Asheville

Great town with plenty of restaurants and bars. Very close to mountains and obviously The Biltmore. A hub for kayaking and mountain biking enthusiasts!

I wasn’t able to spend a whole lot of time there, as I was trying to get to Winston-Salem as soon as possible to move into my apartment at Wake Forest. However, I was impressed with the quaint-ness and beauty of this little North Carolina mountain town. It’s definitely a place I would like to come back to, to visit and explore a little more. Though I was able to check out the Biltmore, I wasn’t able to explore as much as I would have liked to. Definitely a place worth visiting and taking the time to explore.

It’s technically in Swannanoa… But! I love the mountains, the farms, cute little shops. I loved to eat at Doc Cheys, and the Noodle Shop. Hiking is also great, and every morning is a great opportunity to take photographs of the sun rising over the mountains. The Biltmore Estate is super pricey, so I didn’t go. But I think it’s ok, there’s plenty to do besides that!

Oh! It’s especially great for vegetarians. Many of the restaurants specialize in vegan/veggie food.

Mela is an Indian Restaurant. They have fantastic food, but it can take a while. And it’s usually busy and noisy.

I got a chance to visit Asheville in September 2007 for a writing gathering. It was really fun looking at the Biltmore Estates and hanging out with very cool people :)

Wandered around in and out of shops downtown. It is a sweet little town with many photo ops for tourists and lots of plaques mentioning local lore such as the fact that O Henri lived there for a while as did Elisabeth Blackwell, the first woman awarded a medical degree in the United States (1849).

The architecture is varied and interesting. City Hall has a terra cotta tiled octagonal roof and the Grove Arcade is a once public market, now mini mall with shops and restaurants.

There seems to be a fairly large homeless element. There were also lots of street performers including a troupe of people celebrating May Day a little early with Morris dancing.