Exploring Asheville, N.C.

May 3

We  all gathered in the B & B's dining room at 9:00 a.m. for our second breakfast, which consisted of fresh fruit compote, lemon bread, orange juice, tea, and a farmers market frittata.

In lieu of a two day Biltmore pass we did some Asheville activities and sight seeing.   Angela left for home following breakfast, so we were down to our original foursome.

Linda, our excellent trip coordinator,  took us to the Grove Park Inn, a legendary hotel in Asheville, for the first place of interest.

From there we went antiquing in the Biltmore Antiques District... the first stop was at the Antique Tobacco Barn [which is literally a huge tobacco barn], then to Bryant Antiques up the road.  

We returned to Biltmore Village to visit their shops, and had lunch at  Chelseas Tea Room.  We were seated at the same table where we had Afternoon Tea two days earlier.   Below is a photo of a quaint nearby table for two.

I ordered a Muffalata Sandwich - yummy!  After lunch Linda drove downtown Asheville to the Tea & Spice Exchange.  After browsing through the Exchange we walked across the street to an old Woolworth's Dime Store building.  Woolworth's is no longer there [despite the original Woolworth signage on the front of the building], but the soda fountain was still there and open for business.  It was like stepping back in time with the chrome tables and chairs and tile floors.  [Linda's friend, Lynn, was the only one who took photos of our nostalgic visit.]   I got a hot fudge sundae, while the others got ice cream floats and ice cream cones. 

We walked around town, which was bustling with people and street musicians, then we returned to our Bed and Breakfast.  The owner recommended we walk to the neighborhood Jamaican restaurant a couple of blocks over.  It seemed strange in the middle of a residential area.  The place was booming with business - both inside and out, and was quite a contrast to the quiet Afternoon Tea atmosphere we had been experiencing.  ;-)

It was our last day in Asheville and we'd be leaving for Kentucky in the morning.  All good things must come to an end,  but one more tea room visit remained before  returning to Michigan.

To be continued...