7:13 PM, Friday

Beautiful colors in the sky as we finished our dinner on Friday evening.

Driving To DC ...

Came the day we had to leave Charlottesville. We drove around two hours to DC. The weather was beautiful and we looked forward to enjoying DC. A new adventure was about to begin.

Lemongrass, Charlottesville

We did not plan to have another Thai meal in Charlottesville, but somehow, plans do change. We were nearby, having all the intention to eat at this Mediteranian restaurant. I guess, I was not too impressed and there were other factors as well that led us into having lunch across the street at Lemon Grass.

Boring and predictable, that's all I can say about our (DH!) choices. Same old, same old.  Pad Thai and Green Curry Chicken again. I ordered Thai Crispy Rolls for starter, because.... I wanted some. Miss P was drooling over  their Beef Noodles so we had them as well. Despite our typical orders, the food was enjoyable and the service was quite good.

Monticello

There's a little regret I have here, I should have come to Jefferson's Monticello earlier. We only made it on our last day in Charlottesville and had to rush back to the city to meet Miss P for lunch. It was only passing by because we did not have time to get in at all. The scenery around the estate is so beautiful. Really wished we had more time......

Panera Bread, Charlottesville

I could only conclude that Panera Bread was one of the most frequented place by Miss P in Charlottesville. It was mentioned so many times and we were offered many times, to have a meal there. On our last day in Charlottesville, we finally made it. We had a small window for lunch, in between Miss P's classes, before we headed to DC. We were happy with what were served. These are some of the dishes we had.

Cheesecake Factory, Short Pump Mall

We had another pleasent encounter with Cheesecake Factory when we went to Richmond, VA. Miss P has classes, because it was Monday, so she missed this one. Since none of us were keen on eating Cheesecake, this was another visit without tasting their cheesecake again. Having learned the size of their meals, I went for the same dishes that I had back in July when we went to San Francisco. I ordered Crispy Crab Bites (above) and Stuffed Mushrooms (below) to share.

We also had two other dishes to share, first of all was Fettucini with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomato. It was rich and delish, of course, but the size was a bit much for us.

Another dish ordered that we found delicious was Charbroiled Chicken Breast that was topped a tomato and Arugula Salad with Parmesan, Asparagus and Brown Rice.This one came from their Skinnylicious Menu. Feeling a little healthier here. Yeah, no room for dessert after all these. Too bad. Maybe next time we should go with their Cheesecake first, followed by the entrees.

Around UVA...

Charlottesville is a very pretty little town which is also the home of University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. It is known as one of the best universities in the country. The town is also the home of two US presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe.

Lime Leaf, Charlottesville

I think, it was DH who decided that we eat Thai on our first night in Charlottesville. He visited the town in the Fall of 2009 and he got around a little bit. He remembered a place that he went to before and he thought this restaurant was a great place to eat. The problem was, and it's so typical of his, he neither know the name nor the address, but he had some sort of recollection on the area where the restaurant was located.  Miss P, who was the temporary resident of the city, had no knowledge of the place too.  With some process of elimination and a bit of frustration thrown at him, because we were tired and we did not care so much about the food, we got to the right place. Thanks to the GPS. It's Lime Leaf on Rio Hill Center. (Sigh....)

I did not bother to spend much time on the menu, I knew what we would end up with anyway. Pad Thai and Green Curry Chicken of course. This time, DH ordered a  mix vegetable dish. We were happy that we got tasty and yummy food. We were happy that DH could derive the satisfaction from being able to find the place. We were well fed.

My Life Is Blue...

We were blessed with great weather when we visited Charlottesville, Virginia. It was cool and pleasant nearly all the time we were there. And the sky. Blue. Clear blue. There was hardly any cloud. Just blue. I could not resist snapping pictures of the sky. I was close to being obsessed. We hardly get such beautiful clear sky in Singapore. It was, definitely, a treat. It's worth spending more than 30 hours to get to the place. The flights, the waits, the uncomfortable and lack of sleep. All that and more. Charlottesville is a beauty.

 

To The North....

It's Spring break for our schoolkid and it was time to visit the other two up north. At the end of March, we flew to Dulles and subsequently visited Charlottesville where University of Virginia is. Cool weather, blue sky, pretty scenery, beautiful campus and the best part was spending a few days with Miss P, of course.

Up there are some of the meals we had on the plane.  Not bad.