April 28-30, 2017
My sister Casey and I have wanted to do a girls trip to Asheville for years. While she had been to the Biltmore, I had never been. We decided to plan a long weekend and who better than to join us than our Mom and Aunt Betty Carol.
We left on Friday morning for Asheville and upon arrival we stopped at the Asheville Visitor’s Center to get some information. This was also the first stop for the Grayline Trolley Tour, so we decided to do the hop on hop off trolley tour to learn about the city.
Later, we checked into our room The Renaissance Hotel which was within walking distance to many restaurants and shops. We ate dinner at The White Duck Taco Shop. The tacos were yummy and the sangria was delicious! We did some shopping and made sure we took the time to browse around the Mast General Store. We also went to the French Broad Chocolate Lounge for dessert which is definitely worth the wait in the line.
The next day we had breakfast at Early Girl Eatery. We used the hop on hop off trolley as transportation since our second day on the trolley was free. We got off at several stops including the Biltmore Village where we had lunch and margaritas at The Cantina .
That afternoon we decided to drive some of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We made a stop at the visitors center first to get a map and asked where we should stop along the parkway. One of the highlights was Slide Rock. It was a little too cold for us to try out the natural water slide but it was fun to watch others! We also stopped at Looking Glass Falls and got to take a few pictures before the rain started.
I can’t remember where we went to dinner, but I don’t remember it being anything spectacular. Of course we did walk back to French Broad Chocolate Lounge for dessert though!
The next morning we got an early start in order to get in line at The Biscuit Head. We were there early enough to get a table when they opened. We all tried the biscuits along with the jams and jellies bar. We also tried the bacon of the day which was watermelon which sounds wacky, but it was fantastic!
After breakfast, we visited the Biltmore. Completed in 1895, it is America’s largest home and was the home of George and Edith Vanderbilt. First, we walked through the beautiful gardens that were in bloom before going on a tour of the house. The home has over four acres of floor space including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool and bowling alley. The estate is located on 8,000 acres so there is plenty to do and see!
During our visit they had an exhibition entitled “Designed for Drama: Fashion from the Classics” which featured more than 40 award-winning movie costumes on display. These were accompanied by the original books in George Vanderbilt’s 22,000-volume library that inspired the films.
For lunch, we dined at the Stable Cafe where former horse stalls now contain dining tables. We had a delicious meal before going to the winery on the estate. There we sampled several of the wines and of course we didn’t go home empty handed!
We headed back home late Sunday afternoon but I think we would all agree it was a fun girls weekend!
So Many Places So Little Time 