Floyd, VA: Day One
In my continued search for hometown America and visiting the tucked away towns, a sweet lady on the Crazy Girl Facebook page, Kathy, recommended her town of Floyd, Virginia as a place we should visit. I’d heard of it my whole life and had never been there so off we go to check out all that Floyd had to offer. And let me tell you, it was a lot, and was well worth the trip!
Our itenirary for the first day was:
- Jack’s Creek Covered Bridge (Woolwine, VA)
- Village Appalaccia Winery
- Checked in at Hotel Floyd downtown
- Dinner at Mickey G’s Bistro
This was one of those accidental discoveries that was too good to be true! As we were traveling to Floyd through a small area called Woolwine, we happened to look over and see a covered bridge just off the road. I love covered bridges, as you may recall, so we turned around to go back. This adorable covered bridge is the only one remaining in Patrick County. The bridge was built in 1914 and crosses over the Smith River. We were able to walk down under it and step in the small river and just enjoy the sounds of the water flowing with no traffic overhead. The name of the bridge came from it’s being used to reach Jack’s Creek Primitive Baptist Church nearby.
This 48 foot precious bridge is in amazingly great shape to be over 100 years old. It was refurbished in the mid-70s in hopes of preserving it for future generations; I’d say they did a fine job and this ‘future generation’ was happy to find it.
You can check out a video from under the bridge here: Video around the bridge and river, just beautiful!
I could write a whole post about this magical place! Tucked away off a dirt road overlooking the Blue Ridge Parkway, we didn’t know what to expect.
As we arrived at the Villa, however, it truly felt like a little piece of Tuscany on top of a beautiful hill. There are tables with umbrellas outside along with a few adirondacks to sit in and enjoy the view, an area with a brick oven and seating where they do pizzas outside each week, and another beautiful outdoor seating area in the trees with several tables for guests. Inside the Villa is an outdoor dining area with beautiful tables and decor imported from France and a view to die for! The Villa also contains their store and wine area.
B and I had one of their specialty charcuterie boards which was more than delicious. We also had one of their specialty red wines, Toscanello, which we loved more than any wine we’d ever tasted. We loved it so much that we left with a half a case!
Villa Appalaccia has been a Virginia farm winery since 1989 and in 2018, new owners took over, Tim and Julie Block. We were fortunate enough to meet Tim who made us feel so welcome. His wife, Julie, actually makes the wine but was not there when we visited. Tim and Julie moved to the winery, which is actually their home, from Charlotte, with Tim having 40 years of restaurant experience.
When Tim and Julie decided to buy the winery, they asked their family to see it first, and they fell in love with it so much that they eventually left their own homes in Charlotte and D.C. to move to the parkway and be nearby. The Block’s son-in-law is now the winery manager so you can say it is a family affair and one that is clearly managed with heart and passion for fine wines as well as building long-time relationships with their guests.
If you are visiting the Floyd area, this is a must-visit on your trip!
For dinner, we decided to visit the highly recommended Mickey G’s Bistro. It was clear how it got its reputation. Their indoor dining is a comfortable italian style and they also had a lovely outdoor patio seating area with fresh flowers. B had grilled swordfish with pasta and I had their special that evening, a New York strip with mushroom sauce, grilled asparagus, and mashed potatos. Both were delicious and more than we could eat! They also had a bread that just came out of the oven with their olive oil mixture that were so good! Our food was definitely delicious and felt authentic italian and we will definitely dine here again. Our service was as good as the food!
We could not have chosen a better place to stay for this trip. Not only was it within a block of downtown Floyd which made it easy for us to come and go and shop (and nap if we wanted!), it was decorated by local artisans throughout, which is the foundation of Floyd’s culture. We stayed in the Floydfest room that had floor lamps made from horns and album covers, a headboard carved by local woodworkers, and Floydfest framed posters from over the years. It was so cool! The other rooms were sponsored by various local businesses, including one by Villa Appalaccia, and decorated in their theme. But truly, the best part was just being in the heart of this amazing little town.
Tomorrow I’ll be sharing our Day 2 which included more great meals and shopping in stores I can’t wait to go back to!
Thanks for tagging along, see you tomorrow!
