ASHEVILLE, NC - 3 nights with 3 girls I went to high school with - we had a blast! Although the 4 of us attended the same school, we don't remember each other that well (if at all) BUT after a year of getting to know each other on Facebook, we had a remarkable number of things in common. One is that we all love the colors of Fall. Marjie and Liz both live in South Carolina and Annette lives in Florida, so they were all craving a few days in the midst of Fall colors and falling leaves. ASHEVILLE was the perfect location.
One morning we took a drive along the BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY and stopped to enjoy a waterfall and also a slip-slide rock location that actually entertains up to 2,000 visitors each day in the warm weather! Thankfully there was no one there when we were, so we could enjoy the solitude of nature.
We totally enjoyed A Walking Food Tour in Asheville with "EATING ASHEVILLE" - Hank was our guide and what a great source of information he was! He shared a little information about Asheville's history and how it's become a wonderful city for those who love farm-to-table restaurants and organic foods.
We started the tour with a glass of Champagne and appetizers in BATTERY PARK BOOK EXCHANGE CHAMPAGNE BAR (don't you love this place??).
Every single restaurant Hank took us to was out-of-this world DELICIOUS! Way more food than one person can eat in an afternoon, but we all did our best to try everything.
How about a few GOURMET POTATO CHIPS? They ship all over, if you're looking for a creative gift sometime.
And there's no better way to end a 2.5 hour walking tour than with a taste of CHOCOLATE, right?! Imagine a young couple taking off from the Midwest in their 20's for Costa Rica in a converted school bus. They bought an abandoned cacao farm and started their career with chocolate. They moved back to the USA - landed in Asheville - opened a little chocolate shop (living upstairs) - they ordered their chocolate directly from friends in Costa Rica - made a little money and eventually opened a factory to make the chocolate themselves in Asheville. I LOVE a success story and I LOVE CHOCOLATE.
The truffle sample we tasted was filled with a milk chocolate ganache, flavored with honey and lavender. Yummmm!
While Margie and Annette took to the woods for a hike (Egads!), Liz and I headed to the RIVER ARTS DISTRICT to enjoy the talent that this area is known for. We could have stayed there for days!
FALL - APPLES - Find crisp, fresh apples was one of the itinerary items and how about a HARD CIDER TASTING? I've been prone to enjoy a number of Wine Tastings, but never even knew about Cider Tastings....... A tray of 4 small glasses. Found out it's not my cup of tea, but it was fun to experience it.
We ended our trip with wine on the Terrace of THE GROVE PARK INN. The colors were spectacular and we received white glove treatment from one of the GREETERS.
I highly recommend a few days in ASHEVILLE, if you ever get the chance. Plenty to do and see!!!
Joan
It was a grand time reconnecting or connecting for the first time(in person) with former classmates. FaceBook can be a positive means of communication. The colors of the trees were gorgeous. The conversation interesting, the friendships, priceless. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteThe photos bring it all back don't they? What a great time we had. I love the last photo - what an extraordinary array of colors, right? I feel like I am back there with you, Liz and Annette laughing and sharing. Thanks again for allowing me crash the party.
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