Asheville, NC

We arrived in Asheville yesterday afternoon and got a room just off downtown so we can walk anywhere we want to go. Lots of cute shops, cafes, restaurants, and interesting sights to see. At Malaprop's, a local independent bookstore, we bought several more books to add to our collection, including one called Nikolski that I accidentally came across. It's a novel by a Canadian author named Nicolas Dickner and involves several characters who all have a sort of loose connection to the Aleutian island. Weird, huh? Later, we had dinner at a little place called Salsa which served Mexican-Caribbean food.

Today we slept in, then walked to the Tupelo Honey Cafe for breakfast (me) or lunch (Rich). I had some yummy sweet potato pancakes with peach butter and candied pecans. Not to mention the southern special--sweet iced tea. I usually don't sweeten my tea but when in the south, what can you do? And I have to say that people in the south definitely know how to make iced tea!

We stopped in the 10,000 Villages shop and bought a few little things, then back to a local artisans shop that we had scoped out yesterday and purchased a nicely carved rolling pin for Rich, some soaps, and some photo greeting cards, all made by local folks. We love supporting the community we're visiting.

The Basilica St. Lawrence
This guy was guarding the entrance to the market.

The view as we walked back to our hotel

We've had a lazy and relaxing day. I sat out by the pool with my book till I started feeling like I was burning and probably needed to go inside. I think it's in the 80's today--I'm loving it! Went to the hotel bar and ordered up some iced tea (sweet, no doubt) to take to the room. Now we are considering dinner.