Richmond has an international airport that is located about 15-25 minutes outside the city center (depending on where you are trying to get too). The airport is rather small for an international airport, so it is easy to navigate.
Richmond is located right off I-95, so if you take any road trips in this area it is a great place to stop off at, walk around, and get some food. We started our day at the airport and headed to our first stop, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. With over 80 acres, this majestic garden space and conservatory is a must see for everybody! From the wide variety of plants and flowers, the children's garden and play area, and the butterfly garden you will definitely have a great time here. We got to see the wide collection of flowers they had as well as see the butterflies! They even have an audio tour you can take to learn about the different flowers and buildings there! You can use this audio tour at your home if you wanted to get a sneak peak of the selection. The weather was a little gloomy and even started to rain at one point, but that did not slow us down! We were still able to definitely enjoy our day! While gardens might seem like something that can only be visited during the spring or summer, the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens has year round events! They have evening festivities where families can even bring their pets in the summer, a light show that is presented from November to early January, and even an upcoming exhibit where they will be showcasing large Lego sculptures in the gardens! There is a price of admission, but they offer many discounts and if you think you will come by multiple times you can become a member! Membership could quickly pay off, so definitely be sure to consider this. We want to thank the Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator of the Gardens, Jonah Holland for taking us on a fantastic tour and providing so much information to us!
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| Children's Treehouse |
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| Tree for the kids to climb |
After the gardens, we had gotten hungry and headed on over to Carytown. When we had looked it up online, we had expected a little more out of this shopping and restaurant center, but we were slightly underwhelmed (part of this could have been due to the gloomy weather though). Either way, we had a great lunch at Mary Angelo's Pizzeria. We ordered a spaghetti meal(that came with garlic bread), french fries, and then a pizza that was half cheese half pepperoni. We really wanted to try multiple things here! The best part was the food was delicious! This cute little Italian restaurant was definitely a great stop for us, and the best part it was well priced! All of our food(including tip) came to $25!
Next, we headed to Maymont Mansion and Garden(we spent a lot of time at gardens this trip!). This large estate is free of charge, while they do suggest a $5 donation if you are touring the mansion. This spacious manor had some very scenic picture points, including a waterfall! It was a little hilly to walk around, but definitely worth it. Plus, there were some beautiful ponds that had large koi fish swimming by.
After Maymont we headed over to Hollywood Cemetery. This is a great spot for history buffs, as many famous politicians and Confederate generals have been buried here. Admire the large gravestones, and the stories of history as you walk through this peaceful cemetery. Tours are offered Monday through Saturday in April-October at 10am. We didn't go for a tour, as we just walked around on our own and admired some of the history.
Keeping with our history theme, we quickly made our way to the state's capitol! As far as a timing note, the capitol offers tours until 4pm, and then they close at 5pm, so just be careful if you want to stop by to plan that accordingly. We just walked around the capitol on our own. You have to go through a small security check point, but once in you can visit the State House and Senate rooms, plus see the original room where congress met! There is also a statue of George Washington in the center of the capitol rotunda, and this is the only statue that Washington actually posed for! Walking around the capitol you can see paintings of congressmen of today, as well as those of the past. Any history or government lover will definitely enjoy this stop.
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| VA House |
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| VA Senate |
We finished our day in Richmond by stopping by the Proper Pie Co. This delicious pie shop had all types of pies, from dessert type, to meat pies. We had the chocolate chess pie, the vegan blueberry and apple pie, and the steak and cheese pie. Everything was great, and we would definitely go back if we could!
Transportation around Richmond is a little different from our other stops. We actually had a car for this city, so we drove from spot to spot, and only at one point did we actually have to pay for parking(this was only $1.00). Every place else offered free parking which worked out well for us. Other options for navigating your way around the city are to take Uber, a taxi, or using the public transit bus for Richmond. While Richmond is a great city, it is not the easiest to walk around, so just keep this in mind when you are planning your trip. Below is a map of our day. The sights marked in red are places we actually went too, while the ones in green are just other ideas that looked fun, but we ran out of time for.
There are many other things in Richmond that you can stop by and see, like Monument Drive, the White House of the Confederacy, the James River, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, and many other gardens. What did we miss in Richmond that you would have seen? Let us know in the comments below. Next up...Boston!
Blue skies,
L&K
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