John and I headed to Asheville, NC this morning to celebrate my birthday. It has been over a year since our last visit and we really looked forward to getting back to a couple of our favorite spots. Although the day was disagreeable, too hot and humid for late May, we made the best of it and had a fine day!

John (yellow shirt) relaxing at The Laughing Seed

Eating was foremost on our minds. Since my trip to the gym this morning pushed our departure later than desired (read-I did not want to get up on time), I neglected to eat breakfast. Not a very good decision. Once in Asheville, we rushed immediately to 40 Wall Street, only to discover that The Laughing Seed did not open for another 20 minutes. Window shopping killed the proper amount of time and we hurried back at the first possible moment. Now this was a good decision as the outside tables filled within 20 minutes of opening.

The Laughing Seed offers great vegetarian and vegan food that appeals to all but the most dedicated meat lovers. John had the daily special and I enjoyed the Havana Cuban Sandwich (organic 3-grain tempah). Yummy! We were happily stuffed when we left.

After lunch and a quick stop at Street Fair (42 Battery Park Avenue) where I purchased a couple of summer skirts, we were off to the New Morning Gallery (7 Boston Way) to drool over some of the beautiful hand-crafted furniture, jewelry, sculptures, ceramics and other intriguing pieces of art. This shop is a must stop for us on every trip we make to Asheville.

Beautiful poppies found growing in the large street side gardens along Boston Way, near the New Morning Gallery.

John in the courtyard waiting for lemonade

From the New Morning Gallery, we continued walking in Historic Biltmore Village, stopping at Biltmore Village Company to look at leather furniture and great frames before settling into chairs in the outdoor garden at Chelsea's and the Village Tea Room for fresh, cool (and tart) lemonade. A very refreshing break on a very hot day!

Me trying to smile after drinking the previously mentioned tart lemonade

Historic Biltmore Village is filled mostly with shops of the knick knack type. The shops are of the nature that men can be found outside the buildings in wait mode (John has held up many a shop wall in Biltmore Village) while women go inside to look. The architectural design of the homes (shops) in the village are historical and worth a look. The village, opened in the 1890's, was built as a complete town just outside the Biltmore Estate grounds and was designed to compliment the Estate.

The roof of the All Souls Cathedral in Biltmore Village

George Vanderbilt built the All Souls Episcopal Cathedral as the focus of Biltmore Village. The church was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, same architect who designed the Village and Estate.

A full view of All Souls Cathedral

John and I attended Easter services here the first year we dated. Today the church was not only open but a docent was on duty to welcome us inside. We spend a very enjoyable 30 minutes listening to the docent spin the history of the church, its windows, bells and plaques.

Stream running through the UNC-Asheville Arboretum

Our final activity of the day (before dinner at Jae Thai) was a quiet walk through the University of North Carolina Arboretum. We had hoped to arrive in time to visit the Arboretum shop and maybe pick up a wildflower or two for my garden, but alas, we were about 30 minutes too late. The walk was enjoyable nevertheless!