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Williamsburg Journals

Colonial Williamsburg

Best of IgoUgo

A travel journal to Williamsburg by gorboduc

Christmas at Carters Grove Photo - Carters Grove Plantation, Williamsburg, Virginia More Photos
Quote: A visit to Colonial Williamsburg teaches us about the lives of our forefathers--and about how the 20th century sees the 18th centrury.
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Colonial Williamsburg Best of IgoUgo

Overview

Christmas in Williamsburg Photo - Williamsburg, Virginia
Quote:
If you have the money, stay in the Colonial Houses hotel. You stay in one of the reconstructed or restored buildings right in the middle of the historic district. It's very beautiful, the location is great, and sometimes, in the evening as the other tourists depart for their hotels, you can almost believe you are in the mid-eighteenth century. Don't miss Carter's Grove. The slave cabins are an interesting chance to see the harsh reality of the lives of those who worked to create an elegant life for the gentry. The main house itself is a fascinating look at how the wealthy of the early 20th century romanticised the wealthy of the early 18th century Also at Carter's Grove is Wol...Read More
The Brick House Tavern Photo - Colonial Houses Hotel, Williamsburg, Virginia
Quote:
Furnished with antiques and reproductions, these rooms aim to give you the feeling of truly being in the 18th century. Don't worry, though--they all have modern amenities like private bathrooms, phones, and televisions. You can book a twin room here--something of a rarity in the US. Unfortunately, though, for those who want to get 4 people in a room, there's no such thing as a room with two double beds. Many rooms have decorative or working fireplaces, and you can call housekeeping to have a fire laid if you want. If your room doesn't have a working fireplace, don't worry--the common area of your building will probably have one. Williamsburg is one of those places that shows...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 5, 2002

Colonial Houses Hotel
302 East Francis Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
1-800-HISTORY

Regency Room Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The Regency Room"

Quote:
The Regency Room is the main resturant in the Williamsburg Inn. Ringed with high windows covered with celadon silk drapes, the walls covered in mossy green wainscotting and Chinese-inspired wallpaper, the room itself is stunning. The breakfasts I had here indicate that the food and service are on a par with the decor. When you are seated, a waiter immediately comes to ask you how you are, give you menus, and ask whether you'd like some coffee. An answer of "Yes" brings a china cup and saucer, a creamer filled with cream or milk, and good dark coffee. After the coffee comes a tray of assorted mini muffins. The menu gives traditional breakfast fare a gourmet twist. I especially remem...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 10, 2002

Regency Room
Williamsburg Inn
Williamsburg, Virginia

Christiana Campbell’s Tavern Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Christiana Campbell's Tavern"

Quote:
Located behind the Capitol, Campbell's specializes in seafood. It's housed in a pleasant gambrel roofed building with a wide front porch, a good place to cool off during a hot evening when you're waiting to be seated. You'll be served by costumed waitstaff, and may get to listen to strolling singers and musicians as you eat supper. Campbell's is my favorite of the Williamsburg taverns because one of its other specialties is spoon bread - a sort of cross between cornbread and souffle. It also serves delicious sweet-potato muffins with every meal. You can order either a set menu or choose your dinner from a'la carte entrees. The set menu is the best value - you get soup, half a fried chicken...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 10, 2002

Christiana Campbell’s Tavern
Waller St
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-2141

Raleigh Tavern Bakeshop Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "The Raleigh Tavern Bakeshop"

Quote:
The Raleigh Tavern Bakeshop is tucked in a leafy courtyard behind the Raleigh Tavern. It's a great place to stop for a snack or light lunch, and has cheap and tasty treats for kids and adults alike. The bakeshop sells crusty white rolls, delicious Sally Lunn bread (about $3 a loaf), biscuits with Virginia ham (which make a good light lunch), and sweets like gingerbread cookies and Queen's Cake - a dense poundcake flavored with lemon and studded with currants. The bakeshop also sells drinks such as fresh cider (mulled with cinnamon and cloves in the wintertime). You can eat your snacks on benches arranged around the shady courtyard between the bakeshop and tavern. It's a nice cool ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 11, 2002

Raleigh Tavern Bakeshop
Duke of Gloucester Street
Williamsburg, Virginia

Kings Arms Tavern Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "King's Arms Tavern"

Quote:
The King's Arms is one of Williamsburg's four colonial taverns. It's located on Duke of Gloucester Street about midway between Market Square and the Capitol. Unlike the other taverns, the King's Arms has an indoor waiting area with a toasty fireplace--a huge plus in winter, when standing outside waiting for your table can be a chilling experience, even with the bonfires that burn outside each tavern to warm waiting patrons. The tavern serves hearty fare like prime rib and game pie. One of the specialties, peanut soup, isn't authentic colonial fare, but it's warm, creamy, and tasty nonetheless. Meals include fresh bread and apple cheddar muffins (go for the bread, pass on the ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 3, 2003

Kings Arms Tavern
409 Duke of Gloucester Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-8610

