Spring Visit to Richmond



The renovated capital building, Richmond, VA.

The Jefferson Hotel, Richmond.

Just two hours south of our how on 95, we have driven through Richmond plenty of times, but  never took the time to stop and explore this former capital of the Confederacy.  A really hot special from The Jefferson Hotel and a weekend forecast that promised plenty of sunshine finally tempted us to visit our state capital. What we discovered: Richmond is a charming, southern gem of a town. 

Here are the highlights:

One of the charming streets we explored in Richmond.

• The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.  This lovely and free museum has an impressive collection of furniture and a nice selection of art from all the major movements.  Set in a lovely section of Richmond, the building fuses old and modern architecture and lives on a stunning campus surrounding by interesting sculpture and landscape.
• The Museum of the Confederacy. Although the museum is a little dated,  I am glad we visited.  I was especially impressed  by the tour of the White House, adjacent to the museum. We had a really fantastic guide who provided some really interesting details about life in the 1860s.
• The Hollywood Cemetery.  This 19th century cemetery is quite lovely to stroll around in and visit the graves of several U.S. Presidents as well as people connected with the Civil War.  Perched above the James River, it was particularly stunning when we visited--the dogwoods in full bloom.
• Exploring the Neighborhoods of Richmond.  From Carytown to Oregon Hill to Shockoe Bottom, we were struck by the bohemian, independent vibe and enjoyed wandering.  Lots of great little boutiques and restaurants to try.  We had a very lovely meal at Acacia, which is on the edge of the Fan District.

2012 Travel Plans

I am a planner.  I can't help it.  Because Kevin has to squeeze out every day of vacation strategically, we take this time of year to chart our travels.  Without the dog, I anticipate we'll explore some weekend places that weren't as dog friendly.  We also have a few big trips on the horizon. Here's what we know so far:

One of the many gorgeous beaches of Cat Island.

1.  Cat Island (late January).  One of Bahamas Out Islands, Cat island has a small population (less than 2,000 according to Wikipedia) and yet is 150 square miles so the sparsely population paradise is a beach lover's dream.  We traveled to Eleuthera another Out Island a few years ago and basically loved every moment.  We're renting this beach house and plan to hike, kayak, read, cook and do a lot of chilling. 

2.  Weddings (April and June).  We have two of them in 2012.  One in Austin, Texas in late April and one in Raleigh, North Carolina in mid June.  We plan on bookending the weddings with a few days to explore both locations and take a beach trip with the family after the North Carolina nuptials.

3.  Anniversary (early June).  This year the Traveling DINKs celebrate TEN YEARS of wedded bliss.  This is crazy stuff, people.  And to celebrate this big event (June 1), we will treat ourselves to a meal at the Inn at Little Washington.  We plan on staying nearby at The Blue Rock Inn and visiting a few vineyards, taking a few proper hikes.  Early June is really one of the few windows of time that is nice in the Washington, DC region so it didn't make sense to travel somewhere too exotic and miss the fine weather.  (Now I have probably jinxed it and it will rain the whole anniversary weekend.)

4.  Boston-Hartford-Providence (late June).  June is going to be jam-packed for us in 2012.  I have a meeting in Boston so we are making a long weekend of it and visiting a relative in Hartford and then swinging over to Providence, Rhode Island for a few days.

5. Lyon and other locations in France/Switzerland TBD (late August).  A meeting takes us to Lyon, France in late August, but we have yet to fully construct a trip around the event.  We are either going to fly into Geneva or Paris and then take some time to visit either Dijon, Loire Valley, or Provence.  Stay tuned.  This is going to be an amazing trip!

6.  San Francisco and the Big Sur (early November).  Another meeting takes us to San Francisco so we plan on wrapping in some time to visit Hearst Castle and probably as far south as San Luis Obispo.  This trip is still so far out that we have not firmed much of it up just yet.

7.  Weekend Jaunts (throughout 2012).  We know we definitely want to visit Richmond (yeah, honestly we've never really explored this city just two hours away), the Northern Neck and probably a beach or bay trip.  A lot of these trips will be more last-minute variety (again the luxury of being dog-free for the moment) and be based on the weather conditions.

8.  Ohio (summer of fall 2012).  I am sure we will find ourselves back in the home state to visit family, friends and maybe take in an Ohio State game. 

I'm sure more travel plans will pop up, but it looks to be a full and fun travel year!

Petersham's Nursery in Richmond and the Kew Gardens.

Back in 1999, I visited the Kew Gardens, but Kevin a plant lover, had never been so we definitely wanted to take a daytrip out there (it's quite a distance from the center of London).  I then discovered a unique restaurant one stop down in Richmond--a city I had never seen--and figured we would have the perfect daytrip.

