Asheville is one of those cities that you mention and you’ll hear: “Oh my gosh, I LOVE Asheville!” Nearly every time I tell people about this amazing city, their response is such a positive reinforcement that this city is one of the coolest, low-key cities. I will admit that I have only been to Asheville a handful of times but each time is even more new and adventurous than the last time. Full of amazing, organic restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and dog-loving people (a HUGE plus), Asheville is a city for people who love life and love adventure. 
Our adventure began early morning on Monday.We drove up for Thanksgiving week. The air was so cold and the frost was just beginning to melt as we ventured downtown and hit the town. Sofia never used to get cold but she has been living in Florida for so long, that as soon as she was outside walking the streets, the poor girl was shivering. Coming from Utah, I thought she’d find the change invigorating but turns out we needed to go buy her a sweater. We bought her a dog sweater and went to grab breakfast at one of our favorite places: Over Easy Cafe.
Over Easy cafe is everything! It is local, organic and it has vegan/vegetarian options as well. We discovered this cute little place last time we were in NC and fell in love. Their trout omelette is to die for. They have kombucha on draft and it was phenomenal. We both got an omelet, mine was veggie and his was flank stank. We both split a veggie bowl with their house made hot sauce. Which is so good but also incredibly spicy. Everything is locally sourced, quality food and you feel good eating it. They have fresh single origin coffee, though I am not a coffee drinker. The atmosphere is super cool and everyone is in close quarters with each other. It’s definitely the place to go for a great breakfast or brunch.
After breakfast we ran around to all sorts of stores, book stores, music stores, clothing boutiques and it was like being in a calmer New York. The back alleys that are brick lined and rise up to all sorts of loft apartments sitting on top of local bodega’s and shops. There are so many hidden gems, you just have to be on close watch to find them. Also Yelp, is extremely helpful for finding places to hang out. Just like any city though, its so much cooler to avoid the tourist places and go where the locals go to do what the locals do.
Of course, we were that couple walking around with my camera around my neck and my phone in my hand to get the best shots. We just so happen to stop traffic to get some cool shots but hey it was worth it. This is one of my favorite streets as its all brick and cobblestone. You can tell that fall had already taken its toll and the trees were on their way to a deep sleep. It was sunny and beautiful but still a cold sixty degrees.
After spending the day, eating through Asheville. I had a belly but we still wanted to try the best foods and explore more. Sofia was getting fed organic veggies and meats while we were running into one restaurant and back out to another. Our sunset stop was at Wicked Weed which happens to be Grayson’s family friends. We enjoyed hor d’oeuvres, next to a big outdoor fire, making friends with others who also had dogs in sweaters. I loved that Asheville is a dog city and there are a lot there. Of course, every couple steps I am bending down to pet another cute dog and introduce mine. It was getting so cold though and I didn’t have gloves or a hat. After hanging near the fire long enough to run into a outdoor camping store, we bought gloves and a hat and still continued to run the streets. 
At about 11pm, we were tired, cold, and full but so happy. We had been to so many restaurants, bakeries, books stores and needed to drive an hour and a half up the mountain to get back to Grayson’s place. We wanted something sweet and something to finish the night off and give us a sugar boost to make the drive so late. We walked into French Broad Chocolate Lounge and oh my gosh this place is a must! When you walk in, it smells like Main Street in Disneyland. You know that overwhelming warm smell of waffle and brown sugar? Their selection is incredible and they hand make their ice cream. We died and went to heaven, but then had to come back and drive up so we could sleep and digest the 4,000 calories we consumed that day.
Overall, WE LOVE ASHEVILLE! It is such a cool place and we didn’t even explore half the city, but everything we did see and do was so much fun and it was nice to escape and get lost. Everyone always talks about living in the moment and we lived in the moment the entire time we were in NC. Something about the air was fresh and intoxicating, it was a sense of freedom and no worries to be had. It was an escape to a artsy, cobble-stoned world, one that held so many cool passions and even better people. 