Shields Tavern Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:
Shields Tavern is the newest of Colonial Williamsburg's four taverns. It is also the most liberal in its interpretation of colonial cuisine. Where Christiana Cambpell's and Chowning's serve authentic 18th-century dishes, Shields serves a mixture of authentic foods (the Shields Sampler of appetizers, including savory crab cakes and sweet carrot pudding, being the best example), and menu items which use fresh local ingredients that 18th-century cooks would have used, but are prepared with modern techniques. Colonial cooks made green salad, but probably didn't dress it with Roasted Shallot and Virginia Riesling Vinegrette. The menu includes carnivorous (the fillet-mingon with port red...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 4, 2002

Shields Tavern
422 Duke of Gloucester St.
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-8610

The Trellis Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Quote:
The Trellis resturant is situated on Duke of Gloucester Street in the Merchants Square shopping complex. It serves modern American cuisine with an emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients, but its big claim to fame is the array of chocolate desserts created by chef Marcel Desaulniers. We went to the Trellis for lunch, where, looking for something both warm (it can be COLD in Williamsburg in December) and light, we chose the soup and salad lunch for $6.95. There were two choices of soup for the day: tomato basil and cheddar cauliflower chowder. Both were warm, creamy (even the tomato basil, which contained no dairy products at all) and delicious. The soup came with sev...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on January 14, 2003

The Trellis
403 West Duke of Gloucester Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-8610

Chowning's Tavern Best of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Chowning's Tavern Photo - Chowning's Tavern, Williamsburg, Virginia
Quote:
The most casual of the Williamsburg taverns, Chowning's (pronounced Chew-ning's) is also the most reasonably priced. During lunch, it serves homey favorites like pulled prok barbeque and Virginia Ham and Gloucester Cheese sandwiches. At night, Chewning's has switched from serving a full menu of sit-down meals to having a sort of perpetual happy hour from 5 PM on, with a menu of appetizers--barbeque ribs, Virginia ham and biscuits, and that old Colonial favorite, hot wings, along with alcohol and soft drinks. This is actually a good thing--it used to be that if you wanted a drink and a snack in the evening and you were in the historic district, you were out of luck--although the Taverns ...Read More

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on October 11, 2002

Chowning's Tavern
403 Duke of Gloucester Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-8610

Christmas at Carter's Grove Photo - Carter's Grove Plantation, Williamsburg, Virginia
Quote:
Carter's Grove is one of the more famous colonial era plantations that line the lower reaches of the James River. It's a part of Colonial Williamsburg, and an admission ticket for Williamsburg will get you into Carter's Grove, too. The site is a fascinating blend of four centuries. The reconstructed slave quarter, which you see on your walk to the main house, is staffed with interpreters who are more than willing to talk about the life of a slave in 18th century Virgina. The small rustic cabins in which the slaves lived are a striking conrast to the elegant main house beyond. The main house is decorated as it was in the 1930's, when it was purchased and restored by the McCrea family - an i...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 11, 2002

Carter's Grove Plantation
8797 Pocahontas Trail
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 220-7645

Quote:
When you're a kid, Colonial Williamsburg seems like walking into your history book - at least it did for me. The first time I went, when I was nine or so, I had a great time going in and out of the restored houses, shopping for colonial goods in the shops, watching the fife and drum parade, and eating gingerbread cookies from the Raleigh Tavern Bakery in the shady courtyard behind the tavern itself. Now there's even more for kids to do. For a fee, children can rent 18th century clothes for the day. Young interpreters, also in costume, spend part of every summer day playing colonial games behind the Gorvernor's Palace. They'll be happy to teach you the finer points of hoop-rolling. ...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on October 10, 2002

Colonial Williamsburg
134 Henry Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(800) 4447-679

Williamsburg Lodge Auditorium Best of IgoUgo

Attraction | "The Clandestine Marriage"

Quote:
Let me say at the outset that I hate 18th-century drama. Hate hate HATE it. So I groaned when I heard that my mom had gotten us tickets to see a play written by 18th-century actor David Garrick and George Coleman. My expectations sank even lower when I saw the venue--the auditorium in the Williamsburg Lodge. It's perfectly nice as auditoriums go, but 1960s rather than 1760s, and the fold-out desks attached to the arm of each seat gave me nasty standardized-test flashbacks. As soon as the actor who was to be our guide to the 18th-centry theater appeared on stage, however, my reservations disappeared. Through sheer genial, goofy charisma, he soon had the spectators instructed in the fine...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 3, 2003

Williamsburg Lodge Auditorium
310 S England Street
Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
(757) 229-1000

The Governor's Palace Photo - Williamsburg, Virginia
Quote:
Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the US, created with the help of John D. Rockefeller Jr. It attempts to provide the visitor with the experience of visiting the capitol of Virgina circa the mid 18th century, though what that entails has changed over the 3/4 of a century since the historic area's beginning. One of the most striking examples of how our knowledge of the period has changed over time are the interiors of the Governor's Palace. If you haven't been in the Palace for 10 years or so, the difference is surprising. The Governor's Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in all of Williamsburg. It's a reconstruction - the original burned down in the ...Read More