Asheville Part Two

Ok so I will try to get past telling you about our lunch at Laughing Seed. It will be hard since it was so awesome! ;)

After lunch we walked around downtown...


Bele Chere was going on all weekend which made the streets packed with people and booths. We were there pretty early, which is when this pic was taken so you can't see how crowded it was.



Yay for puppies. We went behind the pool to see the dogs and there were kennels with plush bedding, a fan blowing and fresh water. Glad to see the dogs are being treated well.



Some art work. Not really sure what it is or why it is there. Cool looking though. I don't really understand abstract art. Hmmm...Wish I were more artsy fartsy like my sister and my mom.



This was the cutest street in downtown. I think LT said it was called Wall Street. It just so happens to be the street Laughing Seed is on.



It was a super hot day which we were a tiny bit bummed about. LT walked through the misters to cool off. I was too worried about having hair like Monica did on that episode of Friends.




Us! <3

We stopped by Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria to taste a couple local brews. I told the bartender I liked wheat beers so he picked out something for me that I have no clue what the name of it was.


Here's the bartender. LT asked if I would like him to grow a beard like that, I said, "sure, if we lived in the mountains."
Ha!

Here are some of the beers on tap.

On the way out I noticed Soy Cheese on the menu. I checked if the pizza crust was vegan, and it was!! We have dinner plans Sunday night!

After Bele Chere we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up for dinner. I didn't take any pictures of dinner at Zambra but it was a little tapas place with great ambiance. The food was really good and there were lots of choices, surprisingly.

Day 2
We headed out early to the Biltmore estate.

Look at the size of this house. 250 rooms in the house. We weren't allowed to take pics on the inside of the house. We listened to an audio tour, which was awesome because you could go as quickly or as slow as you wanted through the house. There was no AC since the house was built in 1895 but the windows were strategically placed where you almost always had a nice breeze and view of the mountains.


Me at the gardens.


LT at the gardens.

There were several gardens on the property. We only visited a couple and they were amazing. I can't imagine how much work goes into keeping up the gardens. For some strange reason, we didn't take any pics. I think we were in awe and didn't think about it.



Here we are after the wine tasting. We bought a glass of our favorite, Pinot Nior, to end our afternoon at the biltmore.

Sunday evening was nice an relaxing. We headed over to Barley's for some Pizza.

LT had the vegetarian pizza.

I had 2 slices of soy cheese, artichoke, sundried tomatoes and spinach. The crust was awesome!
After dinner...

Groves Park Hotel. I wish we could have stayed there. LT and I want to stay here next time and spend a day at the spa.

For some crazy reason, we decided to visit a local spot where people claim it's haunted.



You can't see it very well but it's a bridge up in the mountains where there is nothing around. No lights. No nothing. Click on the pic to see the bridge better.

Story is, a woman lost her daughter in a house fire so she came down to this bridge and hung her self. There are claims that she walks around in a long white dress asking people if they have seen her daughter. People also claim they have car problems when they park under the bridge, such as flickering lights and battery failure. Luckily we did not experience any of that but we did see some headlights appear out of nowhere and just as quickly disappear even though there were no streets to turn on. Weird!
I told LT that he needed to hurry up and get us out of there. LOL!

Day 3 - Last day. =(
Vacation was winding down and I was very sad.


We spent the morning walking the campus of LT's college, Montreat. It is a gorgeous place. All the buildings are super old with ton's of character. He is truly blessed to have had such an awesome college experience.

We went hiking up a local trail called the Lookout trail. This is us at the top of the mountain. We are very sweaty!



Here I am huffing and puffing after climbing up the trail at LT speed. I kept up and didn't even slow him down! (breaking my arm while I pat myself on the back)

I loved the hike. I loved the school. I loved Montreat and Black Mountain. I think I preferred this area over Asheville. The mountains are so beautiful!

After cleaning up and checking out of the hotel, we went to Rosetta's Kitchen. It's a close call between Laughing Seed and Rosetta's Kitchen. Both delish!

Ever tried vegan queso?? OMG... I was in heaven. I thought I would never get to eat queso again! Truly a sad story that I live so far away.

The veggie burger was very good.

But not as good as my mash potatoes and gravy. Seriously!?! Gravy? I have to figure out how to make that at home. Along side the potatoes (LOL) was grilled portabello and kale. Also very yummy!

I wanted the Peanut Butter Cake but I was way too full!

Reason to go back, very soon.

Well there are no more photos but basically that was the end. We are excited that this is a short work week and we are off to vacations #2 this weekend. We are going to the Florida Keys. I'll take lots of pics, I'm sure. I am a little bummed that the restaurant choices are pretty much seafood and burgers. I'm packing my trustee foods such as almond butter and apples, just in case there are no vegan friendly meals.

I'll post ya later. LOL. Seriously, I crack myself up. He he.