I've been here a good solid week, and I think my first impressions are solidifying. I admit there's space for change, but they're first impressions, so here's some stuff I like.
1. Parks (not particularly Rec) - Cville has great parks and public pools, and lots of them. They're building and Aquatic and Fitness Center that's set to open this fall, and I hope the membership prices are reasonable (please see the upcoming post on The Bad). There are 2 parks within walking distance of our house, one that has a pool and another with walking trails along the river.
2. Randomness - This town is a crazy hodge podge of neighborhoods and commercial stuff. It's a true college town with the university bleeding all over the place and most people in some way affiliated with The Grape, as I have taken to calling it. Belmont has houses everywhere, and then a corner with 3 restaurants (including Belmont BBQ) and a little store. Near our house, it looks like you're in the center of residential nowhere, and then suddenly up pops this plaza with BeerRun, delicious PadThai, and the Cville Market. Then you're surrounded by houses again just as quickly.
Not even the residential neighborhoods are consistent. Our house is relatively new, but surrounded by older houses, duplexes, and some patio homes. And then, 3 blocks away, past the cemetery (yep), there's a neighborhood of new "modern" homes. Tall with strange angles or wrapped metal roofs, 2 story windows and concrete detailing. Somehow it just seems to fit in this mixed up place. I'll try to post some pictures of these houses because they really are quite incredible.
3. Music & Arts - The Charlottesville Pavilion has a killer schedule this fall: Lyle Lovett, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Damien Marley & Nas, The Black Keys, and the local music scene has a great rep as well. Since I don't really know any go-ey out-ey people yet, I'm still just liking this theoretically, but I have high hopes here. There's also a lot of theater which I can't afford just now, and museums and galleries. The UVa Art Museum is brand new or incredibly renovated or something, and most of the museums around town are free. There's also one of the biggest Aboriginal art collections in the country just outside of town (also free!).
There is also a wonderful radio station of the kind I have been dreaming of my entire life. WNRN is seriously rocking my world. You can listen to it online or on your iphone too. Just sayin'.
4. Environmental awareness - Putting the recycling program into action has been difficult b/c it's new and so much is recyclable. It's amazing. Even stuff they won't pick up curbside, you can save and take to one of the recycling centers.
A big focus of this awareness is agriculture. There are tons of farms and vineyards around Cville, and on Labor Day there's a farm tour where 18 farms have special events and open houses for people to come out and see what they're up to. I'm volunteering that morning so that we get a free car pass, and I can still check out a few other places in the afternoon. There are 2 regular farmers' markets, one in the park next to my house on Wednesdays, and one less than 10 minutes away on Saturday morning. I'm going to be very sad when winter arrives and I have to shop at the supermarket again.
5. Beer, wine and food - I've been to 3 bars so far, and every one of them has had more beers on tap than your average SC bar. This means they're cheaper, which is awesome. You can't throw a rock without hitting a wine bar/restaurant, especially around the downtown mall. The wine isn't cheap (see The Bad), but there are places to suit a variety of budgets, and you can take wine tours and go to tastings at many of the local vineyards. There's also a ciderworks that I intend to visit during the farm tour.
There's a lot of variety when it comes to food, with good Italian, French, Asian, and Mexican restaurants. Locals only uses local ingredients, and restaurants are often scattered throughout neighborhoods, so a decent bite is never far away. I also saw an Indian market out on 29, so I think there may be a good Indian place or two hiding around here somewhere. Oh yeah, and I have heard rumors of South African. I don't even know what that would mean, so you know I'm going to try it.
6. History - Yeah, I don't really know about this yet, but there's a lot of it lying around. Thomas Jefferson designed the older parts of UVa, including The Rotunda (yeah, they capitalize the Thes) and the pavilions. Monticello is just SE of here. Clustered near there are the Michie Tavern, an authentic 18th century "dining experience" and Ash Lawn-Highland, home to James Monroe. Montpelier was James Madison's house, and it's about 30 mi north of Monticello. Teddy Roosevelt had a house and some land here in Albemarle county, and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is in Staunton, a small town a stone's throw away that also has a great Shakespearean theater.
7. It's beautiful here. It really is. The hills, the Shenandoah National Park that I haven't gone to yet, but can see in the distance. UVa is so lovely and I keep calling The Lawn the Horseshoe accidentally, which makes people right uppity. The downtown mall is a great place to hang out and you can eat or stroll around as you will.
The Bad and The Ugly to follow. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of some of this up in the next day or two.
