Okay, I have to admit that going into it, I was under the impression that Richmond, Virginia, was pretty much on par with Richmond, California (i.e., super-high murder rate and generally crappy). I'm not sure how I first came under that impression, but how delightfully wrong I was!
This view from the hotel shows the James River and Belle Isle. I was particularly intrigued by the pedestrian bridge that's hanging under the main bridge, though I didn't get a chance to check it out in person. There appeared to be several breweries across the river as well, but again, being in town on a "business" trip, I wasn't really in control of my agenda.
Just a few blocks from the hotel heading away from the river is the Capitol building. Not much to say about it... it's pretty white, pretty majestic, pretty Capitol-ish.
Richmond is home to VCU, which is making a name for itself as an art school, so there are a lot of murals and artwork around the downtown area. This old building skeleton was home to several cool large-scale pieces.
Lastly, there was this crazy albino squirrel chilling out in a tree! I've never seen such a thing, but now I can assure you that they do exist. So, positive points for Richmond: walkable (at least in the downtown/financial district), great restaurants, cool artwork, albino squirrels, and immediate proximity to a river.
Yeah, I'd visit again.
