I have been traveling around the world continuously for the last 4 years now, and at this point most cities do not excite me. Been there, done that for the most part. Since this was my first trip to Asheville, North Carolina, I was looking forward to something new. Living in Atlanta, I had heard a lot about Asheville, but I had never considered going there. I had my opportunity a few weeks ago.
Asheville is a small city in the middle of the mountains (see the picture above). It reminded me of a quaint college town. The big difference was that (at least at this point), Asheville is mostly mom-and-pop stores. Although I heard rumors that some major chains were trying to come to Asheville (Urban Outfitters, Apple Store, etc), none had made it there yet. I have a feeling local opposition is strong to keep these stores out of town.
Driving through downtown was not what I expected at all. It kinda felt like a hippie-town. All sorts of "earthy" stores and a very eclectic mix of people walking around. For such a small town, there seems to be a lot of gay and lesbians as well. It is definitely not what you would expect from a small mountain town in North Carolina.
The scenery in Asheville is amazing. Everywhere you look you see hills and mountains. When I was there the leaves were changing color, and it was absolutely beautiful. Asheville is best known for the Biltmore House. The Biltmore House is the largest house in America and is only a few miles from downtown Asheville. Unfortunately, I did not have time to take the tour of the house; but I was told by everyone that is is truly amazing. If you do decide to visit the Biltmore House, you need to spend at least 4-6 hours to see it all. It is that big!
When I was in Asheville, I stayed downtown. This was very convenient and made walking around the city easier. The downtown area is very walkable. For those of you big-city types, it is similar to the Castro in San Francisco.
In the city itself there are not a lot of gym options. I worked out at the YMCA downtown. I had to sweet-talk my way in....since the YMCA downtown does not sell day-passes. I was told a few of the hotels are negotiating deals with the YMCA, but that had not happened when I was there. As far as the actual gym itself, I would call it adequate, but nothing to write home about. It is basically like a large hotel gym (and if you travel a lot, you know that hotel gyms are not that great).
I was told that Rush Fitness on Hendersonville Road is a good gym with great equipment, but I was not able to independently verify that. Since the YMCA downtown is not that great, you may want to try Rush Fitness.
If you decide to go to Asheville, I would recommend going with a date/boyfriend. It definitely seemed like a great city to get-away and relax with someone special. I would highly recommend Asheville....it met and surpassed all of my expectations!
