Asheville - Day Two

This morning, Nancy and I realized that we'd made a horrible mistake.  We did not allow for enough time in Asheville!  There is so much to see and do here, plus we've barely been in our cool loft.  It would be so nice to spend a week here, and not feel as though we had to cram in everything in three days!

I slept in until 8 a.m. today.  By the time I wandered to the side of the loft with the big windows, sunshine was streaming in, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue.

We decided to take this bumper sticker to heart, quickly getting ready and heading out the door in search of breakfast.

 We walked a block or so, and ended up at the Green Sage.  Their French toast was great, and the fresh orange juice even better.

 Yesterday, a woman in a yarn store told us about the Screen Door, so we tracked it down.  Not too far away, it consists of some very creative yard art, antiques, and local art.  Asheville is a mecca for fiber arts, pottery, and the like.  There was a little something for everyone here.

 We ran into this cute little Dachshund, whom we'd met the other night at the champagne bar/bookstore.  Today, it was apparently shopping for antiques...

 Here's a chair that exemplifies what Nancy and I are feeling about leaving for Charlotte tomorrow to attend our kickoff meeting for work.

 I found this lamp with a porcelain pup base.  The dog has a smirk like Rose's.

We next drove to the Biltmore, where we found that we couldn't get in until 4:30 pm.  So, we bought tickets for Sunday morning at 9 a.m., and our plan is to go before driving back to Charlotte in the afternoon.  Since we couldn't manage that today, Nancy found the River Arts District.  On one side were these interesting houses on stilts.  The French Broad River runs below them, and to the right are warehouses with art studios.

We wandered around one large building, but found that many artists were sleeping in on Saturday.  We did find this attractive, truthful mirror.

 That inspired me to take some artsy photographs.  Here's my self-portrait, and one of Nancy.

We next went back to the historic downtown area, and walked around some more.  Lots of musicians were out, and the area was a lot more crowded than yesterday.

 We had lunch, and then I had a 3:30 appointment here for a facial.  It was relaxing!  While I facialized, Nancy shopped.

 We met up afterwards, and drove around the Montford Historic district.

 We worked up an appetite, and returned to our loft for chocolates, which we'd purchased earlier in the day.  They were excellent!

For dinner, we ate at the highly recommended Tupelo Honey Cafe, just down the street.  It supposedly does a take on traditional Southern comfort food, giving it a new twist.  We were both very unimpressed.  The sweet tea was pathetic, the biscuits were nothing like mine, and Nancy swears she makes better mac and cheese.  Quel disappointment.  I think perhaps Van Morrison should consider suing, as I know he wouldn't want to be associated with such an establishment.

Mediocre food notwithstanding, we are both VERY sorry to be checking out of our lovely loft in the morning.  Time to go pack.  Boo hoo.....I'll check in with you tomorrow evening to let you know all about the Biltmore.  Night night.