To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’Auberge Provencale, an inn outside of Winchester that we visited more than a few years ago. Our plan was to stop at a couple of wineries on the way there on Sunday (the best part about retirement is the flexible scheduling), and visit Winchester on Monday, which we remembered had a charming and historic downtown, not unlike Fredericksburg, but with a pedestrian mall that made strolling all the more pleasant.

We chose to stop at two wineries in Delaplane, Barrel Oak and Three Fox. The beautiful countryside surrounding the wineries is barren this time of year, and still covered with dirty snow from our pre-Christmas snowstorm. But we enjoyed the wine tastings, and came home with a couple of bottles, plus 4 new souvenir wine glasses to help replenish our dwindling supply (I’ve lost quite a few to a simple knock against the kitchen faucet).

Barrel Oak Winery has only been open a year, but has a lovely rustic beamed tasting room, with comfy seating where you can enjoy a bottle of wine and a light meal.

But really, visiting wineries is just a way to kill time until check-in. L’Auberge Provencale is at the top of my list of favorite Virginia inns, and we loved every minute of our stay. On a dead-of-winter Sunday night, we were the only overnight guests, so were lucky to get an upgrade to one of the most expensive suites. But the real highlight of the inn is the amazing French restaurant, where we splurged (and it was a big splurge) on an incredible multi-course prix fixe meal, featuring an amuse bouche, first course, second course, intermezzo, third course and dessert. Definitely one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten, with each course an artful layering of components. Plus more shaved truffles in one meal than I’ve eaten in my entire life. Then in the morning, you wake up to another multi-course meal, enough food to last till dinnertime. We don’t take this kind of trip often, but it’s something we look forward to for months. And it’s a lovely way to cap off the craziness of the holiday season, with this one little getaway just for us.

Taking photos at dinner is a tad intrusive, so I only brought my camera to breakfast, where my husband and I were alone in the sunny dining room, and where these luscious baked pears were just the first course of our morning meal.

I’m a sucker for poofy linens.

We had a sitting room with an array of reading materials. Am I the only one who thinks “Garden & Gun” is an odd combination of hobbies?

On Monday, we left the inn and headed into Winchester for our downtown stroll. Where we discovered things were pretty quiet, mainly because 1. it’s the dead of winter (did I mention that already?), 2. Monday is the day many small shops are closed, and 3. downtown Winchester is experiencing an economic downturn (like everywhere else), with many empty storefronts. The town definitely shows better in warm weather. The 83rd Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, scheduled for April 23-May 2, might be the perfect time for another day trip.

Winchester’s empty pedestrian mall on a cold Monday.

We were much too full from breakfast to enjoy a Snow White burger, but this is tops on my list for our next visit.

Winchester has many lovely old homes, like this architectural wonder.

An early military office of George Washington’s is preserved as a museum in Winchester. Closed for the season. Of course.

And finally, I have to end with a couple of public restroom shots. I have a penchant for a well-designed public restroom, and am particularly fond of the new trend towards artful basins: the shallow ones, the square ones, the oddly angled ones (check out the women’s room at the new Firebirds Grill at the Spotsy mall). Here’s the faucet at Barrel Oak Winery, designed to look like an old fashioned pump:

And while the all-automatic, hands-off public restroom is becoming more common, this was the first time I’ve seen this hands-off door handle, seen in the first floor restroom of Winchester’s City Hall:

To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’Auberge…

To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’Auberge…

To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’A…

To celebrate our birthdays and anniversary (three events that fall on two consecutive days, and which is increasingly being called the “birthversary”), my husband and I had our traditional annual inn outing. This year, we decided to return to L’Auberge Provencale, an inn outside of Winchester that we visited more than a few years ago. Our plan was to stop at a couple of wineries on the way there on Sunday (the best part about retirement is the flexible scheduling), and visit Winchester on Monday, which we remembered had a charming and historic downtown, not unlike Fredericksburg, but with a pedestrian mall that made strolling all the more pleasant.

We chose to stop at two wineries in Delaplane, Barrel Oak and Three Fox. The beautiful countryside surrounding the wineries is barren this time of year, and still covered with dirty snow from our pre-Christmas snowstorm. But we enjoyed the wine tastings, and came home with a couple of bottles, plus 4 new souvenir wine glasses to help replenish our dwindling supply (I’ve lost quite a few to a simple knock against the kitchen faucet).

