Weekend Trip: Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

I LOVE Colonial Williamsburg, it makes me so happy being there. I like the magic of it all- pretending to be in another time and place. It’s the same sort of feeling I get when I’m at the World Showcase part of Epcot Center.

Christmas time in Colonial Williamsburg is also very special. All the houses are decorated with natural wreaths- and even have a competition for the best wreath. They have a Grand Illumination on the Sunday of the first full weekend of December. They have fireworks, a parade and caroling. They also place candles in the windows of the buildings. I’ve heard that it’s their most crowded time of the year and all the hotels are usually double the price and/or booked up. The second weekend after the Grand Illumination is still pretty busy, which is when we went. I wouldn’t have wanted it any busier because then it’s less fun. I enjoy going into all the different buildings to see the trades and re-enactments of daily life in Colonial times, and those buildings are small and can get crowded with only a couple of people. Also, at night time on Saturdays they still have a parade and caroling. I LOVED caroling and was bummed that we had to leave before it finished for our dinner reservations.

Which comes to the most important part. The food. I LOVE the food. The Raleigh bakery is usually my first stop when I get to the main street. I love the Queen’s cake which is a lemon pound cake with currants. I also love to walk around with some hot apple cider. Oh there’s something so wonderfully festive about being in Williamsburg during December.

One thing that any visitor should do is visit a tavern within the historical district. There are many yummy restaurants and cafés in Merchant Square, just out of the historical district in between there and William and Mary (which is GORGEOUS and makes me jealous for any student there), especially the Cheese Shop. However, going to the taverns is something special. The more upscale taverns are the Kings Arm Tavern, known for it’s meat dishes and Christiana Campbell’s tavern, known for its seafood. I’ve eaten at the Christiana Campbell tavern twice now and have NEVER been disappointed. The food is delicious, seafood or meat (I got their tenderloin which was excellent). They also serve mini sweet potato muffins as starters—how amazing is that! Please make reservations WELL in advance.

This is a WONDERFUL trip that takes about 3 hours. It’s great for families and for couples. I’m not going to lie, this isn’t a nightlife oriented place- so tire yourself out during the day so that you can get up early and enjoy more in historical Williamsburg as well as close by Jamestown and Yorktowne. Oh yes, and Williamsburg Winery is just around the corner J