Made a road trip up to Asheville this past weekend just to see what it was all about. I hear a lot about what a cool place Asheville is, so we made a weekend road trip out of it.
We stayed at the Carolina Bed and Breakfast, just a short way out of the downtown Asheville area. I had never stayed at a B&B before, but after this weekend I think it’s now my new favourite type of accommodation. It’s not like a hotel where you check in, maybe have the occasional awkward elevator ride with other guests and other wise never see anybody else. Staying at a B&B becomes a very social thing. I think it has to do with the fact that it’s like staying at a friend’s house. You get to meet and talk with the other guests over breakfast, or socialize while hanging out in the living room. It’s just a lot of fun. Breakfast was really really good too. B&B’s are definitely the way to go I think. Sure, it can be a little more expensive, but it’s a nice comfy, homey and fun way to stay. If you’re headed to Asheville, I highly recommend Carolina B&B. It’s a great place to stay.
Spent the first day in Asheville visiting the Biltmore Estate, which was only a short drive from where we were staying. We started off the day driving to an area called Deerpark, where the trail and carriage rides were based. We managed to get lucky and had the whole 11AM carriage ride to ourselves. It made the ride a whole lot of fun and much more enjoyable. The carriage ride takes you along a trail that winds through the woods, and finally to an area just behind the Biltmore House where you can see it the back of the house. It was a pretty awesome ride.
After the carriage ride it was off to the River Bend Farm and Winery. At the winery, you can go on a self guided tour to learn about the wine making process at the Biltmore. Grapes are harvested from the vineyards on the estate and then shipped off to another nearby facility to be turned into wine. After the tour is the wine tasting, where you can sample the Biltmore’s wine offerings and figure out which ones are your favourites. Then it’s into the wine shop where you can purchase said wines if you like.
Next door over at the farm, you can get in and pet the animals and see a little bit of what early 20th century life on the estate might have been like. You can also wander through the gardens and see what kinds of vegetables and herbs are grown to support the farm.
Afterwards, it was off to the house to wander through the extensive gardens.
Unfortunately the battery in my camera died so I didn’t get any photos from our garden wanderings. I did get some photos of the stunning views out the back of Biltmore House though.
The next day we went back and did the tour inside the house. No photography allowed in the house though, which is kind of a bummer. Check out the rest of my Biltmore photos in the gallery.
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Sounds like a great weekend! I love Asheville but it’s been a long time since I’ve been to the Biltmore.