We had the best time in Asheville for
my birthday getaway last weekend! Before I tell you all about it, I have a
confession to make... we did not visit the Biltmore, nor did we do a food or
brewery tour, despite all of our friends who recommended that we do. So why
didn’t we take any of this great advice? Well because even though I’m a super
type-A, planner, “to do list” person, sometimes it just feels good not to have a plan (trust me, this
shocked Max as much as it did me). There’s something special about just
wandering around and discovering a new place for yourself and that’s exactly
what we did. We had a wonderful time and ended up discovering some of the best
of Asheville!
We arrived at our adorable Airbnb,
right outside of downtown Asheville, Friday afternoon and it was even more
charming than the photos (check it out here). We headed downtown, parked the
car on a random street, and got out to walk around and explore. We browsed a
few shops, stopped by the adorable double-decker bus - Double D's, and then discovered Wicked Weed Brewing Co. We grabbed a spot under the heaters on their downstairs
patio and introduced my mom to sour beer - she loved it!. After a few rounds, we
decided to check out Curate - a Spanish inspired tapas restaurant and one of
the most highly recommended restaurants in Asheville. It did not disappoint!
I’m still dreaming of the piquillo peppers stuffed w/ spanish goat cheese.
Saturday morning, we celebrated my
birthday with pedifores for breakfast and then set out for the River Arts
district. We wandered in and out of studios and galleries and discovered SunnySide Trading Company and their beautiful textiles! We stopped in Pink DogCreative - Studio A where we met Andrea and chatted about her incredible Ukrainian pysanky eggs, stumbled upon a glass blowing class
(which I still can’t wrap my brain around) and ended our art
tour at the Wedge Brewing Co. We grabbed some local brews and stopped by the ElKimchi food truck for an order of bahn mi, dumplings, and a spicy burrito, and
found us a picnic table in the sun. What’s better than local beer and Korean
Mexican street food on a beautiful day outside in Asheville?
Sunday, we celebrated my mom’s birthday with brunch at
Meyfel's and it felt like we we’re in NOLA! Eggs benedict and a fresh squeezed mimosa
was just what we needed to start out our day. We had every intention of heading
to the Biltmore but we decided there were a few other things we’d rather do and
see on our last day in Asheville so we hoped in the car and set out to explore
the local neighborhoods. We drove through Lakeview Park, Montford, and the
Biltmore Village and then headed back to our airbnb where we sat outside in the
70-degree sunshine, playing games and enjoying some laughs. That evening we
headed to the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar where we tried out a
few of their specialty champagne cocktails, while others gathered for book
clubs and date nights. This place was so unique, it’s an absolute must see! We
quizzed the waiter on nearby birthday-dinner worthy restaurants to wrap up our
trip and ended up at Modesto, a small intimate Italian restaurant that was just
what we’d been dreaming of. Their wild mushroom pasta was absolutely
incredible!
We ate and drank our way through Asheville and enjoyed
every minute of it! Max and I hope to make another trip back to explore the trails
and a few other hot spots we didn’t get to see our first go around. Thank you Asheville for all the
hospitality, it was a birthday weekend to remember!
