A Tourist in Our Own City
This past week, we had a few friends visiting from out of town and it was the perfect excuse to be a tourist in our own city. And by be a tourist I really mean have an excuse to go to all of my favorite places in Richmond and eat all my favorite foods.
On Thursday morning, we started the day with coffee + breakfast at Lamplighter.
I’m obsessed with their bagel sandwiches so we took our friends there to fill up before a river adventure. (If you’re not in Richmond and you want to recreate this at home, try this bagel sandwich recipe.)
We’ve gone tubing down the James river a few times in the past so we already had tubes and we had done the route before. We started at Pony Pasture and went down to Reedy Creek. Tyler has a GoPro so he got some great pictures!
It turned out to be a pretty gorgeous day for the river. We were afraid that it might rain but it ended up being really sunny and I think we all got a little sunburnt. (Some of us more than others. Those of Irish and Norwegian descent didn’t fare so well.)
Floating down the river ended up taking a little longer than we expected so by the time we got back home, we were starving. After a few snacks at Postbellum and drinks at The Cask Cafe, we settled on Pizza at Stuzzi.
On Thursdays, Stuzzi has $3 “Grandma” pizzas at the bar. Their happy hour seems to have a million rules and restrictions so it’s a little hard to pull off but somehow we managed to jump through the necessary hoops to score this pie. It’s more of a deep dish style pizza with a garlicky chunky tomato sauce. I’d actually never had it before but I really liked it!
We were all pretty stuffed and happy by the time we left. After dinner, we went to Garden Grove for a drink.
I’m actually not much of a beer drinker so I love that Garden Grove always has one “sparking beer” that tastes more like a wine. I had glass of the Watermelon Sparkler which was kind of tangy. It wasn’t my favorite of all the beers I’ve tried there but it was a fun seasonal flavor!
On Friday morning, we took a little trip to Church Hill. Alex could be a Richmond tour guide because he’s read so many books about the city so he gave us plenty of facts and commentary while Annie and I just took pictures. Priorities.
Alexa made it to Richmond just in time for lunch so we grabbed a bite at Carytown Burgers & Fries.
I have tried a lot of black bean burgers and Carytown Burgers & Fries is at the top of my list! Don’t be fooled by the name- they actually have a few other locations in Lakeside and Short Pump.
In the afternoon, we headed over to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
We had some wine and then walked around and browsed some of the modern art. The museum is pretty incredible and admission is free. Plus, their Friday night happy hour is a popular spot and they have tons of tables so it’s nice for groups. Great drink prices in a gorgeous atmosphere. What more can you ask for, really?
This little staycation was so much fun and it reminded me why I love Richmond so much. There’s plenty to see, plenty to do, and obviously plenty of good to eat. If you want to come visit, let me know. 😉
I LOVE staycations and love being a tourist in my own town. In fact, just a few weeks ago when a friend of mine was in town, we went to several used book stores in the area and I hadn’t been to them in a few years so it was like discovering them for the first time. Plus trying out some new places and favorites is always fun!
It’s always so fun to actually explore your own city, and learn about all the new things going on. I find a new restaurant every time I look at Yelp, and it would be so fun to just explore the multiple restaurants and attractions. Such a fun idea, and your food photos are making me so excited for lunch. YUM! xx Adaleta Avdic
This is so fun! I totally need to do this in Houston. It’s such a big city and I’ve gotten used to going to the places I love but need to try and branch out more. Thanks for sharing!
I love feeling like a tourist in my own city – it’s so refreshing. You never realized what a slave we are to routine until you break out of it.
I loveeee playing tourist at home. I always tell Jesse that a staycation is often better than a vacation as you get to sleep in your own bed ;P
I want all of that food! Living in Chicago, it’s really easy to do something new almost every weekend especially in the summer. Our neighborhood actually has a taco fest at the end of every summer and it’s been a tradition to invite a big group of friends and eat lots of tacos. What could be better than that?
That’s such a great neighborhood tradition!!
Those pizzas look amazing! It’s really wonderful to be able to linger slowly around town and really look beyond the daily-life kinds of stops we usually make all day. Enjoy!
I actually really like stay-cations. It’s such a great way to explore your own city and go to places you haven’t visited in ages (or visited at all). It’s kind of fun being a tourist in your own city. It’s been a while since I last did it – perhaps I should go explore my city again soon! 🙂