Living in North Carolina Mountains Getaway blog
The leaves are beginnning to change color here in Asheville. The maples, poplars, dogwoods and so forth are beginning to turn shades of red, yellow, orange …. Soon the mountains of NC will be ablaze with color. The weather is rather cool in the mornings here. However, by afternoon, its been getting warm. Today, its expected to be in the 80s.
Belle cher (pronounced bell share) is an annual festival held in Asheville NC. Its always held the last weekend of July. Be sure to check the local weather or take an umbrella just in case cause there usually is an afternoon thunderstorm this time of year. Just for fun, I translated the french phrase Belle Cher using babel fish translation tool and it means ‘beautiful expensive’. Well they got that right. Its held in a beautiful location. Asheville is located in the western mountains of North Carolina. The scenery here is beautiful especially in the fall of the year. The festival is free to attend (That doesn’t mean they wont start charging to attend as everything is going up thanks to the oil companies). However, everything sold at the festival is expensive. Last year, a sandwich cost close to $10.00 and a drink was $3.00 or more. But, you can take your lunch or eat before you go. Parking cost $10.00 last year, that is if you could find a parking space in town. Its best to take a shuttle which has in the past been available at Westgate shopping center and various other locations throughout Asheville. Its expensive to get a booth and be a vender at this event. They have to pay the city for a booth. So, the vender passes the cost over to the customer and thats why everything is so expensive. But, you don’t have to buy souvenirs either. The event is good for area businesses like local hotels, restaurants, and so forth. Over 300,000 people have attended Belle Cher in past years. So, if you are planning on attending this year, it might be a good idea to book a hotel early. For the closest hotels, see downtown Asheville hotels. You can easily walk from either the Patton Avenue Days Inn, the Best Western on Woodfin Street or the Renaissance hotel.
My granddaughter always looks through the free brochures and pamphlets when she goes anywhere. Last week, she ate at Shoney’s with her Mom and brought me home some brochures on Asheville she picked up. One of them was on a sidewalk tour I thought might be interesting for a tourist to take. Its called a moving sidewalk tour. You ride standing up on a glider called a Segway with LeanSteer technology, its not a bike. Anyway, the tour is of Downtown Asheville and starts at the Visitor’s center. The tour takes about 2 to 2 and a half hours. It sure beats walking.
heard on the radio today where the annual Biltmore House festival of flowers will be held on May 18th. So, if you are looking for something to do and enjoy strolling through beautiful flower gardens then visit the Biltmore House during the event. This is a beautiful event to attend. If you are visiting from out of town and need a place to stay near the Estate, see Asheville Biltmore Hotels.
Yesterday, the news said that there is a rock slide near Craggy Gardens on the blue ridge parkway. If you are traveling the parkway here you will have to take a detour. It should be cleared by next spring. Anyway, Craggy Gardens is a beautiful place to visit when the rhododendrons are blooming. the whole mountainside is covered with pink blooms. It actually called pink beds. Its located north of Asheville off the parkway and south of Mt. Mitchell. You can hike here too. But the trails are quite strenuous if you are out of shape. There are benches to rest along the trails though. You can take a picnic. There are tables, grills and rest rooms.