…in need of a great, high end burger joint! Otherwise, this small city in Western North Carolina has it all. We were impressed by the number of independent book stores.  With this greater sophistication, there are of course, higher prices for services like the YMCA, organic food, and high end chocolate stores. The city also gets an A+ for window design. One clothing store is well known for a yearly window display created by the staff, all made of paper.

  I can’t remember what this store sold, but it was eye catching and invitingly weird.

I guess when you have the Biltmore in your town, you would just have more sophistication than the average WNC town. Vanderbilt’s 255 room home, was done up for Christmas. Their floral design curator has 12 full-time staff, as every inch of the place is decorated with fine detail…65 tall trees, wreaths, swags in the house, the visitor center, the onsite hotel, Village and Vineyard. His goal was a castle bigger and finer than any in Europe.

Okay, Vanderbilt, you won, but we find the Hearst Castle on the California coast more of a realistic size for an American magnate, and featuring more American Art and Design. Wouldn’t most of us choose a weekend riding horses, having cocktails at the Neptune pool, while hanging out with the artists of the day? Perhaps, that is just this California Jewish cowgirl’s bias.