A Little Bit of the City in the Country

Dear Charlottesville,

You and I have some ground to make up. I can't help it, I'm a city girl at heart. Before Darden, I spent my entire life in New York - splitting my time between Long Island and Manhattan. This is my first time away from home. And I gotta say - it's been a pretty drastic change.

People drive the speed limit here. And they yield to pedestrians. This mystifies me.

Service in restaurants is slower. I haven't gotten out of a sitdown dinner in less than two hours.

And don't get me started on the shopping. Virtually non-existent. Especially for clothes. Apparently for such things, one has to go to Richmond.

But this weekend, you made up for your shortcomings, C-ville. Saturday morning, I went to the farmer's market that is held near the downtown mall every week. It was wonderful.

There were so many booths overflowing with fresh local fruits and vegetables. I spoke with a goat farmer who is working against the state regulations against raw milk. I bought a crisp green apple from a lovely couple who so kindly washed it for me on the spot so I could eat it right away. I brought home the best pie I have eaten in a long time, and a gorgeous bundle of wildflowers which are currently brightening my living room.

That's not all - on the downtown mall, I found a charming bookstore that I spent some time browsing. I adore bookstores, and this one did not disappoint. It wasn't a corporate behemoth, but rather a small lovely rare & used books store. It had personality, and I spent almost an hour browsing the stacks. An hour is a long time to spare when you're a Darden student.

That evening, I went to dinner with a few friends on Main Street, and the food was so good, I felt like I was in NY again. Come to think of it, I haven't had a bad meal in Charlottesville yet.

So maybe there's more to you than I initially thought, C-ville. I'll have to give you another chance.

hugs,
me