Grove Park Inn & Grovewood Gallery

 We lived right around the corner (within 2 miles) from the Grove Park Inn.  This 100+ year old hotel is gorgeous and has amazing views.  One afternoon we decided to pretend like we were supposed to be there, and walked around the premises.  We showed the kids the huge fireplaces located in the foyers.  Afterwards, we went to the Grovewood Gallery which has an Antique Car Museum, the Homespun Museum, and the Grovewood Studios.  The North Carolina Homespun Museum presented a historical overview of Biltmore Industries and its internationally renowned wool cloth.  The Antique Car Museum was established in 1965 by Asheville businessman, Harry Blomberg, who owned a car dealership.  The museum is home to several rare and vintage automobiles, as well as some original horse-drawn carriages and Asheville's own American La France fire engine.  (This was our favorite stop of the afternoon and well worth the visit if you are in the area.)  The Grovewood Studios has amazing hand crafted art artifacts.

The fire truck designed specifically for Asheville.

1915 Model T Ford

The car seen on the back of the $10 bill.

Inside the Homespun Museum.

The Wind Garden outside the Studio.

Hanging at House

Bobby had the opportunity to go to Advanced Placement training for a week in Atlanta in order to be certified to teach an Advanced Placement Human Geography course in the future.   Since we are a one car household, that meant the kids and I were stuck at the house for a week.  Amelie and I made a menu of fun foods that we usually don't eat and made sure we were well stocked before Bobby left. We also made a trip to Walmart for some art supplies and a plastic golf set to have some activities to keep us occupied too.  Our washing machine happened to need to be replaced while Bobby was away so I asked the delivery guys if we could keep the box.  Having the large appliance box was a huge score as it was a fort, a slide, a way to torture your sibling, and so much more.  The weather was beautiful so we enjoyed time in our yard and Mr. Rob & Mrs. Gayle's yard.  One day, I started punting the football to Liam and then chasing him once he got the football.  This turned into a favorite game that we played a lot.  We added the component that whoever wasn't being chased had to block me.  Amelie and Liam took turns at which role they were playing.  For the record, I do not want Liam to ever play football…soccer is okay…not football.   They also liked to race and have me count out loud.  Amelie worked to improve her time.  I love her hard work ethic and determination once she sets her mind to something.  We Skyped with Bobby every evening.  We missed him a lot and were so thankful to see him (and the car for freedoms sake) again!  If I had to be stuck somewhere, I could not have asked for a better spot!

A little finger painting on the back deck.  I wanted both kids to be naked for ease of cleaning up afterwards.  However, before I could get to Liam he had already coated his hands in paint so we just went with it. :)

They loved taking a bath afterwards and watching all of the colored water as we got all of the paint off.

Amelie produced a lot of art.  This picture is of us hiking on a mountain.  If you look closely, you will see our family, trees, a bird, a cloud, and a bear.

I made colored frosting (food coloring, powdered sugar, and milk) and allowed them to frost vanilla wafers and graham crackers.  Amelie made different landscapes with these shapes (houses, trees, etc).

Once Liam awoke from his nap, Amelie explained to him what to do.
He didn't really care about decorating, but did enjoy eating his snack!

We went on a rock hunt in the creek and along the creek bank one day.  We found flat, good sized rocks to paint.  We then lined them on the deck to allow them to dry out really well.  Amelie and Liam then painted beautiful designs.  We mixed the 3 primary colors of paints to make 3 more colors.  We took 3 of the rocks to Mr. Rob & Mrs. Gayle.

Our nature scavenger hunt was a lot of fun.  We found various things in various numbers in Mrs. Gayle's yard.  Once we got back to our deck we organized 1 - 15, glued it down, and then Amelie numbered them.  

Our inspiration came from the Richard Scarry book shown above.

Eating watermelon and playing in the hammock.

Liam with Mrs. Gayle.  We didn't get any pictures with Mr. Rob.

Mr. Rob found this strawberry and left it for Amelie and Liam with a special note.  :)

Urban Trail Downtown Asheville

Asheville's history and past are told through 30 stops, each with public sculpture which function as landmarks along the Urban Trail.  This self-guided tour winds it way in and around downtown.  Asheville's history is rich, and the Urban Trail highlights upon five distinct time periods that are signified by pink granite markers in the sidewalk: the feather represents the Guilded Age, the horseshoe represents the Frontier Period, an angel for the Times of Thomas Wolfe, the courthouse for the Era of Civic Pride, and an eagle for the Age of Diversity.  We did not complete the entire 1.7 mile trail in one day, but instead spent a couple of days reading the plaques near each sculpture while also popping in and out of shops, art galleries, and places to eat.  

