Winchester is a 30-mile drive west of Middleburg and features many interesting attractions. Once you get beyond the McDonalds restaurant and the Sheetz glow-in-the-dark service station at the intersection of Route 340 and negotiate the complex of all-you-can-eat buffets that mark the crossing of Interstate 81, you'll find the self-proclaimed "Apple Capital" offers both historic and highly popular attractions.

Anchoring the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester has served for nearly three centuries as a transit hub for travel along the Valley Pike running between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains.

Settled in 1732 by Pennsylvania Quakers, Winchester witnessed the very formation of our country, serving as the early training ground for future general George Washington. The Valley Pike, now Route 11, was a natural conduit used by both the Union and Confederate armies throughout the Civil War and the town of Winchester is said to have changed hands more than 70 times during the fighting.

More than 7,000 Civil War combatants are buried in Winchester's National and Confederate Cemeteries.

Winchester attracts more than 250,000 visitors each spring to its four-day Apple Festival, preceded by the world's largest Fireman's Parade. However, if you want to avoid the crowds, you'll find plenty to see and do throughout the year. It is the site of the office where George Washington worked while supervising the construction of Fort Loudoun and also the headquarters of both Confederate General Stonewall Jackson and Union General Philip Sheridan.

Of course, every fan of country music knows that Winchester is the birthplace of Patsy Cline, born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932.

One of the city's most popular attractions, Shenandoah University's Ohrstrom-Bryant Theatre, rests prominently on the right side of Route 50 shortly after crossing over Interstate 81 as you enter Winchester from the east. It is the site of almost non-stop year-round theatrical performances presented by professional actors as well as students of what was once the Shenandoah Music Conservatory. The summer musical theater season is currently in full swing, with performances of such popular productions as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Pirates of Penzance, and Carousel.

For a gentle day trip when the weather cooperates, visit the pedestrian mall in the heart of Old Town. It has ample shops to browse, activities to explore, and good choices for a bit of nourishment.

Follow the roadside markers toward "Old Town" along Pleasant Valley Road, where you might choose to stop at the Winchester Visitors Center. The Old Town directional markers will guide you onto Cork Street, and then Cameron Street.

Cameron parallels Loudoun Street, which forms the pedestrian mall extending from Piccadilly Street on the north to Cork Street on the south. Metered parking is located off of Cameron at various points convenient to the walking mall, and there is ample street parking.

One essential stop is the Old County Courthouse located near the mid-point of the mall. Now a modest but fascinating civil war museum, it served as the Frederick County Courthouse from 1840 until 1984. During the Civil War it was a hospital and a prison for soldiers from both the north and the south, many of whom left their graffiti-style messages carved in the courthouse walls.

In the continuing building restoration the Courthouse bell tower is intentionally left exposed through a glass base and visitors are invited to pull the rope and ring the bell. A $3.00 fee provides access both to the courtroom and the upstairs museum.

Shops are diverse and interesting. For children or grandchildren there is The Doll Boutique, with hundreds of handcrafted little friends of every imaginable style. Almost directly across the brick walkway is the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, a repository of interactive learning experiences for patrons of all ages. The $5.00 fee provides unlimited access to simple but fascinating hands-on exhibits.

Lining the broad walkway are diverse shops selling jewelry, books, stained glass, furniture, antiques, shoes (the locally famous Wilkins shoe emporium), pottery, art, and clothing. There is a gunsmith, a knitting supply store, a shop for musicians, and a flag company.

There is clearly enough shopping and browsing to hold your interest and work up an appetite for one of more than a dozen restaurants and food specialty shops, which brings us to a recurring dilemma. We would love on some occasion to sample the fare at Brewbaker's Restaurant, the Old Town Café, The Daily Grind, Sweet Caroline's and the other eateries that beckon to pedestrians along the way. Unfortunately, we are inevitably drawn to the ultra-charming Violino Ristorante Italiano at 181 North Loudoun Street, just one storefront south of Piccadilly Street.

Under sunny skies, the umbrella-shaded outside tables are hard to resist, but we recommend doing so because the real charm lies inside the front door. Sandy describes the ambience without mentioning the decorum. She says that walking through the door makes her happy.

You quickly discover that Violino is a family run restaurant in every sense of the word and, by your second visit, you are very much part of the extended Stocco family. The patriarch, Franco Stocco, was born, raised and trained in the culinary arts in the Friuli region of Italy. In 1987, after nearly twenty years working in some of Italy's finest restaurants, he brought his young family and his culinary skills to the US. In 1996, he and his wife and partner, Marcella, opened Violino, where his son Riccardo, a graduate of Johnson and Wales, soon joined as Sous Chef. Marcella serves as hostess and offers expert advice on the modest selection of fine Italian wines.

The décor reflects another of Franco's passions, his love of all things musical. Violins and other musical instruments, along with musical art and artifacts, set the tone, so to speak, for a truly harmonious dining experience. Everything brought to the table is made from scratch in Franco's kitchen – the pasta, the foccacia, even the bread sticks.

The lunch and dinner menus are similar, offering a half dozen appetizers and salads, more than a dozen fresh pastas, and an equal number of meat and seafood plates. The dinner menu adds such house specialties as ossobuco and Liguria-style braised rabbit.

I can't resist the mussels steamed in olive oil with garlic, tomatoes, herbs, and spices. Sandy gravitates automatically toward the simple but rewarding spaghetti pomodore, one of six sauces offered with spaghetti at lunch for under $10.00. Meat and seafood dishes are accompanied by your choice of vegetable or a side of pasta. The daily array of specials should not be ignored especially when it includes Franco's Three Tenors, a composition of 3 different house-made pastas.

Occasionally the chef surprises with a morsel of house-cured venison prosciutto or a sample of wonderful vitello tonnato, the classic rendering of thinly sliced veal sauced with a mild tuna preparation. You can also expect a tableside visit from Franco or Riccardo to ensure your dining satisfaction and you should not be surprised if at some point Franco, a gifted tenor, offers an impromptu aria accapella.

To end your meal on a high note, save room for desert, each of which is personally prepared by Franco or Riccardo. On one visit, Sandy asked if she could have the recipe for a marvelous meringue cake filled with amaretto sabayon sauce, which she thought would nicely compliment our upcoming Easter dinner.

Rather than produce a copy of the recipe, at the end of lunch Franco escorted her into the kitchen where together they made the cake. After all, that's what family members do!