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Hello, loves!
I can’t exactly claim to be an expert on the area, but I wanted to share what myself and my two besties got up to a little while ago. We took an extended weekend away with just a couple of set plans. We went with open minds to explore whatever popped up, and it turned out to be just what we needed! Enjoy my take on what to do (and eat) in Asheville, NC!

We started with an adventurous road trip from Raleigh, which took us about 5 hours with expected traffic. We took some realllllly windy, dark roads to get to our Airbnb. It wasn’t clearly marked and set far back off the main road up a gravel path. If you caught my stories, you’ll see it was actually quite scary! We settled in, shook off our nerves with a glass of wine, and went to sleep.

The next morning, and by that, I mean early afternoon because 3 girls and one bathroom has it’s drawbacks, we hit the ground running. Our first stop was the famed Biltmore Estate. I’m going to do my best to not overdo it on the imagery here, but it is truly stunning. See below for my tips on how to best experience it!

We were asked a couple times not to take pictures, hence the blurriness of some of these shots taken in haste!
Outfit details:
Tank / Abound from Nordstrom Rack // Skirt / Costco find // Sandals / Target // Necklace / Gigimey // Bag / Amazon (my lifesaver, LOVE this bag so much for travel! I also have it in blush and considering getting it in other colors.)

Tips for visiting the Biltmore Estate:
Wear comfy shoes
I can’t stress this one enough! All you’re doing is walking, there is limited seating, and there are also a LOT of stairs and uneven surfaces to tackle.
Plan your day around the visit
If you want to visit the gardens, tour the house, and sneak off for a meal or wine tasting, budget 6-8 hours for the trip.
Check out Costco
We ended up buying tickets from a local Costco that included a two-day pass AND wine tasting for under $70. That’s less than anything else we found online by half.
Don’t plan more than two outfits to shoot in summer
If you’re a blogger, or just wanting to take some cute pics for the gram, don’t overestimate how many looks you can fit in. In summer, it is sweltering with limited shaded areas and no AC inside the house, your face will be melting off within 30 minutes, and there aren’t that many areas for changing. Knock your cute pics out right away and then just enjoy the grounds.

We had a brewery tour at New Belgium scheduled for 4:30, so we skipped the wine tasting the first day and headed downtown. I have to say that it was the MOST fun I’ve had on a tour, and that’s not (just) due to the amount of free beer that they give out. Our tour guide, Glen, was SO funny and informative. There’s also a slide that everyone goes down to get to the lower level, which I tried very unsuccessfully to take a video of 😆 We sampled about 5 different beers throughout the hour-and-change tour, and got a great history of the brand. It actually encouraged me to seek out New Belgium beers from now on. We grabbed another round and sat on their outdoor benches to people watch, which also included a lot of dogs and babies, and to have a good old-fashioned girl talk.

Feeling understandably peckish after all that beer, we drove to downtown Asheville for dinner at Wicked Weed Brewpub, a popular eatery known for their beer and innovative menu. I had a very off-putting cold soup, followed by a tasty salad, and yes, more beer. I highly recommend the Lunatic, which is a Belgian Blonde. Very light and refreshing, and highly drinkable.. Are you sensing a theme?

The next morning, we slept in probably a bit later than we should have, and didn’t get on the road until almost noon. We drove up the incredibly scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, and did a little light hiking at the Nature Conservancy. I HIGHLY recommend making a stop here. The parking was a bit steep at $14, but admission is otherwise free. Wear comfy shoes and stretchy, breathable clothes, and DON’T FORGET BUG SPRAY! You’re basically walking around a forest, which is lovely, but that comes with lots of little flying critters. We took a couple of different paths, and found the trails to be well-marked (with distances at every post, which was super helpful). They also have quite luscious gardens, if you’d rather not “hike” and still take in some nature-like settings. We didn’t eat there, but their cafe was open and serving salads and sandwiches.

We raced back to the AirBnB and got ready in record time, and headed back to the Biltmore for wine tasting. Unfortunately, as we were walking (ahem, running), up to the tasting area, they were JUST putting the closed sign up. So my tip there is to leave a half hour buffer for driving in to the Biltmore estate, finding parking, and walking to the tasting area. We ended up having one of the BEST meals at Cedric’s Tavern. Don’t let the name (in honor of the Biltmore family’s beloved dog), fool you. This place serves up some of the best fine dining-esque food I’ve ever had. We split the Spicy Buffalo Calamari, Beer & Bacon Almonds (a must-get!), the deviled eggs, and the pimento cheese. Our entrees were equally as good, but before this turns into a Yelp review, let me just say that I don’t think you can go to wrong here.

Sadly, I only got videos of the food, but here was my look for the evening!

We went back downtown to do a bit of bar-hopping. A tip here is to use rideshare whenever possible if you’re staying nearby to downtown Asheville. Parking is no joke.. It’s expensive, difficult to come by, and you’re going to end up parking blocks away from your destination on a weekend. First nightlife stop was Pack’s Tavern. Not “clubby” in the slightest, more like a sports bar, but they had a frozen drink called the Pack’s Orange Crush. It’s basically frozen boozy Tang, and it’s just so good for no reason. Tread lightly with that one though 😆

We tried to go to a salsa club down the street called The Block, but not only was it packed (in my opinion, beyond capacity), but they were charging cover, and none of us are about that life. We made our way back to Wicked Weed and chatted up a table of guys in town for a bachelor party. Always fun! More Lunatic Blonde ale. Lastly, we headed to Foggy Mountain Brew Pub. I’m not going to sugarcoat, this is definitely a place where you end your evening. It’s a bit more divey than the other spots we visited, but the drinks were cheap and stiff, and it was a perfect way to end the evening.

The next morning was checkout, so we packed up and said goodbye to our little home away from home. I can’t lie, the bedroom I was staying in kind of grew on me throughout the stay. The walls were painted a soothing aqua, and I felt inspired to look in to painting the bedroom walls at my house the same shade. Our last meal of the visit was brunch at Rhubarb. MUST VISIT. One of the best meals I’ve had in a while, and I’m not even generally a fried chicken person.. But their Quan’s Chicken Biscuit had me singing a different tune. We split the herb-baked ricotta to start and I probably could have eaten JUST that for my meal. A tip is to not come starving, because it took our meal a good 40 minutes to come out on a busy Sunday morning, which I have gathered is the norm. I’d still go back, the food was that good.

Places we’d like to try next time are Early Girl (breakfast spot), French Broad Chocolate Lounge, and White Duck Taco Shop.

How do you like these mini/weekend guides? Mark and I go to Columbus about every other month, and I’d love to do one to cover our must-do’s and must-eats. It would also be great to share an updated what to do (and eat) in Asheville, NC in a couple years after Mark and I visit together!