1. Parks (not particularly Rec) - Cville has great parks and public pools, and lots of them. They're building and Aquatic and Fitness Center that's set to open this fall, and I hope the membership prices are reasonable (please see the upcoming post on The Bad). There are 2 parks within walking distance of our house, one that has a pool and another with walking trails along the river.
2. Randomness - This town is a crazy hodge podge of neighborhoods and commercial stuff. It's a true college town with the university bleeding all over the place and most people in some way affiliated with The Grape, as I have taken to calling it. Belmont has houses everywhere, and then a corner with 3 restaurants (including Belmont BBQ) and a little store. Near our house, it looks like you're in the center of residential nowhere, and then suddenly up pops this plaza with BeerRun, delicious PadThai, and the Cville Market. Then you're surrounded by houses again just as quickly.
Not even the residential neighborhoods are consistent. Our house is relatively new, but surrounded by older houses, duplexes, and some patio homes. And then, 3 blocks away, past the cemetery (yep), there's a neighborhood of new "modern" homes. Tall with strange angles or wrapped metal roofs, 2 story windows and concrete detailing. Somehow it just seems to fit in this mixed up place. I'll try to post some pictures of these houses because they really are quite incredible.
3. Music & Arts - The Charlottesville Pavilion has a killer schedule this fall: Lyle Lovett, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Damien Marley & Nas, The Black Keys, and the local music scene has a great rep as well. Since I don't really know any go-ey out-ey people yet, I'm still just liking this theoretically, but I have high hopes here. There's also a lot of theater which I can't afford just now, and museums and galleries. The UVa Art Museum is brand new or incredibly renovated or something, and most of the museums around town are free. There's also one of the biggest Aboriginal art collections in the country just outside of town (also free!).
There is also a wonderful radio station of the kind I have been dreaming of my entire life. WNRN is seriously rocking my world. You can listen to it online or on your iphone too. Just sayin'.
4. Environmental awareness - Putting the recycling program into action has been difficult b/c it's new and so much is recyclable. It's amazing. Even stuff they won't pick up curbside, you can save and take to one of the recycling centers.
A big focus of this awareness is agriculture. There are tons of farms and vineyards around Cville, and on Labor Day there's a farm tour where 18 farms have special events and open houses for people to come out and see what they're up to. I'm volunteering that morning so that we get a free car pass, and I can still check out a few other places in the afternoon. There are 2 regular farmers' markets, one in the park next to my house on Wednesdays, and one less than 10 minutes away on Saturday morning. I'm going to be very sad when winter arrives and I have to shop at the supermarket again.
5. Beer, wine and food - I've been to 3 bars so far, and every one of them has had more beers on tap than your average SC bar. This means they're cheaper, which is awesome. You can't throw a rock without hitting a wine bar/restaurant, especially around the downtown mall. The wine isn't cheap (see The Bad), but there are places to suit a variety of budgets, and you can take wine tours and go to tastings at many of the local vineyards. There's also a ciderworks that I intend to visit during the farm tour.
There's a lot of variety when it comes to food, with good Italian, French, Asian, and Mexican restaurants. Locals only uses local ingredients, and restaurants are often scattered throughout neighborhoods, so a decent bite is never far away. I also saw an Indian market out on 29, so I think there may be a good Indian place or two hiding around here somewhere. Oh yeah, and I have heard rumors of South African. I don't even know what that would mean, so you know I'm going to try it.
6. History - Yeah, I don't really know about this yet, but there's a lot of it lying around. Thomas Jefferson designed the older parts of UVa, including The Rotunda (yeah, they capitalize the Thes) and the pavilions. Monticello is just SE of here. Clustered near there are the Michie Tavern, an authentic 18th century "dining experience" and Ash Lawn-Highland, home to James Monroe. Montpelier was James Madison's house, and it's about 30 mi north of Monticello. Teddy Roosevelt had a house and some land here in Albemarle county, and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is in Staunton, a small town a stone's throw away that also has a great Shakespearean theater.
7. It's beautiful here. It really is. The hills, the Shenandoah National Park that I haven't gone to yet, but can see in the distance. UVa is so lovely and I keep calling The Lawn the Horseshoe accidentally, which makes people right uppity. The downtown mall is a great place to hang out and you can eat or stroll around as you will.
The Bad and The Ugly to follow. Hopefully I'll get some pictures of some of this up in the next day or two.
Comments
The area is truly beautiful, and I'm so glad you think so too. The older me now wishes that I had explored the area more when I was there, but the 20-year-old me probably wasn't all that interested in the things that I like now :) So I'm really excited to read about your adventures and explorations and hear what you think, including the bad and the ugly!