Fun in Asheville, North Carolina

At the end of February a group of us all hit the road and went up to Asheville, NC for the weekend to get away and to celebrate Rachel’s birthday.  Asheville is just such a cute little town. I’ve been to the Biltmore hundreds of times now and always meander around Biltmore Village, but I don’t venture into downtown Asheville all that often. There are so many cute shops, restaurants and such all within easy walking distance. Okay, it is all close… but there are a few up and down hills… so it may not be the easiest if you are in heels. Plus, the people watching is a blast!

For the last time, I didn’t text you! Vodka Did!

Lodging

We all stayed at the Marriott Courtyard on Buckstone Place, which was about a five minute drive from downtown. It was a nice hotel, good location and had recently been redone. It had a nice pool and a really pretty outdoor fire pit that was perfect to sit out at and enjoy the mountain air. The beds were not the most comfortable and I needed about 5 pillows to get comfortable, but other than that the rooms were nice. The front desk staff had some struggles… it seemed like only one person could do anything, which made it hard to check out or get answers to questions. Maybe they were just overwhelmed. Overall, good location and not a bad hotel.

Marriott Courtyard Asheville

Lauren and Rach chilling at the Marriott Courtyard Asheville Firepit

Food

Lunch: Tupelo Honey. I’ve eaten at three different locations (Greenville, SC; Knoxville, TN; and Asheville) and Asheville is the original location. There was about an hour wait for a table at 11:30 on a Saturday… but the restaurant is tiny with great food, so this was not a surprise. I usually get the Charleston Turkey Sandwich, SO GOOD! Their biscuits and blueberry jam are to due for… and I have a jar of the jam in my refrigerator right now. Two thumbs up for any thing from this place!

Charleston Chicken Sandwich at Tupelo Honey

Rach and Gail playing on their phones while we wait for our table at Tupelo Honey in Asheville

Indulgence: The Chocolate Fetish. A yummy chocolate shop with handmade artisan chocolates. SO GOOD! I had some amazing chocolate hazelnut truffles and caramel and pecan frogs. I will definitely stop here again the next time I go to Asheville. http://chocolatefetish.com

Chocolate Fetish in Asheville, NC

Dinner: Olive or Twist. Oh, I was so excited about this place and then just totally disappointed. From the outside this place looked fabulous. The menu had a wide variety that would work with the picky eaters in our group (looking at you Gail) and the decor and location were adorable. I mean really, this place was perfect from the outside. Sadly, it was terrible. They were just completely and totally understaffed and unprepared to be open. I don’t even blame our server… he tried so hard. But there is only so much you can do when you are one of two servers and you are also acting as bartender and bus boy. They were soooo slow. Then, there were out of: OJ (so no OJ and Malibu), coffee, and something else. How do you run out of coffee? Just bad management. Then, my food was awful. They brought my cesar salad out with tomato on it… never had that before. Overall, just bad experience. I will not eat there again if I am in the area and wouldn’t recommend it.

Awful meal at Olive or Twist

Great friends at Olive or Twist

Dessert:Creperie Bouchon. Oh my, this was so good. This creperie is a little hole in the wall that you have to work to find, but it is so worth it. I had a fabulous nutella and fruit crepe for dessert and was in heaven for the rest of the night. It is tucked away little place on Lexington Ave, but was AMAZING! http://www.creperiebouchon.com

Amazing Nutella and fruit crepe at Creperie Bouchon in Asheville, NC

Shopping

If you know me, you know I love to shop. Asheville did not disappoint!

L.O.F.T.: Not to be confused with Ann Taylor LOFT (which is one of my faves). This place is an eclectic mix of this and that… and we all had a blast here! Granted, they did have this parrot there that scared the crap out of me. Other than that- totally fun place!  http://www.loftofasheville.com/

Shopping at L.O.F.T. in Asheville. NC

Mast General. Okay, we’d all been to this place in various locations… but it is still fun! All sorts of candy they I haven’t seen since I was a kid, and outdoor stuff and fun shirts. Love this place! http://www.mastgeneralstore.com/

Biltmore Village. This is near Biltmore, not downtown, but is a cute area for shopping and it is all compact and not at all hilly. They have some chain stores like J Crew, but they also had some cute little boutiques, plus a Lily Pulitzer store!

So, we spent most of Saturday afternoon walking around and shopping in all these little downtown stores… I just can’t remember them all! Just give yourself time to explore when you are there!

Asheville was a fun weekend away with friends. It was also a bonus that I got a night in G-vegas with Gail’s sweet little family and got some time with sweet Bimmer! Can’t wait for the next weekend away with friends!

Getting hugs from sweet Bimmer!