Innkeeper's blog

This winter has been brutal for most of the country, but records were set when a foot of snow fell the week before Christmas here in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Lion & The Rose Bed & Breakfast became a winter wonderland, and it didn't melt the next day as it usually does.

This is what makes the climate in Asheville perfect - we get to experience each season - but never in the extreme.  Also, since snow is so unpredictable in the Southern highlands, when it happens it's always exciting.  

It's very difficult to recommend a restaurant to our guests at The Lion & the Rose Bed & Breakfast, because there are so many great and unique dining options in Asheville.  Now there is a Food Tour that takes you to many of Asheville's culinary hot spots.

Asheville Food Tours offers an array of tastings at local restaurants, gourmet shops, and microbreweries that make the city one of the nation's premier food destinations...also known as a Foodtopian Society - where food is the centerpiece of daily life.

Each tour is a relaxing stroll lasting two to two and a half hours and offering the best that Asheville has to offer, one bite at a time.  This winter, our guests can enjoy a tour for two for the price of one.  Don't miss this opportunity when you visit our town. 

Last year the weather was perfect for Halloween, but rain was in the forecast for Asheville, North Carolina on October 31st of 2009. 

Luckily, a little rain didn't stop hundreds of determined trick or treaters from visiting The Lion & The Rose Bed & Breakfast. 

Dracula guarded the front gate.

Tony Spencer, from the UK, helped Jim set up the decorations.  He and his wife Janet also helped distribute treats with the help of Margaritas (the drink).  Tony said that if we did this in England that we'ld be "put away".

Our assistant Heather and her significant other, Austin, were ready for the occasion.

                                     Sally also helped distribute treats.       

                                                    This was, by far, the scariest visitor we had.

    The innkeeper was a cross between Norman Bates' mother in Psycho and Jonathan Winters' Maudie Frickett.

                                                                                      With a Margarita.

 And, what would a Victorian B&B be without a ghost?  Our friend Ralph took these photos - decide for yourself:

Cedric is very popular with guests at The Lion & the Rose Bed & Breakfast in Asheville, and, rightly so.  For those of you who can't meet him in person, here is some insider information about him.

He's 5 1/2 years old (or close to 40 in dog years) and a North Carolina native - born in Lincolnton.  He's lived with us in Asheville since he was 6 months old.  

Most wire haired fox terriers are very hyper, but not Cedric.  He loves his bed, and - whenever he's in it - he can kick back and relax. 

He also loves the large front yard at the bed and breakfast because he can run, play ball, or just watch the world go by.

Since Cedric lives in a bed and breakfast - surrounded by great food smells all the time - he loves to eat.  Although he's on the cusp of being overweight, he still enjoys an occasional dog biscuit.

When he tracks the scent of ground hogs in Riverside Cemetery (just a few blocks from The Lion & Rose), it's one of the few times he gets wild.  The ground hogs have many burrows in the cemetery and you can see them foraging for food throughout the day.  But when they see us they disappear like magic. 

 Here's a hog who's just half way out of his burrow - he must see Cedric coming.        

And, a final and little known fact is that Cedric has an Italian cousin - Cederico.  This is a photo of Cederico in Rome with his human.             

Asheville, North Carolina is the world's first Foodtopian Society.  This is just a trendy term for the way humans used to eat before freezers and chemicals.

Foodtopians believe that good food should be sustainable, with farm to table meals that feature seasonable ingredients from local fields.

At The Lion & the Rose Bed & Breakfast, we've taken this concept even further this summer by using fresh fruits and vegetables grown in the gardens of our friends and co-workers.

Our assistant, Heather, tends a neighborhood vegetable garden in West Asheville.  Heather's garden has supplied us with tomatoes, peppers, and herbs - including our favorite - fresh basil.  We used these ingredients to make Bruschetta Eggs - an original Lion & Rose recipe.

Our friend and handyman, Rudi, has two gardens at his home.  One is his and one is tended by his friend, Jeff.  Rudi and Jeff have supplied us with tomatoes & peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, kale, arugula, and the list just goes on...

A few weeks ago, Rudi brought us a big bag of zucchini.  Sally, our other assistant, made mouth watering zucchini bread from it that we served to guests at breakfast the next day.

The Lion & the Rose Bed and Breakfast is in a perfect location:  a short walk from downtown Asheville, North Carolina - "the Paris of the South", and three miles from the entrance to the Biltmore Estate.  But it is the unmatched natural beauty of the mountains that has lured visitors here since the first railroad lines allowed access.

Known by many names - Appalachian, Smoky, Blue Ridge -  this mountain range is the oldest in the world.  Age has covered the mountain rock with rich earth and lush vegetation.

There are hundreds of scenic view points in Asheville and in Western North Carolina, but one of the most dramatic is at Craggy Gardens.  The Craggy Gardens Visitor Center is just 24 miles from Downtown Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Views can be enjoyed from parking areas and overlooks, but we prefer to take the short and easy hike to Craggy Pinnacle.  This trail head is a little North of the Visitor Center at milepost 364.1.  The hike takes you through a tunnel of rhododendron thickets to the summit for unobstructed views in every direction.

