Gatlinburg and Asheville
Hey pcgirl & Deb!!! Well, Asheville is a definite MUST for anyone who is within a 10-12-hour drive to Asheville, N.C. The Biltmore Estate is , as you probably already know, THE largest private home in North America. When you see it, it WILL blow you away, and you will wonder WHY you never went before. We only live 3 hours from Asheville, so we've been there many times, and we NEVER miss visiting the Biltmore House. It's simply unique. You can walk thru it and just close your eyes and imagine hearing all the sounds "of the time" and smelling the wonderful smells in those kitchens and banquet halls, etc. Make SURE that you rent the little earphone walk-along tour guide recording, as it will tell you all kinds of things that you would otherwise totally miss or not notice.
The history of George Vanderbilt is fascinating, and I can just see in my mind his train arriving nearby, carrying a hundred guests, who would stay weeks at a time....arriving and then getting into many, many horse-and-buggies to ride over to the "house"...and then imagine them unloading....you will see the luggage room where the guests stored their baggage....IT's even a large room , strictly for the purpose of safely storing all the guests' luggage. In the Spring, the gardens are blooming with thousands of tulips...in the Summer, roses. And at Christmas, the whole house is decorated appropriately, just as the Vanderbilts did it...and they have records to show how they did it. Anyway, each year they open up "new" sections, newly restored, which have never before been seen by the public. So, there's always something to see new. Make SURE you have lunch at the restaurant there which USED to be the stables. It's got great food...mostly sandwiches.....nothing fancy....and it's just fun. It's not a normal stable-like atmosphere.....more like a real restaurant...and there are various shops also in there to look at souvenirs. GO IN!!! Get a few books on the house itself.....I've enjoyed those books myself for years....and they show all the rooms fully restored , etc. You'll tend to forget because of the magnitude of the house, but it's a great book to have in your home library. Actually the Bilmore House is more like a European Castle (and bigger than most of the European castles I have visited!!!! Certainly more sophisticated!) You will no doubt think the library is your favorite room! It's amazing. Also the Great Hall, or Dining Hall.
The "Behind-the-Scenes Tour" is also very good.....it's more expensive, but consider it. Ask and read about the differences. Anyway, the regular tour is wonderful, and you really don't miss a thing with it. BUT, use those private headphones! They go at your pace, so you just stop and start when you enter each room. I love the "Tower Bedrooms", used exclusively for the most important guests "at the time", and the view off the back of the loggia toward the small valley and river is just breathtaking. It's no wonder why George bought all the land in sight....literally...and in all directions. Don't forget to also visit the little "village" of shops and restaurants right outside the estate entrance. That's the area where the townspeople (those who worked on the estate) lived.
AND.....DO NOT MISS visiting the cross-town Grove Park Inn.....it takes a bout 15 minutes to get there, but it's one of the country's unique and most beautiful hotels. I won't say much, but you won't believe it!!That's where we always STAY. It's not cheap, but it's worth it. Dining there at the hotel is wonderful, and dinner in the Blue Ridge Dining Room is the best. It's casual-dressy casual, so no sweat! Actually, most of the guests and visitors at GPI just walk around in very casual shirts and jeans---it's TOTALLY a laid-back hotel.....not a typical hotel at all, by any stretch. You will be shocked at how casual and "simple" the atmosphere is. The Blue Ridge Dining Room's view out the huge picture-glass window into the valley is amazing, and at night, especially, you can see the distant city of Asheville all lit up....very pretty.
Also, sit in the GREAT HALL and have a hot chocolate (or something stronger!) and listen to the piano player! The fireplace at each end of the great hall is large enough to walk into, and uses 6-foot logs. There are rocking chairs all around the fireplace....and the view off the veranda is to die for, especially at sunset....the sun sets over the mountaintop, and is a daily event! The Winery at Biltmore House is just mediocre, so visit Grove Park Inn before you spend time at the winery! BTW, the GPI is an old stone hotel from WAY back, where many movie stars,presidents, and other dignitaries stayed....like Roosevelt, Houdini....a very wide range of famous people, and all their pictures are there on the wall along a couple of corridors....take the time to find them. And walk from one end of the hotel to the other...(lobby level)....i.e., from the Sammons wing to the Vanderbilt wing....those were added in the 50's to the old stone main hotel building, and the view is worth the walk.....a full-glass view the whole way around...and the Blue Ridge Dining Room is at the end of the Vanderbilt Wing anyway. Even breakfast there is a feast of a buffet! See
www.groveparkinn.com.
Now, as for Gatlinburg, there's not a whole lot to SEE, per se, except for shop after shop after shop.....and most are craft shops and t-shirt shops and souvenir shops. (Yes,we go there EVERY YEAR in October for the foliage!). We actually stay in Pigeon Forge , which is a town about 10 minutes away from Gatlinburg. It's not the "shop row" that Gatlinburg is, but it does have the best Christmas shop we've ever seen, and also several huge outlet malls.....probably more in P.F. than anyplace else in the country. The VERY, very best (don't waste your time at another) is the Five Oaks Outlet Mall, located at the far end of Pigeon Forge near Sevierville (a nearby community town----all are close by---like 3 minutes, and driving along, they run into each other). But that outlet mall is worth going to...probably 20 acres....and it's very nice and upscale.A few great restaurants there, like The Chop House, a wonderful steak house, and after shopping, you'll WANT to sit down in there and relax a bit...they have fantastic food, BUT you MUST put your name in about 2 hours before you wish to dine----no reservations, just "prior seating" type reservation. No one waits there...they just continue shopping until their time arrives, then right in.....Actually Gatlinburg and P.F. are not "country" in our opinion......we're not big "country" fans either....and we never see many "big-hair" people, if you know what I mean. Mostly, there are just nice, down-to-earth Tennessee people...plus the tourists who come back every year. You wouldn't believe how much the area is booming! 5-star 2 to 12-BR Cabins, hotels, condos, timeshares, etc. are being built all the time.
