Is it too soon to plan to move here? Asking for a friend.
Our alley where our airbnb homebase is located, Chicken Alley, is supposedly the most haunted place in all of North Carolina, beset by the specter of a hundred-plus year old doctor. We’ve been listening hard, but so far no one has heard the thunk of his cane on the street. Chicken Alley, like pretty much all of Asheville, is home to some really nice murals.
Detail of inset poem and attribution:
On the other side of the apartment on Carolina Lane, you are greeted by a positive sign when you step out the door.
Of note: the mural even extends to the sheet metal on the pipe across the street from the mural. Nice touch!
The swank 2-floor flat we stayed at is big and open, a former industrial space converted to a residence in the 1989. There’s a giant abstract mural of chicken plumage in the living room, as well as stained glass in the upstairs bathroom.
First stop, coffee (natch!) Rowan Coffee is a new-ish roaster and cafe in town that has good coffee and baked goods. Naturally, I chatted up the barista about coffee and got some to bring home to the coworkers.
Art is everywhere in this city.
The Basilica of St. Lawrence is right around the corner from where we stayed.
I decided to run around downtown to see what was around. There’s a lot of hills in Asheville!
We had so much fun in this city that we didn’t take a whole lot of photos! Yay for us, bummer for you. We could have spent a week (or two!) in Asheville alone. No worries, I have a feeling we’ll be back.
After grabbing a dozen donuts for breakfast (from Vortex Doughnuts), we spent the day walking up and down the streets (and up and down the hills!) looking at cute and unique bistros, curio shops, secondhand stores, record shops, and general quirky Asheville haunts. After getting back to home base the kids vegged for a bit (did I mention the hills are steep?). When Abby and Grace and Robin went off in search of food to cook for dinner, Kim visited the Moogseum (dedicated to Robert Moog, father of electronic music, whose home for a time was in NC) and played with synthesizers.
Robin and Kim went out on the town and enjoyed brews at DSSOLVR.
I’m very thankful we stopped at Crave for food and more drinks. This place is a vibe! It’s a dessert bar (though we were too full for dessert). The cocktails were very good. The poutine was the best I’ve ever had (which is saying something, since we’re in the South). They publish their music playlist on Spotify, which is a nice touch.
It’s sad to say good bye to Asheville, but onward to Atlanta we go! 🍑