We've been enjoying our time in Washington DC. Here are some of the highlights from our first few days.
Our first adventure was to explore the White House Visitors Center. I didn't take any pictures, but we enjoyed seeing the history of the White House and its inhabitants.
Next stop was a later lunch/early supper at Cafe Mozart, a German Restaurant. We shared one of the Oktoberfest Specials which was slices of three different suasages on top of a plate-sized potato pancake. We also had the bread basket, which had three types of German bread … and we substited the cole slaw for purple cabbage (my favorite).
The next morning, we wandered to Wicked Waffle for some breakfast (how could we pass that up). We had one with scrambled eggs (Rod at the egg half) and one with Bananas.
Next we were off to get in line for the Smithsonian African American Museum. It was being constructed the last time we visited, so we knew it was one stop we had to have on our agenda. We ended-up spending almost the entire day there … so, so much to read and see … and so emotionally overwhelming.
We really loved the Art Exhibit part of the Museum. This piece Spring – Delightful Flower Bed by Alma Thomas noted that she developed this amazing style of painting after a debilitating bout of arthritis that left her worrying she would never paint again.
And I loved the wonderful texture of this painted piece on canvas … the colors and patterns really spoke to me. The piece is ankofa II by James Phillips – Loosely defined as *it is not taboo to go ack and fetch what you forgot" -
We ended-up napping a bit on the afternoon and then headed out in search of one of my favorite things to eat when we travel … a whole fried fish. We found a delicious Red Snapper at Doi Moi.
The next morning we had a large breakfast at the hotel restaurant and too off on a public transportation adventure. Other than realizing we were in the wrong train station (the reason we always leave early & we bought a full day pass), it was relatively uneventful thankful to a helpful bus station employee who helped us make our transfer from train to bus. Our destination was the Glentstone Museum in Patomac.
There were no pictures allowed of the inside art, but we did hike to the top of the hill to Jeff Koons Split-Rocker which was in full bloom. Our favorite piece was MIchael Heizer's Collapse.
For supper, we headed to The Pig where I enjoyed bacon wrapped peaches with blue cheese (so amazing) and tuffle mac & cheese.
Today we explored some more Smithsonian Museums starting with my favorite – The HIrshhorn Museum of Contemporary Art. The special Exhibit Manifesto: Art X Agency was amazing.
This piece called Glory was created by Adam Pendleton in 2018 appropriating historical documents into his work.
The main Exhibit was Pickett's Charge by Mark Bradford and covered all of the Interior walls of the gallery. It was so cool to get up close to see all of the layers of paper and effect it had when he pulled out pieces of string to create the tears in the paper.
I was also excited to find a Pop-Up Shop for my favorite Dolcezza Gelato outside the museum … Marscapone & Fig with Margarita Sorbetto.
Next stop was the Smithsonian's Freer Sackler Museums where I learned that one of my favorites Ganesh (the remover of obstacles) has an elephant head because his father accidentally beheaded him and then saved him by replacing his head with an elephant. i also learned that his rotund physique and the sweet in his trunk are signs of his love of desserts.
And for supper, we ventured to Old Ebbit's Grill for Oyster Hour (half price Oysters and Clams) and this seafood loving girl got her fill.
Tomorrow we'll be off on our weekend adventures … we noticed most of the breakfast restaurants are closed, so not entirely sure what to expect in terms of activity on the weekend.