The first of December, I took a long weekend to visit my very dear Aunt Itsa in Richmond, VA. Aunt Itsa is my aunt through marriage to my mother's middle brother, Tom. Itsa came to the United States from Greece, shortly after WW2. She planned to complete nurses training and return to Greece after graduation but met Tom while both were students at Berea College in Berea, KY. She finished the degree but fell in love and stayed :-)

This is Aunt Itsa at Michie Tavern. Michie Tavern, built around 1784, is located just "down the street" from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. Yes, I know I said I was visiting in Richmond, but my dear aunt is not the best at directions. We took a zig at the airport when we should have zagged. Before we realized we weren't going to find the correct turnoff, we were 37 miles outside of Charlottesville. So what the heck, we took a little side trip to one of her favorite places. Michie Tavern serves a southern fare as you can see from her plate...beets, cornbread, chicken, potatoes and gravy, green beans cooked with lots of ham, brussel sprouts, peach cobbler, etc. Hmmm...fifty years in the south can turn even Greece's native daughter into a greens and beans fan.

Michie Tavern was originally built as a homestead on another site but moved in 1927 to serve as a museum to some lady's antique furniture collection. It has become quite the tour bus spot for visitors on the way to Monticello.

I had a great weekend. We shopped and ate and ate and shopped. One of the highlights of the weekend was a windy, wintery evening visit to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden. We bundled up and enjoyed a stroll through the gardens lit with millions of tiny, twinkling lights. Another highlight was time spent with my bubbly cousin Lynn and her husband, Jerry. Lynn and Jerry are newly weds, celebrating 1 year of marriage on Valentine's Day 2006. We spent Saturday morning in the "West End" (I think) discovering a lot of interesting shops, eating lunch at a very chic french restaurant and catching up with each others lives. The picture above is Aunt Itsa and Jerry in the french restaurant, ooo la la!

Lynn and me at a West End coffee shop! Latte and pastry anyone?

Thanks Aunt Itsa for your warm hospitality and incredible weekend. I am still walking- jogging it off! Lynn and Jerry, thanks for your time and your tour. Hugs and kisses to you and a very Merry Christmas!