by Wendy
follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps
We had the opportunity to spend a couple of nights in Richmond, Virginia earlier in the month. Jack had a work event, and I was happy to escape the January doldrums and check out a delightful new city. Here’s a brief rundown of our Richmond weekend.
Hotel – We stayed at the new Quirk Hotel, and highly recommend it. This former department store is a beautiful, airy space with high ceilings, friendly staff, comfortable rooms, a busy and trendy lobby bar/restaurant, and you guessed it, tons of quirky art.
Neighborhood – The blocks surrounding the Quirk feel like urban renewal/hipster invasion. Bars, restaurants, craft everything, art galleries, thrift stores and dudes sporting the bohemian mustaches and dark square glasses.
Restaurants – We checked out Graffiato the first night we were there. I’m glad there’s one of these in DC, because the pasta, roasted cauliflower and other snacks we ordered at the bar were delicious. We went to a dinner party at the lively Max’s on Broad the next night and really enjoyed it. We had a drink at Saison, which looked like a very cool restaurant. There is a also Saison Market, a casual bar next door. You can walk to all of these from the Quirk Hotel.
Art – I know street art is popular, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many murals. Block and block after block. We enjoyed the checking out the architecture as we walked between the Quirk and the waterfront – Jack describes it as “early 20th century pragmatic.” Storefronts that evoke a time when a city’s downtown was the center of all retail, before malls. Some interesting brick turn-of-the-century rowhouses. I also heard that Richmond has an excellent fine arts museum, but we did not have enough time to visit during this trip.
Tourist sites – Well it’s Richmond, so we figured we should see some Civil War stuff. We’ve been to several battlefields in the nearby area during previous day trips in Virginia, so we decided to walk about 30 minutes from the Quirk Hotel down to the James River and the historic Tredegar Iron Works. We took a little self-guided tour of the grounds and also visited the American Civil War Center museum. Before leaving Richmond we drove past the Jefferson Davis mansion, also referred to as the White House of the Confederacy. There appeared to be several historic buildings and museums in this section of town. While we only scratched the surface, it was obvious Richmond has a lot to fascinate history buffs.
Sandwich – Let me set a scene: we’ve been walking all afternoon and getting hungry. Dinner is not far off but it’s going to be a wine-fueled event. In hopes of keeping up with the wine enthusiasts who will be present you cannot – absolutely cannot – show up with an empty stomach. So we visit Pop’s Market on Grace Street. I go for the Cuban sandwich and it is insanely good. Fresh bread, pulled pork, ham, melted cheese, jalapeno and mustard served panini style – perfect. Jack has a bite and I can see he wishes he had ordered this (though he likes his turkey club). I also couldn’t resist a homemade chocolate chip cookie – and with this combo I am good to go a few hours later when as expected, the wine pours are outpacing plates of food by about 5 to 1.
Attitude – We were taken aback by the friendliness. Richmond has a cool scene, but we did not sense any snobbiness. A warm greeting when you walk into a crowded, hip bar was actually a little jarring for an East Coast couple. Some of this cheerfulness may be attributed to more afforable prices – we noticed one bar partron do a double-take at his bill and exclaim, “I’m so happy I moved back here from Boston!”
Parking – Plentiful. Not expensive. We joked that this is amenity is reason enough to visit Richmond.
All in all a great weekend. Have you checked out Richmond? What’s your favorite thing to do when exploring a new city – local restaurant, museum, historic site, bar? And do you love cities that have ample parking as much as we do?