Craggy Gardens is 3,500 feet higher than Asheville and can be 10-20 degrees cooler.  We took these photos in the middle of June on a day of record heat (90 degrees in town).  At Craggy it was 70 degrees and very windy. 

You can see the effects of the wind in some of the photos - but hearing it has to be experienced.  The sound of the wind in the tall grass and thickets is just like the sound of ocean waves.

We are very fortunate to live less than a block from Kenneth & Irene Richards - well traveled connoisseurs of art, food, wine, & life.

Ken and the former Irene Dillingham (from Dillingham, North Carolina) married in Switzerland and worked as overseas educators, authors, publishers, wine masters, and lecturers throughout Europe.

Their first trip back to the states brought them to North Carolina's section of the Blue Ridge Parkway and to the view of Craggy Gardens from 3000 feet down the mountain.  According to Ken, once you are "kissed by the winds of the Craggies", you will always return.                           

When they did return, Ken & Irene were among the few brave people who purchased houses in the Montford neighborhood in the 1970s when it was in disrepair.  Their house was at one time the Asheville Art Museum.  They made this beautiful building their home, and have carefully restored and maintained it for many years.

Ken just celebrated his 75th birthday with a party for friends and family at his home.  His wife Irene, daughter Constance, and son-in-law Vadim Bora were the hosts.  But, Ken is always the toastmaster at any occasion large or small.  He welcomed his guests with Champagne mimosas and with his jovial, eloquent self.

This Renaissance man and his family add to the rich tapestry of inhabitants who make Asheville, North Carolina unique and beautiful.

We finally have a restaurant in our neighborhood again and it is the best ever!  It's so close to The Lion & the Rose that you can see it from our front gate.

Nine Mile (named for Bob Marley's birth place in Jamaica) has been open now for a year, and has never disappointed us or any of our guests.

Some people are a little hesitant at first when we describe the cuisine as Jamaican or Caribbean pasta...but once they try it they are amazed.  

The freshness of the ingredients is what you notice first, then the subtlety of the flavors overtakes you.  Most people expect Jamaican food to be all jerk seasonings - very hot and overpowering - but it is nothing like this.

Their signature dish - Nine Mile - is made with grilled jerk chicken, sauteed fresh ginger, fire roasted tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, squash, zucchini, and herbs; served with linguine and spring onions.

Another of our favorites is Island in the Sea with shrimp, crab meat, & diced clams, sauteed with yellow squash and zucchini in an alfredo or marinara sauce and served over a bed of spinach fettuccine.

The great food and reasonable prices have made Nine Mile #1 on Trip Advisor for Asheville, North Carolina restaurants.  That is no small accomplishment since Asheville is known for its numerous, excellent independently owned eateries.

Owners Nate & Aaron (Aaron is the chef too) keep their place open seven days a week for lunch & dinner.  They also offer local beer on tap, a large selection of organic wines, and locally made desserts.

Ricardo, a guest at The Lion & the Rose Bed & Breakfast in early April, is perfecting his talents as an amateur photographer, and we are the fortunate recipients of his work.

              Here is his photo of our informal parlor...and another of the second floor landing and stairwell. 

                                                  Ricardo also got a great shot of the exterior of the inn.

After reading our blog page, he decided to visit Asheville's Riverside Cemetery to see if he could find Leo the Cat.  Leo is featured in a recent blog post.  Luck was with Ricardo, as he got several shots of Leo in some of his favorite haunts.

                                                                            What a handsome cat!                 

Asheville North Carolina's historic Riverside Cemetery, just a few blocks from The Lion & the Rose Bed and Breakfast, is the final resting place for many famous citizens:  Civil War Governor Zebulon Vance, writers Thomas Wolfe and O. Henry, and architect Richard Sharp Smith - to name a few.

However, our favorite resident, Leo the Cat, is still among the living.  Leo's history is just as interesting as that  of the permanent cemetery residents - maybe even more so.  You see, he has a home within a block of the cemetery.  But, he rarely goes there because he doesn't get along with the other cats who live there.  His owner keeps an eye on him and brings food to him when she's able, but she is getting on in years so she can't visit him as often as she'd like.              

The park warden and his staff make sure that Leo always has fresh water and food.  They've placed two bowls for him just outside the warden's office building on the cemetery grounds.  Plus, other regular visitors bring food to Leo.  We are among them.  Sometimes Leo finds us before we get to his bowls, so we feed him on the closest flat surface away from the road.

Our friend, Carolyn, sometimes gives Leo extra attention, and she comes up with good omelet recipes too.

Leo is a handsome and friendly cat, but this has caused him some problems.  People fall in love with him, think he is a stray, and take him away to their homes.  This has happened so many times that the warden has posted a sign in his office window with Leo's photo on it.

The sign reads:  My name is Leo.  I like to hang around the cemetery.  I have a home, so please don't take me to yours.

As a matter of fact, Leo's sign is close to the photos of some of the other famous Riverside residents...

                                                         an interesting comment on lives great and small.