North America, States, Travel

Norfolk, Virginia

July 2018

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Some friends I made, since moving up here to Virginia, and I went on a semi-spontaneous trip to Norfolk for a weekend escape. Oddly enough, most people would actually ask, why Norfolk? Well we actually went for a taco festival! Except we never even got to attend because it was sold out. So what did we do?

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Well, we left Northern Virginia at 7am on Saturday and arrive to our hotel in Norfolk around 10:30am. Hotel: Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel

After check in, we walked roughly 5 minutes right over to where the taco festival was. After not being able to get in we went next door to try Guy Fieri’s Smokehouse which I personally was extremely disappointed at. But maybe that’s more your cup of tea. At least for us, everything we ordered was not enjoyable. But that’s fine, you win some and lose some, right?

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A short Uber ride away, we checked out O’Connor Brewing Co. where we had a flight. Personally, their Red, Wit & Blueberry and Green Can Golden Ale were my favorite. We went around 5pm, but they have live music at night that might be worth checking out.

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Down the street was Mermaid Winery, where we had another flight, but of wine. The ambiance was so cute. It was pretty small, and more like a restaurant inside, but there are actual grape vines and couches outside, if you’re able to tolerate the heat. We were trying to avoid the ~95 degree weather any chance we had.

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Our next stop, if you know me at all yet, was my favorite stop. TACOS! Well at least that’s what I ordered at Jessy’s Taco Bistro. All of us actually ordered completely different, and yet we all enjoyed our meals. Even if we didn’t make it to the festival, I was happily surprised with this location! Definitely stop by and enjoy some food if you’re around Norfolk, and have some time!

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At night, we went on a quick ride on the Ferris wheel then to PBR, because a ton of people recommended it. It was between the hotel, in the same market location as Guy Fieri’s. The vibe in PBR was definitely different than anywhere in DC we’ve been to, but I could see why locals make that a go to. It was packed and everyone was having fun! They even have a bull ride area that my friend went on.

The next morning we were off to brunch, at Freemason Abbey. While this was not a traditional brunch selection for me, it was well worth it! Everyone really liked their food [again], and the decor was of a colonial time. Brunch was not bottomless, but the mimosas weren’t too expensive – ranging from $3-$5. Highly recommend!!

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Post food – we were off to a few more stops before making our way back home to Northern Virginia. Stops included: residential beach, a Mexican grocery store, and a tattoo shop.

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Overall, I wouldn’t recommend planning a trip to Norfolk specifically for Norfolk, but if you have someone you know there, you will have plenty of stops to fill a weekend with!

You could always include Virginia Beach, but I haven’t made it there yet to recommend personally. We ran out of time, and honestly it was just too hot to have a worth while beach day.

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