September 12, 2012 ~ Asheville, NC
Yesterday we visited the Biltmore Estate, America’s largest
home. Well, it certainly is impressive!
Here's one shot of the entryway which I snapped before
realizing we weren’t allowed to take photographs inside the house. Oops!
The entire tour took about 5 hours, and though it was a lot
of walking and a bit of money ($130.00 for both of us, ouch!) we both agreed
that it was well worth it. I never knew
very much about the Vanderbilts themselves but have long been interested in Victoriana
so it was a joy to see an actual working home from that time period, not to
mention the gorgeous dresses on display in several of the rooms!
Mr. Vanderbilt was a voracious reader, can just imagine him curling up with a book on this patio..
which overlooks this view! What a lucky man!
We browsed the
gift shop and on site book store, noted a few books about the family and the
house I plan to check out once we return home.
Then we made a short drive to the restaurant/shopping area of the
Estate, had a late lunch at Cedric’s Tavern, named after one of the many
Vanderbilt dogs.
 |
| Bronze statue of Cedric and Cornelia Vanderbilt |
Chip had the Tavern Muffaletta sandwich..
I enjoyed the Farmer’s
Salad, but the real highlight of the meal was the pretzel rolls! Oh. My.
Goodness. I need to learn how to make these! A salty pretzel combined with a
fluffy roll, fabulous!
Now, as you well know, I am an ethical vegan. This means I
choose to live as compassionately as possible, not eating meat or using animal
products whenever possible. I do still have leather in my closet and in my
living room, am hoping to eventually weed that out but for now I’m just doing
the best I can. However, as I’ve also mentioned, I belong to a family of
omnivores, vegetarians, vegans, and in Loki’s case, carnivores. I try not to impose my way of living on others, believing that people have the right to choose
their own path(s). I do share my thoughts, and my delicious veggie meals, with
anyone interested, but I am not one to push.
Therefore, my kitchens contain meat, dairy, etc. and I do cook for the
omnivores on occasion. Yesterday was one
of them. Knowing that we would be out
all day, I threw some chicken thighs in the crockpot along with a can of cream
of chicken soup, vegetable broth, mushrooms, onion, salt, pepper and a pinch of
thyme. They cooked on low all day and when dinner time came around I de-boned
them, stirred the chicken & gravy into some leftover rice and served them to
Chip. Such a simple “recipe” but he claimed it was delicious, as did Loki when
I served him a small portion! I ate some more lentil soup from a couple days
ago, everyone was happy!
Today we’re headed into town, haven’t really explored as
much as downtown Asheville as I’d like and since we plan to pack up camp
tomorrow, today’s the day!
“See” you later!
Michele~
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