Charlottesville : Act One

I am dreadfully delinquent in my blog posting and I have nary an excuse save sheer fatigue of my wits. My ephemeral sabbatical afforded me respite and consequently, a regrettable delay in sharing with all of you the delights from my Valentine’s retreat with BTG.

Act One : Friday

The journey commenced most unfortunately. The days of horse and carriage would’ve proved more efficient. Notwithstanding the trials, we defied the grip of pessimism and soldiered onward, our destination beckoning.

We had the pleasure of boarding at The Inn at Court Square in Charlottesville. The Inn is comprised of two buildings, the 1785 and 1920 houses, with a total of nine guest quarters. Our accommodations, the Samuel Woods room, are contained in the 1785 house which was built by Edward Butler, a signatory of the Albemarle Declaration of Independence. This building is the only extant 1700s structure in the Court Square section of Charlottesville; it faces the historic Albemarle Court House and the famous Stonewall Jackson effigy. The DeLoach family (Ray, Carleen and daughter Candace) of Savannah purchased the buildings to house both the Inn and the DeLoach Antiques boutique.

Received upon arrival by the charmingly Southern proprietor, Candace DeLoache, we were welcomed to our room with complimentary wine and cookies. After comfortably imbibing, Ms. DeLoache supplied us with several recommendations for a quiet and casual dinner. A authoritative Charlottesville denizen, Ms. DeLoache consults with her guests in a manner allowing them to explore the town as locals, not tourists.

On her suggestion, we visited the C&O Restaurant on Water Street with the explicit instructions to be seated downstairs. The entrance evoked the time of Shakespeare with torch lights and firewood flanking the portico. We requested a basement table and were lead to a hidden staircase directly behind the reception desk, our dinner bewitchingly verging on the clandestine. Seated at a table for two opposite a mysterious door we could only assume was designed for surreptitious activities, we savored our Hendrick’s cocktails. We shared the mascarpone-filled, smoked dates (utterly divine) and dined on Steak Chinoise (for BTG) and an elfin potpie (for yours truly). Sufficiently satiated, we bundled ourselves for a brisk return to the Inn.

C&O Photos courtesy of Flickr.