Girls' Weekend!

I have so very many things to post, but this week has been a blur! I think I will start with last weekend...

Issa, Mom, and I headed west Saturday morning to go to Biltmore. They are hosting the Downton exhibit, and we girls were very anxious to see it!

We arrived in time for a small bite of lunch, and every Biltmore weekends must start with bubbles:

After some charcuterie and hummus, we headed to the big Inn for high tea. None of us had ever been there, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The first course was scones, and we were so enthralled we forgot to take pictures. The second course was the tea sandwiches:

 Smoked salmon mouse on black shortbread, a beet and yogurt gelee, a traditional cucumber sandwich, chicken salad on a croissant crustini, and an asparagus and herb cheese tart. Issa was not a fan of the mouse or beet options, but we thoroughly enjoyed the course.

The third course was the most creative cheese course I have ever experienced:

 They called it "A Wish for Summer," and it looked like an upside down ice cream cone. The goat cheese was lovely and placed on a red wine reduction with pink pepper corns. The cone was dipped in cocoa nibs, and it was perfect once we figured out how to eat it. We had been advised to just break the cone and use it to scoop the cheese. For the record, that is much more difficult than it seems.

The final course was the dessert, and they did not disappoint:

 A fig tart, raspberry petit four, shortbread cookie, lemon pannacotta on a violet shortbread, and chocolate cheese cake.

Our sweet hostess spent most of tea gushing over our three generations ans snapped this picture:

 After tea, we went to part one of the Downton exhibit. The whole first part was an interactive display about the show and it's relationship with real history. We spent an hour opening drawers to see the artifacts and reading. It was so fun to see many of the letters that are referenced in the show written out, and we learned so much about the time period.

The second half were some of the actual sets from the show. Mr. Carson's butler's pantry was so fun:

 And Issa went nuts in the kitchen:

 But we all lost our minds over the servants' dining room, complete with the call bells:

 The final room was the family dining room, and we learned so much about the etiquette of the time:

 We ended our day at the Bistro for dinner. Just as we were finishing eating the fire alarm went off, which was hysterical. Nothing seemed to be amiss, and we were back at our table in about five minutes, but it will be a memory!

Sunday morning, we got up early to go see the house:

 We were one of the first people in, and the new audio guide features members of the family talking about how they unearthed the house's history and curators talking about how the maintain the collection. We actually got to see them refinishing some floors and restenciling a wall!

After lunch at Cedric's, we went to see the second half of the Downton exhibit, which was all costumes. The plaques talked not only about the show but also about the fashion of the times. We actually went through the exhibit twice!

Issa was so thrilled that Sybil's pantsuit was there:

 And we all loved seeing so many of the gowns up close:

 After some final shopping we headed home. It was a whirlwind trip, but I am so grateful for the time. We laughed so hard, and it was lovely to travel with Issa when she could really hang with the grown-ups.