Barrel Oak Winery has only been open a year, but has a lovely rustic beamed tasting room, with comfy seating where you can enjoy a bottle of wine and a light meal.

But really, visiting wineries is just a way to kill time until check-in. L’Auberge Provencale is at the top of my list of favorite Virginia inns, and we loved every minute of our stay. On a dead-of-winter Sunday night, we were the only overnight guests, so were lucky to get an upgrade to one of the most expensive suites. But the real highlight of the inn is the amazing French restaurant, where we splurged (and it was a big splurge) on an incredible multi-course prix fixe meal, featuring an amuse bouche, first course, second course, intermezzo, third course and dessert. Definitely one of the best meals we’ve ever eaten, with each course an artful layering of components. Plus more shaved truffles in one meal than I’ve eaten in my entire life. Then in the morning, you wake up to another multi-course meal, enough food to last till dinnertime. We don’t take this kind of trip often, but it’s something we look forward to for months. And it’s a lovely way to cap off the craziness of the holiday season, with this one little getaway just for us.

Taking photos at dinner is a tad intrusive, so I only brought my camera to breakfast, where my husband and I were alone in the sunny dining room, and where these luscious baked pears were just the first course of our morning meal.

I’m a sucker for poofy linens.

We had a sitting room with an array of reading materials. Am I the only one who thinks “Garden & Gun” is an odd combination of hobbies?

On Monday, we left the inn and headed into Winchester for our downtown stroll. Where we discovered things were pretty quiet, mainly because 1. it’s the dead of winter (did I mention that already?), 2. Monday is the day many small shops are closed, and 3. downtown Winchester is experiencing an economic downturn (like everywhere else), with many empty storefronts. The town definitely shows better in warm weather. The 83rd Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, scheduled for April 23-May 2, might be the perfect time for another day trip.

Winchester’s empty pedestrian mall on a cold Monday.

We were much too full from breakfast to enjoy a Snow White burger, but this is tops on my list for our next visit.

Winchester has many lovely old homes, like this architectural wonder.

An early military office of George Washington’s is preserved as a museum in Winchester. Closed for the season. Of course.

And finally, I have to end with a couple of public restroom shots. I have a penchant for a well-designed public restroom, and am particularly fond of the new trend towards artful basins: the shallow ones, the square ones, the oddly angled ones (check out the women’s room at the new Firebirds Grill at the Spotsy mall). Here’s the faucet at Barrel Oak Winery, designed to look like an old fashioned pump:

And while the all-automatic, hands-off public restroom is becoming more common, this was the first time I’ve seen this hands-off door handle, seen in the first floor restroom of Winchester’s City Hall:

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decorations this year have to go to “A Place in Time” (photos above and below) which is so jam-packed with Christmas decor that it’s almost impossible to actually shop.

Our best musical discovery of the season was the Stafford Regional Handbell Society. We caught their performance at the Spotsy Mall (do I ever have to call it the Towne Center?), and these young ringers were a treat to hear. I’ve joined the budding handchime choir at my church, so I can appreciate the work that goes into their concert. Next year, we’ll try to catch their performance at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in North Stafford and avoid the noise and lousy acoustics of the mall.

And this month, we discovered a few new things on our strolls through town. Colonial Cupcakes finally opened, with its staff dressed in full colonial costume (bet the teenagers behind the counter love that uniform). We brought home a couple of samples, the key lime and the red velvet.

The Bella Italia market next to Castiglia’s opened in time for Christmas, a thrilling development for an Italian American like me. For our Christmas buffet, we stocked up on wonderful cheeses and sausage, plus a giant, but light panettone covered in confectioner’s sugar that we referred to as “Sugar Mountain.” (For the culinary purist, it was technically a pandoro, a similar bread also traditionally served at Christmas, but without the dried fruit.) They also have take-out specialities including homemade pasta, lots of deli meats, and Italian grocery items. I highly recommend a visit.

