Tuesday we drove over to Asheville to take Cindy’s mom and dad to the Biltmore Estate Gate House Shop. This is an annual stop for Cindy’s mom, but Cindy and I had never been to it before so it was a first time treat for the two of us.
One of the nice things about this shop is that, while it is part of the Biltmore Estate, you do not have to pay to enter the Estate in order to go to the shop. I’d like to visit the Estate again (Cindy and I went 3 years ago, shortly after moving to Wolf’s Haven), but I want to visit in the spring when the gardens are in full bloom.
The shop is 2 floors of delightful offerings, from food and decorations to books and clothing. Cindy bought some flavored dipping sauces, a book and some Wassail to add to our apple cider. Cindy’s mom limited her shopping picks to some dressings. Despite those minimal purchases, we spent over an hour just walking around and looking at all the fun things available in the shop. They had a Yule tree that generated its own snow from the top of the tree, falling gently on the branches, a beautiful music player modeled after the old player pianos, some enchanting toys for children and many, many other delightful items.
Like the bear cub sleeping in the basket. I’ve never seen a live bear cub in person, but this certainly looked life-like to me.
If you’ve never visited the Biltmore Estate Gate House Shop, I recommend stopping there if you get the chance and enjoying the experience.
