The Granary - Natural Retreats

Looking for a getaway within reasonable driving distance to Charlottesville? Search no further. Natural Retreats offers a variety of homes for a family vacation or weekend retreat in Bath County, VA.  I was there in June to photograph a number of these unique homes and fell in love with several, but one in particular: The Granary. I loved it so much that I returned two weekends ago with Brian and the pups in tow.  See the bottom of this post for some of our Instagrams from our stay.

From our weekend at the Granary. Photos from our iPhones, via Instagram (@andreahubbell and @brianmhubbell).

hubbells in spain - madrid!

Happy New Year, friends! 2012 was a fabulous year for the Hubbells, but one of the highlights was certainly our trip to Spain in November. Brian and I finally, after nearly seven years of marriage and ten years together, took our honeymoon! We chose Spain because neither of us had ever been and, let's be honest, the food is incredible! We spent four days in Madrid, five days in San Sebastian, and one day in Bilbao. 

I've got part one for you today; the four days we spent in Madrid. We loved this city, but felt that our four days there was the perfect amount of time. We saw all that we wanted to see without feeling rushed. We stayed up late, slept in, decided what we wanted to do each day when we woke up, and stumbled upon restaurants and bars without much research or planning ahead of time. We new the food and wine would be good everywhere we went, but found that the smaller hole-in-the-wall places were our favorites.

I've tried to give names of places I've shown if they aren't obvious in the images, but if you have any questions for us please leave a comment or send me an email. I'll have Part 2, San Sebastian and Bilbao, up tomorrow! Enjoy!

tapas and sangria at txakolina

brie and blackberry jam wrapped in jamon (above)

blood sausage wrapped in thin potato, fried, with a quail egg on top (below)

museo del prado

san gines chocolateria for chocolate con churros

plaza mayor facade (above)

san francisco el grande basilica (below)

entrance to plaza mayor (above)

albondigas! (below)

the crystal palace, in the parque de madrid

art installation in the crystal palace, from the museo nationale centro de arte reina sofia

still the parque de madrid

the royal palace

jamon iberico de belota : the most regulated food on the planet. and quite possibly the most tasty.

pimientos de padron, patatas alioli

lamb sweetbreads

sandy point

Last June, the day after I photographed this wedding, I found myself on the eastern shore of Virginia. I'd been asked to visit the community of Sandy Point to capture the essence of a home and its surrounding landscape in 20 hours. We arrived on Sunday afternoon and I immediately got to work photographing this +100 years old building that once functioned as a bunk house at a ferry boat landing just down the point. I fell in love with the charming, unpretentious nature of the place: the real wood paneling, the campy feel, the treasures found and placed years ago. I stayed the night, shared a meal with the property owners and heard stories of fish and birds and watercraft. We even went night fishing, a quietly exhillerating sport that relies solely on the sense of feeling the line on your fingertips.  The next morning we rose with the sun, ventured back out on the water and captured the community at its shore.

In 20 hours I formed a connection with Sandy Point; to the water and the shore and the pine forest that reminds me of Florida. I hope to visit again, one day soon. You can, too, as the house will be available to rent for weekends and longer. When I have more information on how you can do just that, I will share it here. Until then...

Sandy Point.