Nelson and I visited the University of Virginia/Charlottesville today. Here I am in the law school library, studying conlaw with a distinctly ruffled Jefferson.
The library had tons of comfy, expensive work chairs.
They were, perhaps, too comfy.
It was really frickin’ warm for February today in Charlottesville–the high got up to 67°F! Running around without a coat, just a couple days after we had single-digit windchill in DC, was pretty much awesome.
For lunch we went to the Main Street Market, a collective of local handmade fooderies. I had some delicious, spicy chicken soup from Polyface Farm, the farm featured in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and bought a bunch of local and/or organic food to take home–local baby spinach, Spanish olive oil, local wine, local cheese, local popcorn, fancy chocolates, a loaf of whole-wheat sourdough… It was pretty expensive, and made me somewhat concerned about the cost of living in Charlottesville. (Local food is great, but I imagine this is not the place to buy all your food during the winter.) But so damn good. At the bakery we found some fat-free mostly-vegan oatmeal raisin cookies that even Nelson liked! Here I am eating a delicious cookie at a table outside. In February.
Charlottesville is really pretty, all hilly with the Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah National Park nearby. UVA has lovely architecture and landscaping–I imagine even more so when all the trees have leaves and stuff is blooming.
(not taken by me/Nelson)
(also not our photo)
Jefferson designed the rotunda and central part of the university, and Monticello is only a few miles away.
(Not our photo either. We’re bad at taking pictures of the things you’re supposed to take pictures of, aren’t we?)
No, it’s not the Midwest. But I liked it a lot. Had coffee with Siva and now I’m feeling significantly less stressed about choosing a law school. A lot’s going to come down to finaid/scholarship money along with whether I get into any of the remaining, crazy-selective schools I’ve yet to hear from. But so far, it looks like all my choices are pretty darn good.
