Adventures in Asheville: Noms

I expected it to be a very old fashioned, traditional Southern town, but Asheville actually has a really cool and quirky dining scene...which we took full advantage of.

Nine Mile, a restaurant that features Caribbean-inspired dishes, is one of the leaders in Asheville's locavore and organic movements. We were lucky enough to be staying within walking distance.

And, of course, we washed down our spicy and delicious entrees with some refreshing craft beer.

We also tried the Tupelo Honey Café. This restaurant features "new South" cuisine, and they take pride in their fresh farm-to-table dishes. We had been looking forward to eating at this restaurant throughout our stay, but unfortunately, we got hungry right around the same time that the NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship game came on TV! Luckily, the Tupelo Honey Café does to go orders!

We ordered a lot; this way, we could try a little of everything and have leftovers for the drive home!

We finished up our honeymoon with full bellies and the game on in the background, as we looked through all of the Facebook photos that our friends and family had uploaded from our wedding.

What's your favorite local eatery in your neck of the woods?

Adventures in Asheville: Biltmore

I usually try to avoid crowds while on vacation, which usually leads me to more "off the beaten path" destinations, rather than touristy areas. However, when in Asheville, I simply had to do as the Romans do and hit up Biltmore.

Of course, guests aren't allowed to photograph inside the mansion, but I was able to snap a few shots outside!

The last time I went to Biltmore, I was eight years old. I remember thinking it was really big and really pretty, but that's about it. This time around, I was able to appreciate it a lot more. Most of this was due to the fact that now I'm old enough to drink, as evidenced by our visit to the pub...

...followed by our visit to the winery...

...followed by some serious goofing off in the gift shops.

Note: that last photo is much more entertaining if you watched the same Christmas specials that I did growing up.

Opulence: Mr. Lion has it.

Have any of you ever been to Biltmore before? What was your favorite part?

Adventures in Asheville: The Black Walnut Inn

Hive, we've now talked about all of the Lioness wedding plans. I've shared every pre-wedding event with you. I've told you about the details surrounding the moments before the big day, as well as the morning after. We have just one more topic to discuss before we dive into recaps: the honeymoon!

Mr. Lion and I had grand plans to travel abroad to Bavarian Europe for our honeymoon. Once we decided on our wedding budget (most of which we paid for ourselves), those plans quickly got pushed to our 1-year anniversary. Once we decided to buy a house, those plans quickly got pushed to our 2-year anniversary. But we are going to the Alps in 2013 and that's final! Anyway, we opted for a brief, nearby, low-key honeymoon instead. We debated between Charleston, Asheville, and Savannah, then we finally decided on Asheville because that's the one we pulled out of the hat through careful scientific deliberation.

We decided to stay at The Black Walnut Inn, a quaint yet comfortable bed and breakfast. Why did we choose this B&B? Well, the main reason was that it was pet-friendly.

Yep. Those are the organic doggie treats that came with our room. Lion Corgi was psyched!

It was also absolutely gorgeous.

The B&B had several suites in the main house, but our cottage was separate and secluded.

Best of all, the food was incredible. Every day, the owners served up their own creations for breakfast and for tea time. Tea time was actually much more of a wine and cheese event, which was much more my...cup of tea? (I apologize.)

Have any of you ever have a menu and a pet policy dictate your honeymoon travel plans?

Getting Two Vacations Out of One Event

Mr. Lion and I really wanted to go to the Alps for our honeymoon, but it just wasn't in the cards this year.  After graduating from grad school and law school, starting our first grown-up jobs, and paying for most of our wedding, there was no way we could afford the trip, or the time off for such a long trip.  We decided to put it off, but for how long?  Going to Europe during the summer can be really expensive because it's tourist season.  Munich during the fall would be really crowded due to Oktoberfest, and there was no way Mr. Lion was going anywhere colder than Atlanta during the winter.  So, we decided to go next spring, for our one year anniversary.

We solved that problem, but we still didn't have a clue as to what we were doing for our honeymoon.  Then it hit us: why don't we just do a second, smaller trip?  Lots of Bees have blogged about the concept of a Minimoon, and we decided to jump on that bandwagon.

We wanted to go somewhere within driving distance, so we narrowed it down to Savannah, Charleston, and Asheville.  Savannah and Charleston, though both awesome destinations, are beach towns.  Mr. Lion and I are both Floridians, so we wanted to try to avoid sealevel and try something a little different.  Thus, we decided on Asheville.

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We started shopping around for bed and breakfast inns.  You'd think we'd prioritize logical things like location and price, but no.  We looked at two factors: food, and whether or not it was pet-friendly.  What!  How cute would it be to bring Lion Corgi hiking with us?

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Granted, those are probably the Rockies and that is not our dog; but I imagine it would look something like that.

We decided on the Black Walnut Inn.  The menu looked delicious, and they had pet-friendly cottages.  Look how pretty!

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We're spending our wedding night here in Atlanta, then we're going to drive to North Carolina and spend two more nights at the B&B before returning to work.  I'm glad we get to take a small vacation, but it doesn't leave a lot of time to explore!  We found a great food tour and a brewery tour that sounded like fun, but neither are offered on the days we plan to be there.  We could always do Biltmore...

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...but we'll probably just spend our short vacation enjoying the Blue Ridge mountains during beautiful springtime!

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Do any of you have any fabulous Asheville recommendations for us?