Charlottesville, VA

This Saturday, we went with two of our sweet D.C. friends, Laura and Clint, to one of our favorite cities in the States- Charlottesville,VA. John and I went for the first time last year during our interview trail adventures and again as a pit stop on our way to D.C. for my interviews earlier this year. We absolutely love the small town feel of the town and the picturesque landscape that surrounds it. So, we couldn't wait to share it with friends who had yet to experience all that Charlottesville offers.

We started the day by visiting the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum which lies on the outskirts of the city center. I absolutely love the style of artwork and all of the symbolism behind it. Each piece tells a story with each dot, line, and color being significant to a greater story. An added bonus is that the museum is in the middle of a stunning historic home that's a work of art in itself.

Next on the agenda was eating lunch at one of my all time favorite restaurants, Feast!. Feast! is actually a cafe within a small local grocery store. The menu is composed of gourmet sandwiches and soups made with some of the most exquisite, local and fresh ingredients. There are some mainstays on the menu, but a lot of the items change with the season. John and I split the Fall Favorite Grilled Cheese (Mahon cheese (Spanish, cow), caramelized onions, sliced local apples, balsamic vinaigrette, oatmeal crunch bread), the ham , goat cheese and plum panini (rosemary ham, caromont goat cheese, virginia chutney co. spicy plum chutney, arugula, focaccia, grilled) and a cup of the carrot, coconut, ginger soup. The portion sizes are just right and I'm telling you, they make some of the best sandwiches that I've ever had. 

We then walked around the cobble stoned Pedestrian Mall, peeping into stores like Caspari and Rock, Paper, Scissors. I could have literally spent hours there considering that there's good shopping, good food and a great atmosphere to enjoy both of those things in. 

It was then time to a take a quick walking tour of UVA's historic campus. All of the walking around the Pedestrian Mall had us craving a sweet treat. So, we stopped into a UVA favorite, Bodo's Bagelsfor a warm bagel and Diet Coke to power up for more walking. The Rotunda is actually under construction, but it was still pretty despite the black tarps that covered portions of it. The lawn was hopping and full of students since UVA was hosting Kent State for an afternoon game. I must say, I did not intentionally wear UVA colors, but it was funny to blend in amongst the fans.

We were then on our way to the mountain top for a tour of James Monroe's Ash-Lawn Highland. John and I had visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello last year and were in awe of the beautiful views from the mountaintop where the home rests. So, we were pretty excited to take a tour of his next door neighbor's (Monroe's) home. Monroe's home was a bit smaller than Jefferson's but it made for a more intimate look into the former President's home and made it feel as if it was just lived in.

After our tour, we stayed on the mountaintop, but went a few more miles down the road to Jefferson Vineyards. We started out by having a wine tasting (which included snagging a free wine glass)  and finished the evening by eating sandwiches from SALT and enjoying music by Adam Ezra Group as we watched the sunset outside of the winery. We even ran into one of John's fraternity brothers/former roommate. Such a small world!