For the second year in a row, we headed up to the North Georgia mountains for my birthday weekend. We had such a great time last year in Helen, but we decided to mix it up a bit and go to Blue Ridge for this trip. We booked a cozy cabin right next to a creek, and took the dogs with us. And of course, no trip to North GA is complete without a visit to at least one winery…
This trip we visited Montaluce Vineyards and had lunch at Le Vigne Restaurant. The views were spectacular and we dined on english cheddar cheese with blackberry compote, arugula salad with shaved cauliflower, smoked salmon with goat cheese, pickled blueberries and creme fraiche, and a duo of lamb and pork belly with apples and pickled mustard seed. Yum-o! They grow a lot of the food on-site, and we very much enjoyed the rustic, yet complex farm-to-table cuisine. It was not cheap, but it was very good quality.We shared a red wine tasting which was great, they brought some complimentary mead out of for my birthday and we got some bottles to go. A perfectly decadent birthday afternoon!
After lunch, we headed up to Blue Ridge to our cabin. It was located in a small valley, next to a lovely stream and had a fire pit, swing and a hot tub. The inside was rustic and charming – perfect for us and the dogs.
We cooked a nice pasta with meat sauce for dinner and had a bottle of pinot noir which we put in the new decanter Sean got me for my birthday. We also made a fire, snuggled with the pups and read our books for part of the evening. A pretty perfect day I won’t soon forget.
On Saturday, we enjoyed a lazy morning and had french toast for breakfast. A hike was the only thing on our agenda and we ended up doing the Flat Creek Trail which was about 6 miles up the mountin, then down to the forest floor along the creek, and back up the mountain. It was challenging at points but it was very peaceful being in the fresh air and hearing nothing but the sounds of nature for three hours.
After the hike, we ate lunch at Blue Ridge Mountain bbq and were disappoointed. We then walked around downtown Blue Ridge and went in the cute shopos, general store and picked up a souvenir Christmas Tree ornament at Fezziwigs. (And I loved the planter with gorgeous kale and a big ole gourd – pictured below.)
Back at the cabin, we had more relaxation time in the hot tub and with the pups before we started cooking dinner.
Sean bought me a very, very nice bottle of Bordeaux. The kind that is fully aged and needs to decant for at least an hour before drinking. Yeah, it was amazing. I could get really, really used to drinking wine like that if my wallet could handle it. The meal was pretty amazing too – Sean cooked the T-bone steak perfectly, and the grilled portabello mushrooms and garlic mashed red skin potatoes where great accompaniments. It was another absolutely amazing day.
I was sad to leave on Sunday. I wanted the rest and relaxation to continue forever! All in all though, it was a great birthday this year. Looking forward to the next one as a newlywed! Ahhh!