21/12/2025
🎄✨ Saturday Before Christmas Road Trip Adventure to Charlotte, NC! ✨🎄
Y’all… what a gift of a day we had! What usually starts as our routine Charlotte airport drop-off for a dear friend turned into one of the most delicious, festive, and unexpected adventure days ever! 🚗❤️
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🇮🇹 🥐 Stop #1: Morning Treat at Villani’s Bakery
We started the day at Villani’s Bakery, a family-owned Italian bakery in Charlotte where everything is baked from scratch daily using traditional recipes. From flaky Italian pastries to rich cakes and artisan coffee, this spot was so good we could’ve lingered all morning! ☕🍰 Their pastries and coffee pair perfectly with relaxed holiday vibes. 
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🥂 🍾 Stop #2: Bubbly Break at Bev
Just around the corner, we stumbled upon Bev Proseccheria, Charlotte’s (and the U.S.’s) first Proseccheria tucked into a vintage Airstream bar — serving authentic Italian Prosecco from Italy with creative mixers and floral patio vibes. Even for someone who doesn’t usually drink, this was such a fun and flavorful detour! 🍾✨ Big thanks to David serving us and for elevating our adventure.
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🇫🇷 🥐 Stop #3: French Pastries at Amélie’s Uptown | French Bakery & Cafe
Next up — a little taste of France! I fell in love with fruit pastries during my time in France, and Amélie’s Uptown | French Bakery & Cafe has those just like I dreamed of! Their French-style macarons, tarts, and pastries hit every nostalgic note. Such a different but equally wonderful vibe from the Italian bakery. 🥐🍓
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🎄🍺 🍻 Stop #4: Christmas Market at Olde Mecklenburg Brewery & Biergarten
Then we headed over to Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, where they were hosting the most amazing Christmas Market. This place is HUGE—and beautifully designed like an authentic German beer garden with festive stalls, lights, and even a kids’ area. 🍻🎁 This market is one of their annual holiday traditions and definitely worth the visit (we’ll be back next year!).
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🌍 ✨ New Friend & Greek Flavor from The Olive Crate
At the market we met the sweetest Kathleen from Greece, who introduced us to her business, The Olive Crate — a family-run company specializing in premium Greek extra virgin olive oil, artisan balsamic vinegars, organic herbs, and handcrafted olive wood products straight from Greece’s rich olive-growing regions. Their products are crafted with care, reflecting generations of olive growing and authentic Mediterranean flavor — perfect for gourmet cooking, salads, and dressings. 
We left with some incredible olive oil and vinegars (including strawberry balsamic!) and can’t wait to make our own strawberry vinaigrette soon! 🍓🫒 Stay tuned for that kitchen adventure!
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🎄🚗 🌟 Holiday Magic in Christmas Town USA – McAdenville, NC
As the sun set, we took a slow drive through McAdenville, known across the country for its thousands of lights and cheerful holiday spirit that transforms this small town into a winter wonderland every season. Walking or driving through these twinkling streets felt like stepping inside a Christmas card — so magical. 🎄✨
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🍝 🍷 Dinner at Terra Mia
We closed out the night at Terra Mia, a local favorite Italian restaurant in McAdenville. They take pride in their fresh handmade pasta, house-made pizza dough, and classic Italian dishes made with locally sourced ingredients — all served with warm, cozy hospitality. From authentic pasta to flavorful sauces and desserts like tiramisu and cannoli, this was the perfect ending to our full day of exploring and eating our way through Charlotte! 🍝❤️
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🎥 Stay tuned for our full YouTube video documenting this entire day — from breakfast pastries to Christmas light magic and pasta perfection!
✨ Question for you:
Have you ever been to McAdenville’s Christmas Town to see the lights? 🎄👇
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