Eating at Doc Chey's Noodle House.  

Standing in Thomas Wolfe's shoes outside of his childhood home.

Amelie did a great job spotting the trail markers embedded in the sidewalk as we went.

Liam loved the On the Move sculpture because it spun and created the sounds of the varying forms of transportation.

The firemen were outside so invited us over for a closer look at the truck.

I have really turned into a sucker for architecture…I loved seeing the various buildings and details.

Basilica of St. Lawrence

Crossroads Sculpture of pigs and turkeys in the center of downtown.
The kids would always have to hop on whenever we passed by.

One of the many shops that held dozens booths of local artist's works.

Cat Walk Sculpture

Appalachian Stage Sculpture in front of the Civic Center.  The kids liked trying to play each of the instruments.

Shopping Daze Sculpture

We enjoyed pursuing through the Mast General Store on a couple of occasions.
They have fun toys (guns that pop our a cork, etc) and dozens of barrels filled with candy. 

Meštrović Gallery

Ivan Meštrović Gallery, Galerija Meštrović, is an art museum dedicated to the work of the 20th-century sculptor, Ivan Meštrović.  The gallery is located in Ivan's summer home which is located on Marjan Hill and has spectacular views of the Adriatic Sea.  Ivan Meštrović was Croatia’s most famous sculptor, painter, architect, and writer.  Today his works are exhibited in renowned European and American museums and galleries, including the Vatican. His art has been compared to that of Michelangelo and Rodin.

The gardens dotted with bronze sculptures were just as much fun as touring the house.

Since the sun was shining, we decided to walk to the galleries on November 27th even though temperatures were in the upper 40's and low 50's.  On our way we stopped by a tourist office to pick up a Split card that we had read about.  The Split card is free for people staying more than 3 days in Split and offers discounted prices as well as free admission to many of the museums and galleries in town.   We were pumped about saving money!  We also were able to talk with the staff about planning our trip to Plitvice National Park for sometime before we leave Croatia.

We were the only people visiting the gallery.  We are enjoying having places to ourselves as we have heard the summer months are crowded and busy.  Since we had the place to ourselves, we ended up being really silly (or at least we thought we were really silly).

Liam pointing out body parts on a pair of huge walnut Adam and Eve figures. 

Amelie and Liam trying to mimic Job's pose.
We might need to work on our mimicking ability.
I tried to help Liam squat at one point, but he was determined to roll his ankles.
As I am writing this blog post, I see why.  It's because Job's feet are rolled in.  Funny kid.

Liam posing like the powerful bronze Cyclops sculpture (yes he is holding a rock). 

 We all had an enjoyable time looking at Ivan's works.  We were able to explore without feeling like we were being too loud or too all over the place.

I find myself most drawn to works with the theme of mothers and children.

After touring through the main gallery, we walked up the road to visit the 16th-century Kaštelet, a Renaissance-style summer house on the gallery property purchased and remodeled by Meštrović in 1939 as a showcase for his 28 wooden "Life of Christ Cycle" reliefs. The room-size wood carvings were completed over the course of Meštrović's lifetime between 1916 and 1950, and they line Kaštelet's Holy Cross Chapel.  The Kaštelet itself was really neat, as it served as a family's summer retreat house, but at one time it also served as a defense against the Turks.  In addition, it has been a tannery and lazaretto for plague victims.   Amelie and Liam enjoyed running around the large open space around the well.

Bobby talked through with Amelie what each panel portrayed of Christ's life.

Amelie could clearly identify many of the panels without any explanation.

On our walk to the gallery, we saw a sidewalk directly on the coastline.  We figured out a way down and started walking.  We walked from Jezinac Beach past Zvoncac Beach to the smaller harbor by "our" playground.  It was windy and cold, but it was fun seeing pools formed out of rocks, street art, and spray from the ocean.  The sidewalk was narrow, but that just added to the fun of the adventure.

Here is a map of the peninsula and our walking route of the day.

You can see the steps going down to another pool on the right side of the picture.

We had a fun day.  Eating Pasta-To-Go for dinner was a great way to end the day.  The staff know us and Amelie loves that they remember her and her order (pesto pasta).  Here are a couple of pictures of our walk as we approached our apartment: