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Felix teaches yoga at Studio South, as well as other classes around town.
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Felix's dogs, Bella, the German Shepherd and Faith, the Border Collie, are his companions on the trails.
Felix Vlad has a delightful mix of interests, including but not limited to: Zumba, yoga, wine, food and rescuing stranded people with his tow truck. He’s a person who enjoys his senses, whether it’s delicious schnitzel, the right glass of wine or the early morning joys of nature. He owned a local restaurant, the Bavarian Garden for five years and previously was on the Romanian National Team for karate. After 25 years living in Williamsburg, he still loves it.
What would a perfect day in Williamsburg be like for Felix?
Early Riser
Felix would get up early and head over to hot yoga at Studio South at 5:30 a.m. Then he’d go to York River State Park near his home in Toano, with his two dogs. The wildlife would just be waking up, it’s so quiet. Then the bald eagles take flight and the foxes peek out of their dens. “I’m a total tree hugger. I love to be in nature as much as I can, especially early in the day,” he said.
Lunch on the Go
For lunch he might go to the Mongolian grill at Peking or enjoy Greek food at Kephi, powering up for some paddle boarding orkayaking at Little Creek Reservoir. Maybe he’d go to a wine tasting at the Williamsburg Winery with his friend Matthew Mayer, the wine maker, but not so much that he wouldn’t be able to get on his bikeand ride the Capital Trail.
“Upper Shirley Vineyards are glorious! Chef Everett’s daughter Kaitlin is the manager there at the restaurant and I love it,” he said. Felix was the Food and Beverage manager at Ford’s Colony Country Club when it was a five diamond restaurant, as well as a sommelier and maitre’d–it’s safe to say he knows food and wine!
Dancing the Night Away
Felix would end the night, after a grand dinner at the WilliamsburgInn, with dancing at the Cuban restaurant Habana Hemingway Café in McLaws Circle. Their Salsa Nights on Wednesdays include dance lessons during dinner! Not that Felix needs them, he’s very agile.
He can’t stay out too late though because he lives on a farm in Toano where he raises poultry and needs to get all his farm chores done. He loves to cook at home, with friends and for his wife Izabela Mihaela. Many of his friends are from his karate studio, Shorin-Ryu Butokukan, led by John Spence–Felix has been practicing karate for decades and was a Romanian National team member in the mid-1990s.
Felix came here because of Colonial Williamsburg, and worked asa room service waiter, banquet server, dishwasher, truck driver–nowhere suited me as well as Williamsburg. “I’m very attached to the people here. It was a place that felt like home to me,” he said. In fact, he convinced his wife Izabela to move here from London.
That’s a great endorsement for this unique town we call home!
