Breakfast Tastes Better On the Sidewalk

Alright, I figure I should probably wrap these DC posts up so we can blog about other fun things we've had going on lately. (Although it has been rather fun reminiscing and reliving the memories.)

Our last day started off with a trip to Eastern Market for breakfast.  I was disappointed with the food (but naturally any one would be who has just experienced Bread and Chocolate), but the atmosphere was delightful. There were fresh flowers, farmer's market produce, and lots of other fun little booths.

There wasn't any room to eat inside, so we ate outside. On the cement. Perfect day for a street-side breakfast.

 

Then we headed to the Botanical Gardens. There were some very pretty flowers in bloom.

 Em and I loved having some sister time. We found these random patio rockers by an intersection. Great photo op I'd say.

There was also some manly bonding going on. We love that our husbands get along so well.


Brandon was a great navigator for us that day and during the entire trip.

 
With our last few hours, we visited the Library of Congress, the Capitol, and Air and Space Museum. It was very fun having Em and Kyle tag along.

 

And with that, we'll say good-bye to DC.

Alexandria is Charming and Full of Surprises

Our first glimpse of Alexandria was on our way to pick up the rental bikes. We walked down King Street in Old Town Alexandria and fell in love immediately. All the building and shops were so quaint. And the houses, oh, don't get me started. I could move there today!

We heard great things about a restaurant called Bread and Chocolate. We had tried to eat at one in DC on the first day, but it was closed. Luckily, there was one in Alexandria. We were nice and hungry after our bike ride, so we tried it out. I should have known with a name like that I would be in heaven. Bread and Chocolate are 2 of my favorite foods.

We ate at a table by their front window display. Bike clothes and all. I'm sure it brought them great business.

I ordered french toast with ganache and bananas and bavarian creme. Heaven!

Brandon ordered french dip.

We didn't have enough of Alexandria in one day, so we went back on our last night. We discovered Prince Street. Such a perfect little street.

 
 


We walked by the river and enjoyed the street performers at the wharf. And then, dinner at Bread and Chocolate.I ordered crepes and Brandon got an omelet. Again, amazing!



At this point, Brandon started acting really strange. I wasn't sure what was up. We seemed to be walking aimlessly around the streets (which I didn't mind, but it was very uncharacteristic of him.) Finally, we ended up at a little ice cream shop.

When I first walked in, I saw this:

We got in line to order.You are probably thinking, "why/how do you have a picture of you standing in line?" Any guesses?

 Next thing I know, I feel a little tap on my shoulder. 

And guess who it might be? The girl I saw when I first walked in. It was Emily, my sister! I loved her disguise and I loved it even more than her and Kyle drove all the way from NYC to hang out with us for the weekend. Brandon had been scheming with them the whole time and Kyle captured it all on camera. That explains why Brandon was acting weird. 

We ate yummy ice cream and then went back to our hotel (they got a room in the same hotel) and stayed up until 2 am playing Bang! We must have been having a lot of fun because the manager had to call us and tell us to be quiet. Oops! Man I love surprises...especially in Alexandria! It was the perfect way to end our trip.

DC: National Zoo

We spent an afternoon at the National Zoo. 

Childish? Maybe. But we really wanted to see Pandas. Which we did right at the very end.

And we got to see a few other animals along the way.

DC: Arlington

 

I'm not usually one for cemeteries (unless it's where my mom is buried), but Arlington was really cool. There is a very patriotic feeling there. It made me especially grateful for all the people who serve our country. I'm glad there is a special place that they can be recognized and honored. 

We watched the Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Brandon especially liked this. We watched it twice.

While we were in the area, we stopped at Ray's Hell Burger for lunch. When we were asking our friends for DC ideas, nearly every one of them said to go there. It did not disappoint. Supposedly it's the President's favorite place to eat, too.

DC at Night

As if we hadn't had enough exercise for one day,we took a walking tour of all the monuments at night. Again, another highlight! There is something that makes night + lights + walking + good weather so romantic.

Our first stop...the WWII Memorial. 

Next up was the Lincoln Memorial.

Abe was a good man.

You often hear and see lots about the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, but the FDR memorial was one of our favorites. The memorial is a myriad of water fountains. This was just one of them.




We would have liked to stay longer at the FDR memorial, but we had an 11:00 date with Mr. Jefferson.We ran as fast as our little legs could carry us to get to the Jefferson Memorial right at 10:58. We caught our breath, sat on the marble stairs, and watched the lights go off at 11:00 at the White House. By this time, we were the only ones there. It was peaceful, inspiring, and very romantic.

Oh yeah. We made friends with the Park Ranger.

We had ourselves a dance to music on Brandon's phone while overlooking the Tidal Basin and Washington Monument. Romantic, I tell you.

We realized we were the only ones on the street at this point and it was still before midnight. DC really does shut down at night. And note to self for next time. The Metro also shuts down! Oblivious to this fact, we took our merry time getting there. As soon as we walked in the station, the attendant yelled to us to hurry because there was only one more train for the night. We barely made it. 

DC: Mt. Vernon

After a few days in the city, we were ready to get out for a day. We rented bikes in Alexandria and rode the 9.5 miles each way to Mt. Vernon. The bike ride was perfectly situated along the Potomac River and George Washington Parkway. We weren't planning on touring the estate due to a 2:00 tour at the Capitol Building, but we decided to be spontaneous, ditch the tour, and hang out at Mt. Vernon. We definitely made the right choice. 

 

I'd love a back porch with a view like this!

orchard envy

garden envy

It's not a vacation unless biking is involved!

Beautiful, huh?