I’m surprised no one mentioned the Wren Building. It was started before 1700, and though gutted by fire in 1859 it was not burned to the ground. My wife had a class in it when she went to W&M.
I like all these places, but I think there is more to do in CW.
You might want to check out the taverns which have somewhat modernized version of old recipes. Some of it is pretty good.
I had claasses in Wren as well - Beginner’s Russian. Tourists would get ever so confused, when they’d open the door, expecting Colonial stuff.
Anyway, other than just being there, the Wren building isn’t that interesting, and, most likely had nothing to do with Christopher Wren. And it burned down three times – in 1705 and 1859, and 1862 . The 1859 rebuild - which only stood three years, was particularly hideous.
Regarding Williamsburg-is the food served there (in the taverns) authentic colonial-era fare? I’d like to try some colonial style food-was it very different from what we eat today?
[QUOTE=ralph124c]
Regarding Williamsburg-is the food served there (in the taverns) authentic colonial-era fare? I’d like to try some colonial style food-was it very different from what we eat today?
[/QUOTE]
Re: tavern food, I’d say it’s a blend of modern and “colonialish”. It’s changed over the years: Shields used to serve the most authentic fare, but that was a while ago. Now, while there may be minor differences in the food, the greatest difference is in the atmosphere that each tavern tries to provide (high-class, working-class, etc.) All of the info and menus can be found online.
The last time I ate in CW was last year, at King’s Arms for dinner, and it was a fun experience. Food was good, but the most memorable part was the setting and the costumed servers, who provided lots of info about what dining in the tavern would have been like in the late 1700’s.
Syllabub is freaking awesome, and actually quite easy to make. CW has their own recipe (found in the official CW cookbook), but this oneis virtually the same (except don’t forget to put some mint leaves on the top).
Modern sanitary practices have probably taken some of the edge off the flavors.
When was the last time you were there? There is now a pretty extensive and nice museum at the Jamestown Settlement. The Archaerium at the National Park site is also quite nice.
Agreed about Jamestown. I like both areas. When I was a kid and went there we were told that the original settlement was swallowed up by the James River. Now they found the original settlement. You can walk through the fort. Look at the digs that are still ongoing. The living history at the settlement is fun and the museum is good but I liked the actual settlement site better. I love the whole area though.
Jamestown: note that there are two places to visit. One is the actual settlement area, the other is the reconstruction with people dressed as Jamestown inhabitants, demonstrating skills, replicas of the ships etc. I believe the latter is a state-owned facility while the former is national parks-owned. They’re quite near each other, for what that’s worth.
Not far away is Yorktown, site of one of the pivotal battles in the Revolutionary War. That’s a bit north (10 miles or so).
For what it’s worth, Williamsburg is prettier than Jamestown and to my mind, a bit more fun.
I agree-mouldy cheese and weevil-ridden biscuits do not appeal to me. I imagine when made fresh, colonial era food could be very good-but saving leftovers in a hot Virginia summer? Must have been a lot of food poisoning then.