Historical Charlottesville

Charlottesville was the home of Thomas Jefferson and the university he founded, "University of Virginia." His close friend and protege, Monroe, also bought land close to Monticello, home of Jefferson, and built a house called Ashlawn-Highlands. Monticello, Ashlawn-Highlands, Michie Tavern and Rotunda are some of the historical places you need to see.

Quick Tips:

I suggest that you stop at the Monticello Visitors Center to ask about the waiting time in Monticello. The wait can be sometimes 3 hours on Summer weekends. You can also buy a Presidents'' Pass to visit Monticello, Michie Tavern and Ashlawn-Highlands. Nearly 400 original Jefferson objects are displayed at the visitors center. And at every hour there is an award winning free film on Jefferson called "Thomas Jefferson: The Pursuit of Liberty," which is approximately 35 minutes long.

Best Way To Get Around:

A car is required to visit Michie Tavern, Monticello and Ashlawn. However, finding a parking place may be hard at times in the city, especially on a football game weekend, so you can use the public transportation to travel in the city. One way fare is 75 cents per passanger. There is also free trolley service from historic downtown to the Corner district and University Grounds.

The Ordinary is the dining room of the Michie Tavern, which is an old Tavern that was established in 1784 by a Scotch man called William Michie. (The name Michie is pronounced as Mickey).

The restaurant only offers lunch that is served buffet style. It serves from 11 AM to 3:30 PM. It is said that the recipes date from the 1700's. We had fried chicken, black eyed peas, cole slaw, corn bread, potato salad, beets, stewed tomatoes and drink soft drinks and apple cider. In winter they serve mashed potatoes instead of potato salad, and also hot vegetable soup. The cups and plates are made of pewter. You can either eat at the old dining area, which used to be the slave quarters, or at an enclosed patio. The waitresses serve in the old attire and if you encourage them in the old accent.

The price is fixed for the buffet except the desert and drinks. It is 12.95 for adults. Children under 12 have a discount and children under 6 eat free.

The tour of the tavern is $2 off when you eat at the Ordinary.

If you are planning to visit Charlottesville in summer you may want to watch an opera or musical at Boxwood Gardens of Ashlawn-Highlands . Ashlawn Highlands was the home of James Monroe, the 5th president of USA. The Ashlawn Opera Festival was established in 1978 and is "recognized by Money Magazine as one of the international top-20 warm weather summer opera companies". The songs are sing in English so no need to be intimated if you don't know Italian, French or German. A lecture usually preceeds the show which is given by a music scholar from UVA.

If you are not interested in the lecture you can simply enjoy the grounds of Ashlawn. The grounds for the opera goers open at 6 PM. You can bring your own picnic basket or order a picnic basket in advance from a local deli shop on the way to Ashlawn Highlands, and sit on the lawn and enjoy the nice country side. There are drinks (wine, beer, water, softdrinks) available on the premises.

Enjoying the opera under the stars in a summer day is sure fun but also knowing that Jefferson, Monroe and Madison might have stood at the same spot is very intruging. If you are going to spent a weekend in Charlottesville make sure you attend an opera, not only ofr the music but for the ambiance.

Important note: When you are reserving your tickets make sure it is in the middle section, as the side seats do not offer good view. You can check the repertoire at http://www.ashlawnopera.org/rep.htm . There are discounts for students and for seats that are not in the middle section. For directions click here.

If you look at the back of a 5 cent you will see an engraving of Monticello, home of the third US president Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson had many properties but only two residences. (His second residence is called Poplar Forest. He also owned the Natural Bridge. Monticello''s design was influenced by an ancient temple of Vesta at Rome , and it is the first house in US with a dome.

The entrance fee is $13 for adults. We took the shuttle to Monticello from the entrance and we were given a pass with a specific time for the house tour. While waiting for the house tour we took the plantation tour at one visit, and walked in Jefferson''s vegetable garden at another visit.

The guide for the plantation was very knowledgeable on the topic. She told us specific stories on what type of work the slaves did, what were some of their names, and where they lived. I was very sad that they were seen as property even by Jefferson.

At our second visit we were with friends who had a three year old so we skipped the tours and walked in the vegetable grounds by ourselves and saw what Jefferson was growing in his garden. To name a few: marshmallow, peas, beans, tomatoes, thyme, cabbage, catnip, mint...

