After I did a lecture and workshop for the Western North Carolina Quilt Guild a few weeks ago I was planning on flying right back home. I told Joe that people kept telling me how nice it is in Asheville and that there was a lot to do. I said I wished I had planned an extra day or two in the area. So, I extended my stay because Joe decided to fly down and meet me in Asheville. And am I glad he did. We had a fabulous two days in Asheville.
We started Friday evening by going to a restaurant that was just a couple of steps from our hotel. The name of the restaurant is Rezaz. The meal we had rates as one of the best I have ever eaten and the service was top notch. Check out there menu at http://www.rezaz.com/ If you are ever in the area and want to treat yourself to a nice dinner this is the place to go.
Saturday morning Joe planned for us to have a private tour of the Biltmore. George Vanderbilt III opened his estate on Christmas Eve in 1895 to family and friends. For six years prior to this an army of artisans had labored to construct this palatial estate. George traveled to Europe and had his architect travel with him to see what he had in mind. The estate has 250 rooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, 3 kitchens and an indoor swimming pool. The original property was 125,000 acres. There is no photography allowed in the mansion so you have to plan a trip for yourself to see the phenomenal interior. And it is truly phenomenal. When we were there the house was decorated for Christmas which made it even more special. I kept thinking how much my dad would have loved all of the animal mounts on the walls…deer, moose, etc. http://www.biltmore.com/
The view from the house was very impressive and it is no wonder that George Vanderbilt selected this location. This is the view from the back balcony.
The next two photos were taken from a roof area directly in front of the estate. What a view.
I am constantly in awe of the things I get to see. If you have never been to the Biltmore you should plan a trip now.
One of the other things going on in Asheville was the National Gingerbread House competition. It appeared to have two main categories, adult and youth. Here are some of the houses.
This one of course was my favorite because of the sewing machine, buttons, threads, etc. It amazes me that people can make something like this from basic ingredients that we all have in our kitchen.
The shoe/house below was the Best of Show winner. It was displayed in a special glassed-in case that slowly turned.
On the two days we were in Asheville we went to the same restaurant for lunch. That has to tell you something if we went back. The name of the restaurant was the Laughing Seed. It is a vegetarian restaurant and the food was very reasonably priced and excellent. If I ever return to the area I will be returning to the Laughing Seed http://laughingseed.jackofthewood.com/
I think one of the best things in Asheville was all the local artisans. There were lots of places to see and purchase art and I loved it. One of the places we went to was the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were many other places that we stopped to check out the incredible array of art. It was a feast for the eyes. And yes, I did make a few purchases. The photo below was taken while inside the Folk Art Center. While we were there they had a small quilt exhibit but there was no photography allowed in the quilt exhibit.
My next blog I’ll be back to share more quilts from the International Quilt Festival. Until then……