Asheville Breweries Part 1

Cider from Noble Cider

After we arrived in Asheville our friends took us straight downtown to start experiencing the wonderfulness of Asheville. We started by getting a brew from the tasting room of Wicked Weed. The world cup was on so we got to watch a match while trying some great beers.

Soon the kids were hungry so we decided to get some pizza from Asheville Brewing Company. It is a great place to take the kiddos. The outdoor area comes equipped with lots of activities to keep the little ones occupied while you are trying to eat and sip your beer. The boys I visited with had fun playing there.
Look at this guy. Isn’t he adorable!

Then we went back a couple days later to check out the breweries in Asheville’s South Slope district. There we started with a visit to Green Man Brewery.

Our visit once again coincided with the world cup. We got to watch soccer while we sipped beers.

I really liked Green Man’s selections but my favorite was the ESB. It was easy to drink and full of flavor. We brought home a 6 pack of 2 ESB, 2 IPAs and 2 Porters. I really wish we would have brought home some more ESB.

It was a fun place to hangout in a warehouse type building.

After Green Man we walked over to one of the newer breweries in town Twin Leaf Brewery.

We tried a number of their regular offerings and seasonal beers. A standout was the Luminosity.

The tasting room has adopted the rustic look that is very popular now with tasting rooms and farm to table restaurants. It was very welcoming as was the friendly beer-tender. The only complaint is it got quite warm inside. They tried to offset it a bit with fans. Should be very comfortable to visit in cooler months. We were told there plans to open it up a bit to let more of a cross breeze in. Even as is I would visit again. I liked it there.

Because we were old it was time to go. Luckily we had one more day in the city to try a couple more breweries.

London: Sightseeing

My first visit to London was in 1995. It was brief and I had my first case of major jetlag.
When my cousin Cody moved there I decided it was time to give it another visit.
London proved challenging to find decent budget accommodations. The prices are up there with New York prices (or higher). We settled on paying a bit more for a room in an Victoria Townhouse near Kensington Gardens. We weren’t too far from the tube and in walking distance to Notting Hill and many attractions. Our room had this lovely terrace.

The hotel was called the London Vicarage Hotel. I just learned that the hotel just closed November 2014 after 50 years of service. It really was a great location and you felt like you were living in another time in history.
To start our sightseeing we started at the nearby Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a great museum that is free to visit (they have a donation box). There was a David Bowie costume exhibit that I really wanted to see but it was hard to get a time to visit and I couldn’t get my companions to go with me (and it cost $$). We did get to see this amazing Chihuly chandelier though.

My cousin met up with us at the museum and we did a tour of the place then went out for a walk in Kensington Gardens (Connected to Hyde Park – Central Park in NY is the equivalent of Hyde and Kensington Gardens combined).

It was a nice walk on a cold sunny day. There are many trails for use. My cousin and I decided we never want to grow up and posed by the Peter Pan statue.

Later we met up with Randy and had dinner at a french restaurant. Côte is a chain restaurant in London but provided the service and quality of a fancy french brasserie.

Another day we wander around town and I have to point out places of interest.

Millennium Bridge

Walking along the Thames

Big Ben

Houses of Parliament

More Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

Paddington Station (with Paddington Bear)

The Regent’s Park

It was a nice time to visit family and enjoy everything that London has to offer.

Taj Mahal

During my trip to India earlier this year I got to visit the Taj Mahal twice. For the first visit the company that was hosting us chartered a bus to take us. For the second visit my husband and I had a private tour.

The Great gate

Calligraphy

And there it is after crossing through the gate.

You have to wear show covers to walk inside.

Very detailed stone work.

Minaret

The mosque

Side building

Later they took us to see stone artisans in action.

And there is always an opportunity to buy.

Biltmore

During last summer’s trip to Asheville we took a day to explore the Biltmore estate. It was a great way to spend the day and the weather couldn’t have been better (most of the day anyway). I thoroughly enjoyed touring the house; my favorite was touring the server’s quarters and the kitchen area. Sorry no pictures inside were allowed (although I was just about the only one following the rules). The estate area is vast and has magnificent views of the mountain range nearby. While you are there be sure to tour the gardens and greenhouse at your leisure. It was a real treat as well.

After touring the grounds we drove over for our Biltmore winery tour and a free wine tasting. Most of the wines made there are drinking wines. There weren’t too many that I wanted to purchase but the ones I did were in the $30-50 range!! We did pick up a couple mid-range bottles to take home and I since I wasn’t driving Itreated myself to the Biltmore premium wine tasting :).

Later on we met up with our friends and had dinner at their local mexican joint Nachos and Beer (yes that is the name). The tacos and side salad I ordered was delicious and a great size for the money. They also have local craft beer on draft. I can see why this is one of their favorite places to take the family.

My friends husband was nice enough to watch the kids for the evening so my friend could come with us to try some local breweries. More about that later……

Night in Barcelona

Tonight is the last night of enjoyment we have in Barcelona. Whatever illness we get hits C first. At first it is funny because he is usually the one with all the stamina and I am the person with low energy. He starts dragging behind and is having a hard time keeping up with me. He jokes that I am a force to be reckoned with after me completing my first half marathon, which I recently did. Then it catches up with me this evening, whatever ails us. I learn I am getting sick when I try to eat tapas in a late night restaurant tonight. C can’t even come into the restaurant and remains outside on a bench. I look down at what I believe to be the most disgusting plate of food I have ever laid eyes on. We are hotel bound for the rest of our Barcelona trip. However before that we have a nice evening stroll around the city. It is quite beautiful at night.

The streets were preparing for the Barcelona marathon for the following morning.

Plaça d’Espanya

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

Magic Fountains near Placa d’Espanya

Luckily we were there on a night that they had a musical light show at the fountain. We wandered around the fountain and enjoyed the show.

It is Whitney Houston tribute night.

We enjoyed our last real evening of the trip. The rest was mostly hotel room bound. After this trip we have discovered the art of probiotics while traveling. Probiotics have saved us from illness on many other trips since. We even survived a couple weeks in India!!
The illness has put Barcelona back on the list to must visit because there was so much more to see there. I hope one day to visit again.