Bill and I took the tour of the Biltmore Estate and had a wonderful time. We arrived at the house early, bought our tickets and signed up for two tours of the house. The Behind the Scenes tour, and a new one, the Rooftop tour. We took the Rooftop tour at 10:30 and were the only two on the tour with our guide Joe. He was a real character and we had a great time with him. We got out onto the ledges and balconies that are not ordinarily used and we saw the slate roof tiles, the copper flashing, and the dome over the grand staircase. In fact we stood on the dome! It was fun up there and we could see many things that were interesting. We were also able to get into the attic for a look at the roof from the inside and I was surprised to find only steel I-beams and angle iron as a framework to which the slate tiles were wired with copper wire. There was no planking or sheathing, only the slate.

    We enjoyed the Behind the Scenes tour as well, though I remembered most of it. The basement was probably the most enjoyable part for Bill.

    We then took the self-guided tour using the audio cassette tapes and that was fun.

    We went to the Winery and had some tastes then out of the Estate to the Richmond Hill Inn for dinner at Gabrielle's. What a dinner it was! Very good. Pianist, Christopher Leonard -- that Jared and wife, Rebecca, heard last fall -- was there again, and after dinner, we must have stayed in the lounge for another hour or more just listening to the good music. Mr. Leonard took several requests from us and we had a great time. We bought one of Mr. Leonard's CD's the next morning.

    We each had a cottage room and we slept very well, the best since beginning this adventure.