My Weekend in Charlottesville

I figured I better get this post up while everything is fresh in my brain. If you didn’t already know, I was in Charlottesville last weekend spending time with fellow blogger-turned-small business owner, Jess. Jess and I officially met at Expo East last year, and then hung out again in Toronto with a group of other bloggers. Since Charlottesville is only five hours from Pittsburgh, we figured why not plan a summer weekend trip? So that’s what we did! 

I arrived Friday around 2 pm and when I got there, she gave me a house tour and I met her sweet pup, Maya. I love visiting friends who have dogs because then it makes me miss Layla a little bit less. Once it got closer to 5 pm, we headed out to The Bebedero for a drink, the perfect Friday happy hour, followed by dinner at The Fitzroy. Jess and I each got the kale caesar salad and then split the Mac n cheese and Brussels sprouts. The salad and macaroni were EXCELLENT, but the Brussels sprouts were a little iffy—I think they had some sort of mustard on them, and I loathe mustard. If you like mustard, you’d probably love ‘em. We then made our way to the Paramount Theater, where we saw comedian David Cross. I love going to comedy shows and this one was a good one. 

Something I didn’t realize is how quaint Charlottesville is. The bar, restaurant and theater were all in the same area, an area locals refer to as the “downtown mall”. Basically there are brick streets that are closed off to cars, so plenty of pedestrians can walk around, and there are a lot of tables with umbrellas for outdoor seating options. Super cute!

Saturday morning started with breakfast at home, followed by a trip to the farmer’s market. While Pittsburgh has plenty of farmer’s markets, this one felt bigger with a lot more stuff. The only purchase I made was a Thai coffee maroon, and it was to die for. We then walked over to Mudhouse Coffee Roasters and I ordered an—wait for it—iced latte (*shock*). 

Next on the agenda was a trip to Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards, a winery that’s only 15 minutes outside of the city!! According to Jess, there are nearly 30 wineries in Charlottesville, and they’re a big part of why so many people visit the area. Now, I’m no winery expert, but this one seemed to have it all: vineyards, outdoor patio seating, indoor seating (hellooooo A/C), flowers galore, and just an overall happy vibe to it. We split the hummus+vegetables and a cheeseboard, and both were excellent, and I ordered a glass of the sauvignon blanc. We hung out there for a bit, then went home to chill for a bit before dinner. 

Dinner was at a pizza place called Lampo. Lampo is basically famous in the Charlottesville area, and I can say this because the restaurant opens at 5 pm, and when we arrived at 5:04, there was only bar seating left. Granted, the whole restaurant has about six tables in it, but still. It’s a quaint family-owned restaurant with a giant wood-fire oven, and everything we had was just as good as Jess promised it would be. Jess, her husband and I split a meat and cheese board and then ordered 3 pizzas to share, with my favorite probably being the white pizza with mushrooms, also know as “the fungi”. 

After dinner, we just headed back to their house, took Maya for a walk, and then had some ice cream with grilled peaches while watching The Office, aka the best kind of night in. 

If you live within driving distance to Charlottesville, I highly recommend spending time there! It’s quant, beautiful and full of wineries and breweries.