Anne in front of the giant lillies, Water Lily House, Kew Gardens

Kew Gardens:  We arrived as soon as it opened since we had lunch reservations in Richmond.  It's a good 45-minute subway ride from central London. Kew Gardens is quite close to the Tube station--you stroll a few blocks, past a quaint shopping square and a row of residential homes and arrive at the Victorian gate.  Kew Gardens is a mishmash of botanist laboratories, historic conservatories, themed gardens and--of course-- a palace.  If you like plants, it's a must-see sort of destination.  There are several Victorian-era green houses filled with exotic and rare plants.  The oldest potted plant in the world is at the Kew--dating from the 1600s.  The day was cool and the DINKs enjoyed going visiting the very humid Palm House as it reminded them of their climate at home in DC!  The Kew Gardens is a perfect place to explore a bit then lounge about and have a picnic lunch, but we had plans for the meal and scooted  back to the Tube.



Richmond:  This city located along the Thames, is a posh London suburb filled with parks, a quaint downtown, and the famous Richmond palace, built by Henry the VII.  I wish we could have lingered a bit in the shops, but we had to make our way outside of Richmond to the little cafe and garden center known as Petersham's Nursery.



Kevin @ Petersham's Nursery for our shabby chic, gourmet lunch.



Petersham's Nursery:  I had first read about this restaurant in a food review.  Dubbed the "Chez Panisse" of the UK, Petersham's Nursery, prides itself on using local incredients, but the really charming thing about the places is location--an operating gaden center!  The floor is packed dirt and the staff walk around in wellies.  Other than the very slow service (seriously, they may have been growing some of the vegetables while we waited), I loved this experience.  The environment was just lovely.  The food was incredible:  warm chick pea, swiss chard and ricotta salad, braised endive, perfectly seared trout.  Yes, it may have been the most expensive lunch I have ever had, but for me, an experience like that is why I live and why I travel. 

Kevin on the scenic, quaint, oh-so-British footpath to Petersham's Nursery.

One of the best parts of Petersham's is walking from the Richmond Tube Station.  It's not close--almost a 25 minute walk.  We walked through the city center to reach the cafe, but on the way back, we chose to walk along a towpath by the Thames.  We passed meadows and old estates, lovely parks and cafes.  Richmond is worth a daytrip and if you are a foodie and like to splurge, so is Petersham's Nursery.

Returning to Richmond after lunch by way of the towpath along the Thames River.









Our London visit

Classic London Scene, near Covet Gardens.

For people who know me, they know I am an anglophile.  I love Jane Austen.  I love Jane Austen-inspired movies.  I love the old English manors, the English gardens, and the charming accent.  But I love London the most.  It's an efficient, clean, old, lively city. I love the Tube, the Museums, the string of parks.  I had not visited London since 2002, so I was eager to see it again and ensure I was not romanticizing it.  I can say: I was not disappointed.

Where we stayed:  Near Russell Square on the first leg at the Harlingford Hotel.  Situated on a quiet square, it was clean and in the heart of the university district.  I remember a fine breakfast of eggs and smoked salmon, too.

When we swept through the city on the way back home, we picked a different section of London (we do try to do that when we have to stay in a city twice).  Because it was just one night, we went a bit more upscale, choosing the The Beaufort Hotel  in Knightsbridge, steps away from Harrod's and an easy walk to the V&A Museum.  This hotel was soft and sumptuous, tucked away on a dead-end street--stylish London was at our fingertips, but I didn't hear it!

The lovely sunken gardens at Kensington Palace.

Where we ate:  Being foodies, traveling for me is always about exploring the local restaurant scene.  The first night, I wanted to try the Spanish tapas place Saltyard on Goodge Street, but alas, we didn't make a reservation and they were booked.  We found a great little Greek Taverna close buy and satiated our tapas craving with Greek mezzes.  Because this was part nostalgia, we had to go to Sofra Mayfair--this little Turkish place has been part of my London eating trips since the beginning.  It's cozy and tucked away--oh and the food is fabulous.  On our final night, we walked all the way to Notting Hill to take in a final Indian meal at Malabar.  We feasted on chutneys and chaat--oh how I love Indian food!

What we did:  I'm going to do a whole post about our daytrips to Bath and Richmond/The Kew Gardens, but in London proper, we did our typical wanderings--exploring Covet Gardens, Goodge Street, Soho/Chinatown (where we had the most disappointing Chinese meal--ever!) and the University districts.  Kevin had not been to the British Museum so of course we went there.  We both had not seen the Victoria & Albert Museum so we took that one in, too.  Both museums have world-class collections.  I love how the British Museum is topical-- a room full of currencies, followed by a room full of clocks, followed by a room full of mummies!  We took in several parks and visited my favorite garden: the http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/sunkengardens.aspx on the final night.  A fitting way to wrap up the trip!