Our days with daughter Lise have been full. We’ve done a year’s worth of shopping for things she can’t get in Denmark. Constant talking filled the gaps.
We were in Cherokee long enough to get a picture of one of the street signs. The name is written in English and in Cherokee. For those who don’t know, the Eastern Band of Cherokees have a reservation here. You first notice the enormous gambling casino and touristy shops selling trinkets. Search further, and you will find a museum and an outdoor presentation of Indian culture and crafts. We haven’t seen it in years, but the drama Unto These Hills still plays to crowds in the summer.
On the way home, we detoured onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and enjoyed a sunset as we drove.
The light gradually faded, leaving bands of pink and blue on the horizon.
We enjoyed the lavish Christmas decorations at the Biltmore Estate. To the right of the front door was the glass-roofed winter garden, filled with plants and flowers. The main Christmas tree was in its usual place in the dining hall. Every year they have that tree decorated before Thanksgiving and replace it halfway through the season with another one, erected and decorated in one night. According to a guide, there were 53 Christmas trees in the house this year. Reason tells me the Vanderbilts did not have that many trees in the house when they lived there.
We ate lunch at the Moose Cafe and walked through half the farmers’ market where we were tempted by the photo station.
Mehrling Muse 
are they living trees in the estate or fake?
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The huge tree in the dining hall is a real tree, but the others are not. There were so many ornaments on the other trees, that you could hardly see any branches.
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It looks like the two of you had a very girlie time Anne.I bet you enjoyed every minute of it.
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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John was with us much of the time — not for the shopping, though. We are still enjoying Lise. Our son John $ was with us today, also. Lise flies back to Denmark on Saturday.
xxx Shopping Hugs xxx
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A fun day!
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What great pictures, and the smiles were wonderful. I’m glad you had a great outing and visit with her. That tree was loaded with ornaments!
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We still have a few days left, and we hope to make the most of them.
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Oh it all looks fun! The Biltmore Estate is on my bucket list! I love old buildings.
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A number of our guests have gone to see Biltmore, and they all liked it. I hope you get to see it some day.
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I hope so too!
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Wish we were there to see Lise! Of course, we’re looking forward to seeing you and John in January.
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We’re looking forward to seeing you, too.
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Great pix, Anne! Looks like you had a ton of fun!! How often do you get to see each other? Have you visited her there? Did she marry a Danish fellow, and is that why she’s there? Curious me! 😀
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Lise has been coming once a year at Thanksgiving. She wants us to come to Denmark, but we won’t fly any more. Lise wanted to live abroad, and her mentor for her master’s degree had lived there. With his advice and the help of new friends she made in Denmark, she found a temporary job which led to her permanent job. She was divorced before she moved to Copenhagen.
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I’ll bet she’s perfectly fluent in Danish now!
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She reads and understands Danish but is hesitant to speak it. The language of her company is English. She is fluent in German, French, and Farsi. I have no such talent.
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Wow, good for her, I’m really impressed!! I’m particularly interested in how she acquired fluency in Farsi! Did she live in Iran??
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Lise was married to an Iranian for 17 years. His parents would come to visit for months at a time, and learning Farsi enabled her to communicate with them. She loved them. They are dead now, but she has lovely memories of them.
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Wowww… what a life-altering experience it must’ve been!I have Iranian neighbours (they like to call themselves “Persian” mind you) who are sooo nice. …My belief is that there’s good and bad in every ethnic group.
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I’m glad to have known Lise’s Persians. I’m sure you are right about there being good and bad people in all groups. We seem to have met many more pleasant people than ugly ones.
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Me too. 😊
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Lovely Christmas decor. It is always a joy to bond with family members.
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I am so glad you are having such a lovely visit with your daughter!
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Thank you. We have exercised our laugh muscles unmercifully.
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We used to visit Cherokee every year when my daughter was small. We’d meet my sister and her family, who drove from Ohio, in the general vicinity to spend the week. The kids still remember the Cherokee museum and seeing them make the beads, the cabins, etc. Your photos show many smiles, so I’m sure you enjoyed and cherished every moment!
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I loved taking a vacation through your words and pictures Anne! I am so glad you had a wonderful visit with your Lise.
I had to google you to find you back….for some reason you are not showing up on my reader in wordpress! I am going to have to get the figured out cause I miss seeing what you are doing!
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I’ve had people disappear and had to follow them again.
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The blue ridge parkway never gets old! And the Biltmore at Christmas is amazing, isn’t it?
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The overview of the blur ridge mountains are so picturesque, I’m a sucker for sunsets.
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