Asheville, NC... Part 1

Last weekend, April 3 and 4, my lovely girlfriend and I decided to make the four hour drive to Asheville, NC. We have season passes to the Biltmore Estate and wanted to visit it (for the second time). We also wanted to explore downtown Asheville, since we had heard good things about it but didn't have the opportunity to get down there the last time we went to the Biltmore.

We got into Asheville about 11 on Saturday and quickly got into the Estate. If you haven't been there, once you go into the "Estate" you have to actually travel several miles down the "driveway" to reach the actual house. Once there, the house is... well, beyond words. It is the single largest private residence ever built in the U.S. There are four floors in the house, as well as a basement that is as large as the entire house. The total square footage is over 175,000. In other words... this place is really freakin' big. This picture at left is from our first trip there back in November.

Being season pass holders, we were able to immediately get into the house, for "free". Unfortunately there are no cameras allowed inside the house, so I can't show you just how awesome it really is. George Vanderbilt built the estate in the late 1800s. Today it is still owned by his 86 year old grandson. If you aren't familiar with the estate I recommend you read up on it here.

After leaving the house we drove another few miles across the estate to its newest addition, titled "Antler Hill Village". It was built between the estate's winery and working farm. We were able to do free wine tasting before proceeding down the hill to the actual village. Here you can tour the winery, or several shops and eateries. From there, a short walk up another hill leads to the old farm area. It was here the estate's horses were kept. Today you can view the original barn, see a real blacksmith performing demonstrations, visit a petting zoo, etc. We had a great time, and I would recommend to anyone, but especially families.

Before leaving we checked prices at the Biltmore Hotel. With prices starting at over $300 per night (!) we decided it was just a bit out of our price range.

Leaving the estate we decided to try out downtown Asheville. First, let me say that if you ever get to Asheville and need some info on the area, check out the visitor center. It was extremely modern (including free wifi) and gave us a lot of ideas on places to stay. In fact, it led us to the awesome bed and breakfast we eventually stayed for the night. Neither Amanda nor I had ever stayed in a B&B, so we really didn't no what to expect. And most are pretty pricey. We were lucky to be checking into the Wright Inn about 3:00 in the afternoon, and with only one room left, the owner gave us a reduced rate. It turned out to be a price that was comparable to most boring, "pillbox" hotels. I will say that after staying in an awesome old house like this, I never want to stay in a conventional hotel again.

After checking in we headed to downtown Asheville. Living in Chattanooga, I thought our downtown area was pretty cool. While Asheville is smaller than 'Nooga, the central business district has a lot more to choose from when it comes to dining options. There are a ton of local restaurants. Amanda was in the mood for Mediterranean food. I was apprehensive at first, but we eventually decided on a place called the Jerusalem Garden Cafe. I was impressed. My food wasn't exactly 100% Mediterranean - I had a crab-covered filet with smashed potatoes - but I loved the atmosphere (which included belly dancing!). Amanda loved it as well. I think we concluded that it was certainly worth 4 stars out of 5.

So after an exciting first day in Asheville we were pretty tired. We headed back to our incredibly comfortable room and crashed for the night. We had a great night of sleep and woke up on Easter Sunday ready for a great second day, of which I'll write about soon.

If you're interested in seeing my entire photo album of Day 1, check out my photo sets on either Flickr or Facebook.