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.

lamplighter bagel sandwich

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.)

james river

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!

Boulevard bridge

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.)

Richmond

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.

garden grove

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.

carytown burger

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.

VMFA

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. 😉

Have you ever taken a stay-cation?

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