But for me, the most exciting change is that Virginia’s new restaurant anti-smoking law went into effect, where smoking sections now have to be completely separate areas, with their own ventilation system. A few of Fredericksburg’s oldest restaurants, like the Battlefield Restaurant across from the Park Service Visitor Center and the Rec Center on William St., went completely smoke free (a recent walk past the Rec Center found a cluster of smokers right in front of the entrance, huddled over the standing ashtray). I was so excited about returning to the main room at Sammy T’s, but the staff there was adamant that the restaurant was going to keep its arrangement of smoking in the big front room, no smoking in the little separate back room. I kept calling to see if they had changed their minds, but kept getting the same answer. So I was surprised and delighted that in mid-December, I finally saw this sign:

Better late than never.

(UPDATE: After seeing Emily’s comment that as of late Dec. the arrangement at Sammy T’s hadn’t actually changed, I just called and was told that the management changed their minds, and the front room will continue to be the smoking room. I’m so disappointed. Not that they will care, but there are plenty of other non-smoking dining rooms in Fredericksburg to enjoy, so I won’t be going back.)

The other noteworthy December news in town was the big snow. So many photos have been posted of the foot-plus accumulation that I don’t need to add much to the mix. I’ll just leave you with this photo from my front yard, where the snow reached 14 inches, a record December snowfall for this area.

Tonight, I’ll kick up my heels at a New Year’s Eve party and think about the freezing First Nighters downtown as we all wish 2009 a fond farewell. I’m looking forward to 2010…hope it’s a good year for all of us.

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decorations th…

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decorations th…

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decoration…

We experienced a traditional Fredericksburg holiday season this year: the downtown merchants’ open house, the Jaycees’ Christmas parade, holiday concerts, a church pageant, and too much time stuck in traffic on Rt. 3. Best downtown store decorations this year have to go to “A Place in Time” (photos above and below) which is so jam-packed with Christmas decor that it’s almost impossible to actually shop.

Our best musical discovery of the season was the Stafford Regional Handbell Society. We caught their performance at the Spotsy Mall (do I ever have to call it the Towne Center?), and these young ringers were a treat to hear. I’ve joined the budding handchime choir at my church, so I can appreciate the work that goes into their concert. Next year, we’ll try to catch their performance at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in North Stafford and avoid the noise and lousy acoustics of the mall.

And this month, we discovered a few new things on our strolls through town. Colonial Cupcakes finally opened, with its staff dressed in full colonial costume (bet the teenagers behind the counter love that uniform). We brought home a couple of samples, the key lime and the red velvet.

The Bella Italia market next to Castiglia’s opened in time for Christmas, a thrilling development for an Italian American like me. For our Christmas buffet, we stocked up on wonderful cheeses and sausage, plus a giant, but light panettone covered in confectioner’s sugar that we referred to as “Sugar Mountain.” (For the culinary purist, it was technically a pandoro, a similar bread also traditionally served at Christmas, but without the dried fruit.) They also have take-out specialities including homemade pasta, lots of deli meats, and Italian grocery items. I highly recommend a visit.

But for me, the most exciting change is that Virginia’s new restaurant anti-smoking law went into effect, where smoking sections now have to be completely separate areas, with their own ventilation system. A few of Fredericksburg’s oldest restaurants, like the Battlefield Restaurant across from the Park Service Visitor Center and the Rec Center on William St., went completely smoke free (a recent walk past the Rec Center found a cluster of smokers right in front of the entrance, huddled over the standing ashtray). I was so excited about returning to the main room at Sammy T’s, but the staff there was adamant that the restaurant was going to keep its arrangement of smoking in the big front room, no smoking in the little separate back room. I kept calling to see if they had changed their minds, but kept getting the same answer. So I was surprised and delighted that in mid-December, I finally saw this sign:

Better late than never.

(UPDATE: After seeing Emily’s comment that as of late Dec. the arrangement at Sammy T’s hadn’t actually changed, I just called and was told that the management changed their minds, and the front room will continue to be the smoking room. I’m so disappointed. Not that they will care, but there are plenty of other non-smoking dining rooms in Fredericksburg to enjoy, so I won’t be going back.)

The other noteworthy December news in town was the big snow. So many photos have been posted of the foot-plus accumulation that I don’t need to add much to the mix. I’ll just leave you with this photo from my front yard, where the snow reached 14 inches, a record December snowfall for this area.

Tonight, I’ll kick up my heels at a New Year’s Eve party and think about the freezing First Nighters downtown as we all wish 2009 a fond farewell. I’m looking forward to 2010…hope it’s a good year for all of us.