Washington Weekend

Josh and I arrived in Washington, D.C. on Saturday for his summer internship here. He will be working here for six weeks. Since I am a teacher, and do not have to work right now, I get to stay here with him during his internship. It's a great set up, I am not complaining one bit! So, while he is at work each day, I will be exploring everything the city has to offer, and at night and on weekends we will get to do some exploring together.

Yesterday was a federal holiday, so we had a nice 3 day weekend to start off the trip. We got in late Saturday afternoon, and after getting settled at our place, we walked around and enjoyed the evening. All the museums on the mall in D.C. are free, so it is really great, especially when you are living here, because you can just go in for an hour or two whenever you have time, and you don't feel guilty about paying a hefty entrance fee. That night, we got a little hot and tired walking along the mall, so we went to the Air and Space Museum for a little while, then found a good restaurant for dinner, Rosa Mexicana. It was "upscale Mexican." For those of you from the Dallas area, think Mi Cocina style. The food was really good, a little pricey, but not outrageous. One of their most popular dishes (judging from the fact that it was on almost every table), is their guacamole. The order is a huge bowl of fresh, delicious guacamole. Some of the best I have ever had.

Sunday morning we slept in, then got an early lunch at Tortilla Coast. It is about 2 doors down from where we are staying, and was highly recommended by many friends. It is basic Tex-Mex in a good atmosphere. We enjoyed sitting by the big window, and watching everyone out and about enjoying their Fourth of July. I ordered the Lucy platter, which had a chicken taco, a chicken flauta, and a guacamole tostada. I thought the food was good, nothing spectacular, but very similar to the Tex-Mex I am use to from home. The prices were very reasonable.


For dinner last night, we ate at a great restaurant, Vapiano. I thought it was maybe just a D.C. chain, then when I looked at their website, I found that they are actually a European chain, with locations throughout the world. They even have one in Dallas. Once I learned they were European, I wasn't too surprised, since they were blaring techno music. It is in the genre of "fast casual" restaurants, but this one is different than any I had been to. When you enter, they give you a "chip" card, which you take with you to order your food or drinks. They have a wide variety of pizzas, pastas, and paninis. You take it directly to the cook, place your order, and he will swipe your card. If you would like a drink, you do the same thing at the bar. Then, as you leave, you take your card to the cashier at the front, who swipes it and tells you your total.

We ordered the chicken barbeque pizza. It was delicious, and at $11, a pretty good deal! The ingredients tasted very fresh, and we will definitely go back! The atmosphere was modern and very comfortable. The area we sat in had big comfy chairs. The only thing we didn't like too much was the techno music (although, it wasn't completely unbearable).