Last week I decided to visit my friends Jenn and Luis in Richmond, VA for 4th of July. I took Amtrak to Richmond after work on Wednesday and came back late Saturday night. It was a super fun and chill getaway filled with catching up, eating in, eating out, some art, meeting new people, and movies.
Below are some of the highlights through my instagram photos.
Our first eating out experience was a visit to Dixie Donuts, recommended by Suzanne who works for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (more on how I met Suzanne later). I loved the quirky wallpaper, the variety of the donuts and the friendly people working at the Dixie Donuts. The donuts were fresh, had fun flavors, and shockingly were only about $1.25 each! That's a steal compared to some of the places in DC!
When I visited Jenn and Luis last year, we drove by the Maymont park, but this time around we actually visited this gorgeous space with beautiful trees, large grass lawns and fragrant flowers. I just wish it wasn't 90 degrees out that day.
For lunch, Jenn and I checked out Blue Goat recommended by my friend K. I loved the art on the walls and the gorgeous bathrooms. Seriously, a restaurant with beautiful and clean bathrooms gets extra points in my book. I ordered a panini with chicken, bacon, blue cheese and a Granny Smith apple. The apple was such a surprising and wonderful addition!
But we did not just eat: we also checked out a POP Art and Beyond exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. I was lucky because I was contacted by Suzanne who works for the museum and offered two tickets to the exhibit. She's also the one who suggested we check out Dixie Donuts. Just another great thing that comes from Twitter interactions!
It was a great show: if you are in Richmond, make sure to visit it before July 28th.
Before the exhibit, Jenn and I met up with Mary and Tim from 17apart! I love meeting bloggers I've built a relationship with on twitter and to find out they are just as fun,clever, funny and welcoming in real life as they are on social media!
We met at the Amuse Restaurant in the museum for drinks and dessert. I ordered a Raspberry Dazzler made with Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur & Myer Lemon Simple Syrup. It's one of the many cocktails specifically created for the POP exhibit.
After drinks and the exhibit, Jenn and I decided to check out food trucks located by the museum thanks to the recommendation from Tim. It was so much fun! I chose a few tacos from the Boka truck: a definite must if you live in Richmond. The meats were moist and flavorful and I liked that you could customize your tacos with American, Asian or Mexican flavors.
One of the highlights of the trip was brunch at Kuba Kuba. This place has been recommended by many people, and they were right! I loved everything from the Latin music, to the coffee con leche, super filling and fresh entrees and old school decor.
I'm not sure whether it was because I asked about it, or because I bought one of their mugs, but the owner brought us their famous tres leches cake on the house! It's so famous and good that it's been featured on the Best Thing I Ever Ate show!!
After brunch we had to walk off some of the food we consumed. Luckily, we were in the Fan area filled with picturesque houses. So I had to take a few photos. Ok, more than a few. And not only did we get a chance to look at the houses, but we got to visit Mary and Tim's house!!! It was so great to see some of the projects that they created that I saw on their website in real life.
And of course no vacation is complete without a bit of shopping. One of my favorite finds this time around was Ashby: great store with most all merchandise under $30!!! I bought a super cute bag for only $12.
For something a bit more upscale, visit Modern Artifacts. That's where I found my new super cool earrings.
Have you been to Richmond? What were some of your favorite finds?