Later we attended the house tour. As it was our second time I was worried that we were going to be bored, but the tour guide gave us different information about the house. What I liked about the house was its entrance, which was kind of a showcase for the Lewis and Clark''s expedition. Various kinds of stuffed elk and deer heads are hanging on the wall with the map of those days, and Indian artifacts.

There were grooves in the terrace, which collected the rainwater, which I find very ingenious. Our tour guide had told us that Jefferson had a telescope and he would look at the construction of Rotunda from his terrace.

Take the family tour when available if you have a small kid.

University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819. The original site that was designed by Jefferson is called The Academical Village. It is a complex of pavillions, collonaded walkways, student rooms and the Rotunda. The Academical Village is a designated World Heritage Site.

Rotunda is the center of the village and is a half-scale interpretation of the Pantheon in Rome. On two sides of the Rotunda you can see a row of pavillions. The top floors of the Pavillions were for the faculty and the ground-level for the classrooms. It is suprising that some senior faculty still live in the Pavillions with their families.

You can explore it by yourself of attend a free tour of Rotunda and The Gardens Walking Tour offered by the The University of Virginia at nearly every hour (except for lunch break between noon and 2pm) from 10am to 4pm.

We didn''t take the tour but explored it by ourselves a couple of times. What impressed me most was how kind the students were. We got lost near the lawn and without asking for help a student approached us and told us the location of the building. Later that night we were walking and trying to peek into the rooms where the students were staying, we saw a room with the light on and it was Edgar Allen Poe''s room. A student passed by us when we were looking inside and he pressed on button which activated a prerecorded information on Edgar Allen Poe''s days in the UVA. We wouldn''t know about the button unless the kind student showed us. The gentilmanship still rules on the grounds of the University of Virginia centuries later after its foundation by Thomas Jefferson.

Governor Jefferson's Thanksgiving Festival consists of activities that depicts the life in the Charlottesville area between 1779-1781.

The activities started on Friday evening with a ball at the Omni Hotel. On Saturday we went to the Downtown Mall (which was Three Notch Road) and observed several activities performed by the volunteers such as how cannons work, muskeet training, log building, making a tread from wool, blacksmithing, old toys and games, etc. This is very interesting for the kids as they get involved.

Later we went to the Court House and listened to the last part of a debate where Jefferson, Madison, and others discussed about whether education should be financed by the state government. It took place June 4th, 1781, when suddenly Jack Joilett came and told us that the British were coming. Jefferson, Madison, and other delegates left to avoid capture. We were told to leave immediately.

We watched an enactment of the British invasion of Charlottesville where Daniel Boone, was captured. Cannons and guns fired and it was really loud. A volunteer explained the stages of the battle.

On Sunday, the American troops were going to beat the British, but we didn''t attend that enactment. The cannons were so loud, I was kind of scared on Saturday.

We attended a non-denominational Thanksgiving church ceremony where Jefferson proclaimed that Thanksgiving was going to be celebrated at the same date in all states. George Washington and Patrick Henry were also attending the ceremony. The priests told us that we need to fight the British so that we won't be enslaved. The volunteers really acted their parts very good. I felt really special to observe the activities.

The best thing is that all of the events we attended were free.

Ashlawn-Highlands was the home of the fifth president of US, James Monroe. Originally, it was named Highlands in reference to Monroe''s Scottish heritage, but later the Massie family bought it, planted Ash trees and named it Ashlawn.

We visited the house during a special event, Open House, that commemorates Monroes'' November 23, 1799 move into their historic Albermarle-County home. The Monroes were living in Charlottesville where the University of Virginia is located. However, Jefferson wanted both Monroe and Madison to move close to Monticello, so, they could create "a society to our taste". Jefferson selected the land and even oversaw the construction.

The guide was very helpful, told us about the life of James Monroe, as well as, the Monroe''s life in the Highlands. I learned more about the Monroe Doctrine, which still impacts politics today. On the down side, some part of the original house was burned after the Monroes moved out and on that foundation a new part was built. The house did not impress me much as the original part was pretty small. However, the tranquility of the grounds, and the view was impressive. This is the first place I visited with pet peacocks.

The admission for this Open House was $8 for adults and $5 for children, while it was free for us, the locals.