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Richmond, VA

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting Richmond, VA to visit one of my best friends who recently relocated there.  Pics can be found here.

I had forgotten that Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, but Richmond has not forgotten.  Outside the VMFA people were out protesting and waving the confederate flag.  Check out an article about it here.

Richmond is two hours from the beach, two hours from DC, and two hours from mountains (so I’m told).  It’s located on the James river and I was insanely jealous of how they are able to utilize the river as a public space.  It’s a bit less nasty and deadly than the Mississippi.

Saturday morning we got up and walked to find some food on Cary St.  My friends live in The Fan which is a really hip part of town full of the rowhouses that you associate with Richmond.  Afterward we set off to explore downtown and saw the river which has a really great pedestrian bride that chronicles the abandonment and destruction of the city by the Confederates during the war.

After exploring that part of the river we went into downtown to see the train station.  It’s stunning from the outside, but the inside was not as spectacular as I would have hoped.  However, they were setting up for a wedding which prevented me from fully exploring.  I’m sure there were some nice parts that I did not see.  After the train station I realized we were close to the Edgar Allan Poe museum so we walked up the street to visit.  It’s a hole in the wall located in what is supposedly the oldest house in the city (Poe never lived there).  The museum itself is not overwhelmingly impressive, but is a great little stop that is priced right.  It’s full of odd Poe artifacts like his childhood bed and lock of his hair and a really creepy memorial statue.  If you are interested in Poe or American literature in general you should take an hour to explore.  After the Poe museum we stopped by the Capitol building and Governor’s mansion followed by a trip up Church Hill.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Belle Isle (after getting some snacks at 7-eleven) and it was quite lovely.  You take a suspension pedestrian bridge over the river and we saw a ton of people out and about: kids, dog owners, bicyclists, and more were there to enjoy the outdoors.  We didn’t walk the whole trail, instead we stopped at the first set of rocks we came to and sat out enjoying the sun while dipping our feet in the river.  Let me mention again how envious I am of the usability of the James River.  The Mississippi is just a bit too wild to swim in.

Saturday night we had dinner downtown at Tarrant’s Cafe.  It was good, but not really amazing in my book.  I may have just ordered the wrong thing.  Plus, the ambiance was off because we chose to be seated in the back portion of the restaurant which houses the “to-go” facility.  It was a bit loud and there was a rambunctious child causing trouble.  I may try it again on my next visit to RVA.

Sunday I don’t really have much to talk about except for the really delicious brunch we ate at Stella’s.  I would most definitely add this to your list if your find yourself in Richmond.  It’s a Greek place and also provided me my first taste of Greek beer!  I had planned on getting up early and checking out the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, but it was so cold and rainy that I decided to stay in bed instead.  We had initially planned on going to DC for the day too, but once again the weather changed our plans.  We opted to go to Williamsburg and check out the outlet mall.  It was a fun afternoon and I found a good deal on some cords at J.Crew, so I count it as a win in my book.

Overall, I was very impressed with Richmond.  It’s got some great food, recreation, and architecture, and gave off a friendly vibe.  If your find yourself in the area you should spend a day exploring.