Drove from Greenville, GA early morning and headed to Asheville, NC. Our intent was to explore the beauty of fall foliage in the Smokey Mtns. They didn't disappoint at all, in spite of an ensuing light to heavy rainfall along the way. The leaves held fast. We attempted a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway, breathtaking at lower elevations, but it got weird foggy and leafless the further up the BRP we drove. After about 25 miles upward and encountering more fog and treacherous driving conditions, we headed back to the SMP.
We arrived in Asheville, NC just after noon. Hopped a trolley to visit the town. Nice town with a sizeable population. Learned a good bit about its early history and saw a really neat revitalized downtown and Biltmore village.
Biggest disappointment was the way-too-overpriced Best Western in East Asheville, NC (aka Biltmore, NC). Reservation wasn't initially ready, in spite of our arrival well after check-in time, and neither was room, once reservation was finally fixed. Connie and I left to find a local eatery while room got ready by a very nice hospitality lady who rushed to get supplies, etc.
We ate at (local) Pomodoros Italian Restaurant on Tunnel Road. Awesome, authentic Italian food! The appetizer calamari are second best ever we've eaten. Tender and tossed with tomatoes and olive oil. In spite of the tossing, they were still crunchy tender. Awesome! Connie - a steak and taters gal all the way - settled for a marinated steak, with sauteed Italian veggies and baked potato. She opted for the most delicious salad (dressing made it that way) that was almost more than she and I both could eat. I just had to get the Italian meat sandwich (ciabata) that was loaded with meat and to-die-for eggplant fries. A nice place with great food!
Back at the hotel, where the phone (Sprint) connection was not good at all and the wireless connection was worse, if anything at all. Connie and I decided to rest after the long drive and Asheville trolley field trip. We took the opportunity to study up on Biltmore. We ended the night, after some adjustment to the new time zone for us.
We arrived in Asheville, NC just after noon. Hopped a trolley to visit the town. Nice town with a sizeable population. Learned a good bit about its early history and saw a really neat revitalized downtown and Biltmore village.
Biggest disappointment was the way-too-overpriced Best Western in East Asheville, NC (aka Biltmore, NC). Reservation wasn't initially ready, in spite of our arrival well after check-in time, and neither was room, once reservation was finally fixed. Connie and I left to find a local eatery while room got ready by a very nice hospitality lady who rushed to get supplies, etc.
We ate at (local) Pomodoros Italian Restaurant on Tunnel Road. Awesome, authentic Italian food! The appetizer calamari are second best ever we've eaten. Tender and tossed with tomatoes and olive oil. In spite of the tossing, they were still crunchy tender. Awesome! Connie - a steak and taters gal all the way - settled for a marinated steak, with sauteed Italian veggies and baked potato. She opted for the most delicious salad (dressing made it that way) that was almost more than she and I both could eat. I just had to get the Italian meat sandwich (ciabata) that was loaded with meat and to-die-for eggplant fries. A nice place with great food!
Back at the hotel, where the phone (Sprint) connection was not good at all and the wireless connection was worse, if anything at all. Connie and I decided to rest after the long drive and Asheville trolley field trip. We took the opportunity to study up on Biltmore. We ended the night, after some adjustment to the new time zone for us.
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