All right, so some of you asked for some details and pics from my recent trip to Asheville, NC and I FINALLY am able to deliver! I've included some of my favorite pics in this thread, with links to the rest of that particular photo album directly underneath the pics. So, if you want to see more of anything, there's a bunch more if you just follow the links! We got some really GREAT pics!! Oh, and Kellye, I've highlighted the places we ate at so they'll be easier to find. Let me know which ones you've been to yourself!
Brendan and I were so happy to arrive in Asheville and very eager to check out the bed and breakfast we'd be staying in! We stayed in a place called A Bed of Roses and it was AMAZING! The innkeepers were great and the place itself was beautiful!!!
Each morning we had delicious 2-course gourmet breakfasts (sometimes including baked grapefruits, omlets, peach crisp, spiced eggs, belgian waffles, and a whole bunch more) complete with fresh squeezed juice and hot tea. Our room was outfitted for a nice romantic stay including a gift certificate to a local restaurant for $65 and two tickets to the Biltmore Estate!!!!!!! I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay!
More pics of the inside and out of the bed and breakfast!
That first evening we walked into downtown (only about 5 blocks away) and checked out the area. We decided to eat at a pizza place that Brendan had been to before when he used to go to a camp just outside of Asheville, The Mellow Mushroom, and it was totally delicious! I had mine with onions, roasted red peppers, and chicken!!
The day after we got there was our 3 year anniversary (
) and so we decided it would be a great day to use our Biltmore tickets. Let me tell you...WOW! That place is INCREDIBLE! It truly takes your breath away when you first see it from the vista. Brendan got some beautiful pics on his camera, but you're not allowed to take any of the inside so regretfully we have none of those. This place is so spectacular and awe inspiring though, we felt content just having pics of the outside! We spent a whole day checking out the estate, grounds, and winery! I had a great time participating in a wine tasting
!! Everything about that place was beautiful and even now thinking about it I can't begin to fathom the enormity of such a place. While there we ate at their bistro located next to the winery. Very good food!
More incredible pics of the Biltmore Estate and winery!!
As part of our trip to the Biltmore, we spent a good hour or two exploring their gardens and conservatory! We got so many beautiful shots of flowers that I felt the need to make a whole different album just for the many garden pics. If you love flowers, you'll love looking through this album. There were truly some beautiful plants out there, not to mention a very good pic of a robin taken by Brendan.
Some really spectacular shots at the Biltmore gardens and conservatory!
That night we used our gift certificate for a delicious anniversary meal at the La Caterina Trottoria (not sure how that last word is spelled).
The following day we headed out to Fordbrook Stables where we went horseback riding wayyyyyy up a mountainside. I've ridden horses many times but never with a view like this! It was spectacular! What an amazing feeling to be so far up a mountain on a horse, looking out at a distant view of downtown Asheville. Another great view we had was a distant view of the Biltmore. It was incredible! It was also a lot of fun because it was Brendan's first time on a horse. He was so cute and did a fantastic job of it. It was incredibly relaxing and invigorating at the same time. It smelled amazing way up there.
Some nice pics of the view and more shots of the horses!
The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent wandering downtown doing some shopping and just really relaxing. Brendan bought me the funkiest lamp while we were there at a store called L.O.F.T. (Lost Objects Found Treasures) that I just adore! I wish I had a pic of that as well as it's kind of hard to describe. I'll just settle on describing it as a definite conversation starter though! Just the kind of random piece I like to include in a living room!
For lunch that day we ate a great place called the Early Girl Eatery that had some of the best homemade lemonade I've had in a while! We wandered for quite a while, checking out every store we felt like, listening to some hippies play their fiddles on the street corner, and pretty much just checking out the vast number of hippies all over the place!!!
I've never before seen so many hippies in such a short period of time! It was really interesting. Later on that night we decided to walk on up Montford and enjoy a yummy ice cream from Sweet Heaven (I think is what it was called).
We really had a great time all together and couldn't have asked for a better little getaway! I adored Asheville and can now see why Brendan has always been so enamored of it. It's a beautiful place to just relax and explore. I hope I didn't bore anyone too much. Thanks for looking.
Brendan and I were so happy to arrive in Asheville and very eager to check out the bed and breakfast we'd be staying in! We stayed in a place called A Bed of Roses and it was AMAZING! The innkeepers were great and the place itself was beautiful!!!
More pics of the inside and out of the bed and breakfast!
That first evening we walked into downtown (only about 5 blocks away) and checked out the area. We decided to eat at a pizza place that Brendan had been to before when he used to go to a camp just outside of Asheville, The Mellow Mushroom, and it was totally delicious! I had mine with onions, roasted red peppers, and chicken!!
The day after we got there was our 3 year anniversary (
More incredible pics of the Biltmore Estate and winery!!
As part of our trip to the Biltmore, we spent a good hour or two exploring their gardens and conservatory! We got so many beautiful shots of flowers that I felt the need to make a whole different album just for the many garden pics. If you love flowers, you'll love looking through this album. There were truly some beautiful plants out there, not to mention a very good pic of a robin taken by Brendan.
Some really spectacular shots at the Biltmore gardens and conservatory!
That night we used our gift certificate for a delicious anniversary meal at the La Caterina Trottoria (not sure how that last word is spelled).
The following day we headed out to Fordbrook Stables where we went horseback riding wayyyyyy up a mountainside. I've ridden horses many times but never with a view like this! It was spectacular! What an amazing feeling to be so far up a mountain on a horse, looking out at a distant view of downtown Asheville. Another great view we had was a distant view of the Biltmore. It was incredible! It was also a lot of fun because it was Brendan's first time on a horse. He was so cute and did a fantastic job of it. It was incredibly relaxing and invigorating at the same time. It smelled amazing way up there.
Some nice pics of the view and more shots of the horses!
The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent wandering downtown doing some shopping and just really relaxing. Brendan bought me the funkiest lamp while we were there at a store called L.O.F.T. (Lost Objects Found Treasures) that I just adore! I wish I had a pic of that as well as it's kind of hard to describe. I'll just settle on describing it as a definite conversation starter though! Just the kind of random piece I like to include in a living room!
We really had a great time all together and couldn't have asked for a better little getaway! I adored Asheville and can now see why Brendan has always been so enamored of it. It's a beautiful place to just relax and explore. I hope I didn't bore anyone too much. Thanks for looking.