If you "Google" Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge and click on accommodations, you'll run across hundreds of just cabin rental companies. We've settled on the brand new luxury cabins with 5 BR's and game rooms (like with pool table), multiple jacuzzis, TV's in every room, multiple fireplaces, etc.,etc. , because we love for our two kids (20 & 17 now) to take friends with them, and also my mother-in-law, every year, so we make a big fuss about that trip. It just may be our favorite one, even tho it's not timeshare-related. We just love the Fall season there....it's beyond wonderful. Forget Dollywood! Forget the many comedy shows or country-music shows!.....just enjoy the scenery and the food and the shopping for deals!!!! Remember: Gatlinburg= craft shops; Pigeon Forge = outlet malls. I know, "Pigeon Forge" doen't really have a nice ring to it----it sounds "country" , or gross, or both, but it's not what you think. It's definitely more upscale than Gatlinburg.....PLUS, Gatlinburg is barely walkable or driveable due to the crowds elbow-to-elbow, or bumper-to-bumper, 24/7. You have to pay to park in Gatlinburg in some parking lot, then walk blocks and blocks to see the shops....there is NO parking in front of ANY shops. Now, it's fun....as there are a few candy shops and fudge shops....but it's a one-day ordeal, and frankly, I'd rather be in Pigeon Forge!!!!!!! Especially at Five Oaks Outlet Mall. Then Chop House for dinner. (Prime rib, great baked potatoes, lobster tails, homemade yeast rolls, great steaks and seafood...whatever. And big booths-----a couple of semi-circular ones-----we love those!!!! (Wanna see our P.F. log cabins where we stay now????....see
www.thepreserveresort.com. Click on the "5-BR" ones. Amazing!!!
So, yes, I'm going broke very fast, but we're also making memories! My son, 20, had a Fall break at school which coincided with our Fall trip, so he brought a friend, and they played pool, used the jacuzzis and literally saw the bright stars (the mountain sky is sooooo clear at night), slept in, ate a LOT, and generally had a fantastic Fall break.....and the temps got down into the 30's, so we had a perfect 5-night vacation! We all cried when we had to pack up.....just cannot wait to get back! It's ben a 12-year ongoing tradition now. My daughter loves it too! Her friend BEGS to go with us!!!!!
OK,last suggestion: Nashville, Tenn. Yes, I know you said "no country" stuff , but believe me, it's not. Stay at the Opryland Hotel, THE largest (non-Las Vegas Casino) hotel in the world...no kidding. We've been going there for 7 straight years for Thanksgiving (to get AWAY from family....does that convey anything?) But we also have a complete blast, and yes, there's another HUGE outlet mall right next door....even MORE upscale...so, since it's almost like a city there (there's a river running thru it, in one of the several atria) , we don't even have to leave the hotel, altho we do. We have a Thanksgiving feast in the grand ballroom, with ice sculptures taller than me, and they serve thousands. There's a change-out periodically of a stringed quartet, a harp player, and a piano player...what a sight! What a meal. The dessert table alone is 50 feet long.
And you can visit the nearby home of Andrew Jackson, called the Hermitage, which is fun.......and also the Belle Meade Plantation, a famous estate from which 99% of all Kentucky Derby winners (for the past 50 years) have been bred. You can tour the famous home, dine at the cafe (great soups, sandwiches, specialty entrees, and desserts)....plus walk the estate.....also we love just walking around some of the famous buildings in Nashville......places where stars frequented, like pancake houses,still in operation. Great breakfasts! Also love walking around the Vanderbilt University campus.....sooooo beautiful......looks a lot like Harvard.
There are tons of places to see around Nashville. One small town called Franklin looks like a Dickens Village, and they go all out to decorate for the holidays, so we love to walk that little town and visit all the great little shops. All the lampposts are decorated, and everyone is so friendly. and there are some very nice little cafes for coffee or tea. If I'm beginning to sound a wee bit narcissistic,it's probably true. I learned from my Dad (who was an ObGyn who worked ALL the time his whole life, with little time off and no vacations) that I am NOT GOING to miss smelling those roses. That's why I got a few timeshares in the first place------i.e., to force myself to take time off and "go" and "do". My wife doesn't seem to mind!
So, there's always a carrot out there dangling somewhere. It keeps me going! I just hate my kids are growing up because I don't like to go anywhere without them. Well, better shut up, or I'll get kicked off of TUG. Sorry to be so long-winded, but the Asheville/Gatlinburg comment of yours got me going. And if you're visiting those places, you'd better do it right! Best of luck, and hope you (& others) enjoy those destinations.....we certainly do....and a very Merry Christmas to all. Marty (jme) THE END
I can't wait to get back to the Grove Park Inn....(and Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are a ton of fun too, but you have to know where to go)......Happy New Year! Marty (jme)