John and I escaped to Asheville last weekend for our annual holiday getaway. We were a couple of weeks earlier than usual, but based on our calendars, it was either last weekend or not at all.

We had no real plans so we knocked around the city, exploring our favorite shops and galleries. On Saturday, we lunched at the Laughing Seed Cafe and slipped into Malaprop's, a funky community bookstore, to shop. Always on the hunt for a new travel adventure, I picked up a copy of "The Places in Between," about Rory Stewart's walk across Afghanistan.

We lingered in several small shops on and around Wall and Haywood Streets, then drove to our hotel to check-in and to inquire about Togar Rugs. John is in the market for a large area rug and I found a flyer for Togar on a literature rack in the North Carolina Welcome Center. What a great find! Togar has a beautiful selection of Persian, Russian and Tibetan rugs. We were particularly impressed with their selection of colorful kilim rugs. But John is still exploring his options so we took way only ideas.

Dinner was disappointing! For 7 years I have been trying to convince John to eat dinner at the Early Girl Eatery. Billed as a southern restaurant with a healthy, regional emphasis, the menu looks very good and there is always a waiting line. He finally agreed and before we knew it, we were squished at a small table, picking at pork dishes and wondering why this place was on my "must try" list. Not a restaurant we will give a 2nd chance to. After dinner, we felt sorry for ourselves and grabbed incredibly rich chocolate cupcakes from Old Europe Coffee House. We spent our evening eating cupcakes, watching TV (National Lampoon's Vacation no less) and reading.

More gallery shopping on Sunday and brunch at The Corner Kitchen in Biltmore Square. Good food, but slow service due to the massive after church crowd. One of the more interesting items on the menu was a "breakfast salad." This is basically a salad with an egg (prepared to ordered) on top. I couldn't decide if I thought it would be good or bad so I ordered something else.... maybe on another trip?!

Our trip was over too quickly but we are already looking forward to next year's trip!

A small outdoor market on Battery Park, mostly jewelry and other handcrafted items.

Page Avenue with the Grove Arcade in the white building on the left

The elegant Grove Park Inn

Another shot of the Grove Park, John is walking in the foreground
The Asheville skyline from the backporch at the Grove Park Inn

One of two 7' fireplaces in the lobby of the Grove Park Inn

A beautiful sunset for the drive home!