Field Trip // Asheville

FIELD TRIP

Asheville, North Carolina

Last November,  Jon, Elodie and I (Christina) took off to Asheville for the weekend. We booked an Airbnb, and were determined to have a relaxing getaway eating good food, drinking coffee and getting some outdoor time. Since it's coming up on that season again, and people may be heading there to see the leaves change, here are some of our recommendations of places we enjoyed while there. I'm sure there are many other places there we have no clue about, so feel free to add those in the comments if you want to share. :)

To start, we stayed in this Airbnb in West Asheville. The owners live upstairs and we stayed in the studio downstairs. We had a parking spot and our own private deck and it felt like a little oasis in the trees. We were so inspired and think this is one reason why we enjoyed this trip so much. We took a pack n play for Elodie and while she went to bed early, we sipped wine and watched Netflix on the back deck. 

Other than hitting up Trader Joe's for coffee and snacks, here's what we did for meals while we were there (and some we didn't get a chance to try):

Breakfast:

+ BiscuitHead: This was in West Asheville right down the road from where we were staying. We ate on a Friday morning, so the wait wasn't too bad. Saturday, however, it was wrapped around the building! They had tiny play area for toddlers which was nice while Jon went through the line and a nice patio area. I felt lucky to have been able to get a table though, even with a shorter line. It was worth it though, sooo good.

+ Over Easy Cafe: Downtown Asheville, and definitely go early if you want to get a seat!

Coffees & Bakeries: 

+ OWL Bakery: Definitely have to go here when in Asheville. We met a friend of ours here (who gave us all of these great local recommendations!) and sat outside in the backyard where our kids could run around and play. It was freezing, but the coffee, treats and company kept us happy.  Last year the bakery rolled out an election cake which was cool.

+ Hole Doughnuts: Unfortunately, we never made it here, but will next time! 

+ High Five Coffee: My favorite thing to get here is the Cubano. Can't seem to find one anywhere else quite like the one here. They've got two locations that I know of in Asheville, you should go at least once on your trip.

+ Izzy's Coffee: More good coffee.

Dinner:

+ Ghan Shan Station: This place was amazing. I got ramen, and we got Elodie the best chicken in the world. Definitely a must.

+ All Souls Pizza: This pizza place is heaven!! They mill their own flour and polenta from organic grains and they only use local and fresh ingredients. 

+ Buxton Hall BBQ: The restaurant building is "an enormous, historic space that once served as a wood-floored roller rink in the 1930s, a boat show room before that, and various auto shops that had witnessed history in the making." Such a good place for some good ole fashioned Carolina BBQ.

Touristy things:

+ Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway: It was a great time of year to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway since the trees were turning (although it was the first weekend of November, so we caught the tail end of it). It worked out, two days in a row, to drive this during Elodie's nap time, haha.

+ Chimney Rock/Lake Lure: We hit up Chimney Rock on the way home and it was a lot of fun. Sometimes you just have to go to those all-American tourist destinations.  If you take little kids, be sure to bring a backpack carrier. The elevator was out of order so it was quite the hike (of stairs) to the top. 

+ The Biltmore Estate: It goes without saying, but if you're in Asheville, you should try and make it out to the Biltmore. We did not go on this trip, but one day we are going to go together!

+ Breweries!: We didn't make it to any only because we chose other restaurants based on proximity and the fact we were vacationing with a 17 month old. Even though many breweries are family friendly.

And here are some shots I took on the trip. If you have any other recommendations of places to go while in the Asheville area, please share them below. :)

-Christina