Updating and A Weekend Getaway in Ol' Virginny!

Ok..it's been a long time since I've posted here...yikes! Sorry! But it's hard for me to keep up! Journaling is not my thing-apparently, not even electronically!

Quick update: Robert and I finally moved in together in December! We bought a lovely home in Old Town, Alexandria and we love it! We are just minutes from excellent dining in Old Town, and a short walk to the King St. Metro. It's convenient, pretty, comfortable and cozy. We've finished decorating and had a great housewarming in March.

Currently, my parents are visiting and staying with us in their upstairs studio-apartment. Ok, it's just a bedroom and a bathroom, but they've made it their own and spend most of their time either in there or walking around Old Town.

A while back, Robert and I decided to go on a weekend getaway to relax and unplug from the last 6 months, which have been rather hectic. So, I wanted to just update everyone on a great weekend getaway trip Robert and I took to Charlottesville this weekend.

We stayed in a cute little B&B in Orange, Virginia. Yes, Orange..birthplace of James Madison, people! :) Anyway, it's a teeny tiny town just about 30 min from downtown Charlottesville. I tried to get a B&B in Cville itself, but they were all booked. There were several events going on that weekend, including a Wine Festival and Dogwood Festival, which made it impossible to get a spot in town. That said, we loved where we ended up staying. It's called the Inn on Poplar Hill and it is owned and run by Marty and Victoria Tourville. We had a great time, it was very relaxing! Robert and I recommend it to anyone who just wants to get away for a few days and unplug! The owners are great and very very friendly and the service and food were excellent. The rooms are quaint as you would expect in this sort of establishment, but everything worked and was impeccably clean. Some great trails as well to walk around and the weather, well, the weather was gorgeous, so who could complain? :)


On Friday night we stayed in Orange. Soon we realized that there isn't very much to do or see in Orange, and everything seems to shut down at 9pm. (except for the McDonald's which was packed..but that's another story for another time). Anyway we had a delicious dinner at a lovely bistro called Elmwood at Sparks, which apparently changes from its daytime "deli" atmosphere into a more posh restaurant for dinner on the weekends only. I had a delicious Portobello Ravioli and Robert had the Pork Chops w/Pesto which was also yummy (from the bite I tasted).


Then came Saturday, we woke up to a delicious brunch at the B&B and then we headed off to Monticello (the home of Thomas Jefferson) for a lovely tour and then right over to Ashlawn-Highland (the home of James Monroe), for a shorter tour and then a lovely picnic on the grounds of the plantation. One thing is for sure, those tour guides are really protective of their particular subjects. The Monticello tour guide seemed to think Jefferson was Jesus and the Ashlawn tour guide had the biggest chip on her shoulder about Jefferson getting all the credit while Monroe did all the work! "If Monroe had followed Jefferson's orders, we'd just have New Orleans!!" ok Lady, calm down! Don't scare the kids on the tour!


After our picnic, we headed over to the grounds of my alma matter, the University of Virginia and we had a great time just walkin' around the Lawn and the older part of the university. We walked into the Rotunda and caught up with a tour that took us through the major history of the founding of the University and the older part of the school. Robert didn't know much about UVa so he really enjoyed the tour.


Then we did our own walking, and sight-seeing, and we saw most of the rest of the grounds until dinner time when we headed to the Downtown Mall to have dinner.
I hadn't walked through the Downtown Mall area in Cville in 8 years and what a revitalization! It looks greats and all the restaurants with shopping/etc...very nice. We ended up eating at a rather pricey place (cause we couldn't find a seat anywhere else!) called Hamilton's on 1st and Main, the service was not great, a bit snooty, but the food was delicious..I had the Vegetarian Blue Plate Special which was quite diverse and really very yummy.


For dessert we strolled over to Splendora's Gelato Cafe. All I know is that there was a line out the door, so we assumed it would be yummy..and it WAS! I had Zambaione, which is one of my favorite flavors, but rarely found in the U.S. (it's all over Uruguay) w/ Dulce de Leche. Yum-Yum-Yum!


On Sunday, we woke up to another delicious "country breakfast" at the B&B, and then we headed over to Gordonsville to meet my old friend Wendy for an early lunch at Toliver House...what a quaint and cozy restaurant! If you are looking for ol' Southern charm and hospitality, look no further...the restaurant was so sleepy, it didn't even seem open when we arrived at 11:30am for lunch. The maitre d' seemed surprised we were there! While we waited for my friend to arrive, we had some Ice Tea and water on the front porch and enjoyed the sunny April morning. I felt like such a Southerner! Y'all!


Once Wendy arrived we moved inside and it really is a great little spot. The food was good. I had a nice Spinach Salad with walnuts, goat cheese and a very interesting vinagrette that I still can't figure out exactly what it was..but very tasty!


Then we said goodbye to Wendy and headed back to Orange to visit Montpelier, the home of James Madison. We had been forwarned that the home was under renovation, since it was only recently handed over to the public patrimony after years of ownership by the famed Duponts of Delaware. The foundation is now making over 70 million dollars worth of upgrades, repairs, re-constructions of the building and they are only about 1/2 way through.
It's still an interesting place to visit and the house is gorgeous from the outside (where restoration has been completed) and the grounds surrounding the house area breaktakingly beautiful, lush and relaxing. But inside the house...it's basically one big construction site and they really shouldn't be bringing people in on tours until they are done, which is planned to be in 2010 or so. I'd recommend waiting until then to see the finished product.


We had a wonderful weekend, and we learned a lot about U.S. History. After all, we discovered why Virginia is often called "The Mother of Presidents". Oh, and we also gained like 10 lbs each! :)