My husband and I just returned from an overnight trip to a B&B in the Mountains -- about an hour from our house. My husband was happy because I agreed to travel in one of his many Fiats, which he seems to like to drive fast on windy mountain roads. Anyway, we had a great time and the innkeepers were incredibly nice. I was a bit worried when we first walked in that I would hate it because the decor was country-crafty to the extreme -- something that generally makes my skin break out in hives -- but the overall experience was so nice that I quickly overcame my reservations. (One strange thing was that the over-the-top Victorian chintz floral wallpaper in our room looked a lot like a bunch of evil monkeys -- maybe Mojo Jojo. That was my sort of rorschach impression anyway. It was rather unnerving until I got used to it.)
The views at this inn were so incredible and their desserts (English trifle!) and breakfast were fab. We tried several new restaurants while we were in the area. One is rather famous; it's called the Greenbrier. The setting and views were terrific but we both found the food pretty mediocre. We ate lunch at the Fox and Parrot Pub in the arts and crafts community just outside Gatlinburg. We just happened upon the place, and since my Jungian folk memories (as well as happy days spent living in London while in college) have made me a rabid Anglophile, I made Chris stop. It's a cabin set back in the woods -- you can't see it from the road, and it was just great. I had the best fish and chips I have ever tasted in this country (we saw the bar guy/owner getting beer for the batter from his tap while he was cooking) and a cherry tart, as well as two pints of Ten Pinte Ale from the nearby Rocky River Brewery. The Rocky River brewmaster just happened to be sitting at the bar when we got there, so he recommended a particular beer to me. It was a really superlative light pale ale. The menu had all kinds of my favorite pub grub I want to go back to have, including Welsh rabbit, bubble and squeak, shepherds pie and cornish pasties. Yum.
The views at this inn were so incredible and their desserts (English trifle!) and breakfast were fab. We tried several new restaurants while we were in the area. One is rather famous; it's called the Greenbrier. The setting and views were terrific but we both found the food pretty mediocre. We ate lunch at the Fox and Parrot Pub in the arts and crafts community just outside Gatlinburg. We just happened upon the place, and since my Jungian folk memories (as well as happy days spent living in London while in college) have made me a rabid Anglophile, I made Chris stop. It's a cabin set back in the woods -- you can't see it from the road, and it was just great. I had the best fish and chips I have ever tasted in this country (we saw the bar guy/owner getting beer for the batter from his tap while he was cooking) and a cherry tart, as well as two pints of Ten Pinte Ale from the nearby Rocky River Brewery. The Rocky River brewmaster just happened to be sitting at the bar when we got there, so he recommended a particular beer to me. It was a really superlative light pale ale. The menu had all kinds of my favorite pub grub I want to go back to have, including Welsh rabbit, bubble and squeak, shepherds pie and cornish pasties. Yum.
<< Home