics, business owners, and craft brewers. I think I lost my heart here. Not so much because of the wealth of the Biltmore, but because of the dream that George and his wife were able to bring about that is thriving still. That's power. That's life. That's beauty. That's sustenance. I would someday like to live a life that holds this kind of power and dream because it makes a difference in so many lives. It might not happen in this lifetime, but perhaps in another.... There are other dreams I have for now, but this is a nice one to ponder on sometimes.

The loggia.

This is part of the view from the loggia. Why would anyone ever stop
drinking their coffee there in the morning, their wine at night?
Why would anyone ever leave that spot? Ever??

Let's stay as long as we can.

We spent quite some time there. Pretty soon it started to rain, and they closed the area off and we were so happy we'd gotten the chance to sit and soak up the stunning views. Talk about porches. This one takes the CAKE!

On the archways over the doorways to the loggia, there are sculptures,
and of course I had to take a photo of the painter with palette.
This place truly has supported true artists for over a hundred years, and continues to.

It seems everyone becomes a lover on that loggia.
Look at that body language xoxo
We are sympatico, their position says.

Seriously, I could sit here for centuries.

Yep, here's my almost 60-year-old self asking Rob to take a photo
of my face, not my whole self. How did he do? Meh....

Peeps gettin' married over there in that section.
If your marriage is half as happy as mine, you'll be fulfilled and supremely well-blessed. 

THIS is the tree that I fell in love with. She's ancient
and I would love to go sit underneath her branches
and just listen to the absence of chaos and the world of beautiful nature.
To hear her stories, of which, I'm sure she has many. Oh, just look at her!! Wow.

There were many, many trees that I fell in love with along our journey, but some of them whizzed by as we were driving 70 miles per hour, and some we walked underneath. If I'd asked Rob to stop for me to photograph every one, we'd have been on the road for years and years. There are such beautiful trees on our planet. My favorite ones are the ones that have space to spread their branches, to grow among others, alongside and supporting, but not encroached upon.

One of the numerous fireplaces in the home. Awesome andirons! The staff member in this room
told us the story behind them but I don't remember who they are. I want to say Cupid and Psyche.
Anyway, it's a love-match. One of the subtle and beautiful references
to love and passion that appear throughout Biltmore.

OMG the books! This is the library. Several thousand books encompassing seven different languages.
Aside from the Winter Garden and the Loggia,
you could just park me here for a century or two and I'd be happy as a clam.

Oh and by the way, that chess set belonged to Napoleon. Sigh....

In this era, books were valuable and some could be put on display in this specially designed bookcase. Isn't it beautiful?!
This was an era in which women had barely gained the right to read, never mind to pursue education.
Books were treasures, very expensive, and therefore they claimed honorable placement in the home,
especially this home that houses many first editions. I found it so interesting
that there would be a piece of furniture built especially for the display
of these treasured volumes. We have no such thing today.

It's a good time to mention that the placement of all the objects on display was so carefully done. There's a lot of symmetry in the house, that's very pleasing to the senses. It's everywhere.

Shhhh. People are reading....

Throughout Biltmore, the doorways are absolutely gorgeous, and in the library, this one is decorated with a figure hushing us as we enter. Note the halo surrounding his head. Reading is sacred. Reading is good. Let's read and read and read. Worlds open to us when we read. Our hearts open when we read. Choose carefully, for we only have a limited amount of time to spend reading....

My very favorite fireplace in the house. This is in the Tapestry Room.
I just wanted to go in and sit down and talk with peeps. Step back in time.

One of many family portraits.

Another family portrait.

The thing about the family portraits, that you can't really see from my photos is that these women were smiling. Madonna smiles. It's very unusual to see historical portraits that depict the almost irreverent, impish nature of the people they capture. Such a pleasure to see these.

A table adorned with family treasures in the Tapestry Room. 

The thing about the Biltmore is that in each room, the displays are such that you feel it's still "home." Treasures are on display as they were when the rooms were inhabited by family members, and it doesn't feel like "a public environment with every valuable, personal item removed for protection." Rather, it feels like we've been invited into a sphere of love that somehow includes us. You are welcome here, it says. Each table is gleaming with furniture polish. Not a single item is dusty or neglected. It's magnificent.

These are not "planted" photos, they're real, and the plants are real too.
Throughout the house, the plants are real except for a few, select locations.
This is the grand piano in the Tapestry Room, and boy is it ever grand!

The staircase that goes up about five stories. Note the "window" area on the left. It's really a door.
And all around the outside there's a little stairway that follows the same pathway.
I would imagine this might be for staff, so they wouldn't encounter the inhabitants or guests unwittingly.
Or it also might be for those in the home who wanted a breath of fresh air.

A portrait of the man hired to design the landscaping on the grounds, no small task.
It made me feel so good that he was so appreciated that his portrait is hung in the home.
I bet he loved his job.

Ah, so this is a wedding chest. The ornately framed mirror goes with it
and the inside of the chest is painted as well as the ends.
How special is it that the union of two lovers could be so celebrated and blessed?

I will do another post to continue the tour through the beautiful Biltmore. Tune in cause I can't reveal the dream we discovered until after the tour! : )

Magic Mystery Roadtrip Revelation Number 8 - Wow there've been some BIG SPIRITS on this planet, able to create, sustain, and uplift whole communities around them for generations. We're all given the same 24 hours in a day. How do we reach this power to empower? Empowerment is GOOD.