Visiting Charlottesville! + Week of Workouts

Hi hi hello! I’m popping in here real quick in the midst of finals studying to share with you a most wonderful day trip! This past Friday, I went on a mini road trip with three of my friends to…*drum roll please*…CHARLOTTESVILLE! I realize that was totally not a surprise since it was in the name of the post.

I’ve wanted to visit Charlottesville ever since first becoming addicted to Robyn’s blog. The way she talked about Charlottesville was just so full of love and joy, and I knew I had to see this little city. I’m a sucker for quaint towns, especially because they’re so so different from where I grew up.

Deciding to go to Charlottesville was actually a pretty last-minute spontaneous decision. Originally we were planning to go on a long hike at Old Rag in the Shenandoah Mountains, but then the forecast predicted rain showers, so we decided to call that off. As I frantically google searched day trip ideas from DC, Charlottesville popped up, and once I realized it was only about 2.5 hours away, I went into full-blown planning mode. Since we only had a day, I didn’t put too much on the agenda, but I would say it was a very full, pretty tiring, and absolutely magical day. Here’s what happened!

We woke up bright and early and met up at 7am. After working out all the kinks with the car, we were off by 7:20. I made a road trip playlist that I am quite proud of, so please feel free to follow it here, and it was perfect for jamming out to in the car. One of my favorite things is long car rides with good music and even better company, so I was in my element.

The trip there took around 3 hours, on account of traffic, and our first stop was Monticello. This is Thomas Jefferson’s gorgeous estate with absolutely spectacular views of the surrounding Shenandoah mountains. I feel like even though we missed out on the hiking views, we still sort of got the best of both worlds with Charlottesville.

After touring the estate and walking around all the gardens (and taking LOTS of pictures), our next destination was the nearby Michie’s Tavern, an old traditional Southern lunch spot, where you have a buffet of all the most quintessential Southern foods. We loaded up on chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, green beans, and cornbread. Everything was delicious, but my favorite was obviously the corn bread 🙂

Then we ambled over to a country store where we saw this lovely spread.

Full and happy, we grabbed the car and drove over to UVA for a quick walk around the campus. UVA is ginormous, so we didn’t get to see a whole lot, but I feel like we got a pretty good feel for the campus.

Next we grabbed one of the free trolleys (so clutch) that took us straight to the downtown Historical District. This is a pedestrian street of the CUTEST coffeeshops, bookstores, and boutiques you ever did see. We popped into the adorable Mudhouse for coffees and then explored a bunch of random shops.

We came across the free live music that they do in the Sprint Center every Friday after 5. We couldn’t stay too long, but it was a perfect way to take a break before embarking on the journey back.

We then took the trolley back to UVA, and after grabbing our car, we were off back to Georgetown and were back home by 9pm!

It felt pretty surreal to be back on campus after such a full day in a place so very different.

And then we all basically collapsed into bed because traveling is exhausting hehe.

This trip was so necessary for me. I’d been craving adventure and a break from routine for AGES, and I needed to just escape from campus and school responsibilities and just not think about anything except for having a great time with friends. It honestly exceeded all my expectations, and I loved that though this trip was tiring, it was a good kind of tiring. We never felt rushed, and the whole thing was just so stress-free and sweet. I’ll treasure the memories forever. <3

And now for the workouts of the week!

Monday– this quick upper body strength and kickboxing workout

Tuesday– this cardio warm up + this oblique routine + this ab routine + this ab/oblique workout + this ab finisher (LOL I was really mixing it up today)

Wednesday– this strength-building yoga routine

Thursday– this HIIT workout + this butt routine + this thigh routine

Friday– Charlottesville trip! So a whole lot of walking.

Saturday– a five mile run along the C&O Canal. This was my very first time running there, and I loved how peaceful and nature-y it was. Maybe the change of scene explains how I managed to go for that long haha.

Sunday– this awesome yoga routine (my hips were VERY tight after yesterday’s run, so this was perfect to loosen up).

I actually loved this week of workouts. Each one just felt really good for my body, and it was a great mix of slow and intense. Over time, I’ve discovered that my body really appreciates a good blend of heart-pumping sweaty workouts with slow restorative movement, but that doesn’t mean what works for me will work for you! As I always say, listen to your body and try out different things to figure out what works best for you.

Have a lovely week, and I’ll go back to studying for my many finals! 🙂

Linking up with Meg for Week in Review

 

Ever been to Charlottesville?

Tell me a highlight from your week!