Day 2 In DC

It’s late. We have been up since 6 AM.  Breakfast with our B&B buddies was at 8AM.  Before that, we took a stroll to Caribou Coffee for a quick “kick in the pants” to get us moving.  Breakfast was prompt and consisted of blueberry pancakes, sausages (for meat lovers), assorted toast, and fresh melon with strawberries.  The other guests of the B&B were friendly and helpful with tips in regards to how to configure our day.  They were from Oregon and California.  

We set out on foot at 9 AM.  We walked down 14th Street all the way to the Smithsonian Museums. Our first stop was The Air and Space Museum. 

Of course we dilly dallied a little stopping for water, take photos of The White House, The Capital, and to splash in a fountain…

We saw this cool heat sensing instrument in the museum…

Me with the camera. I'm HOT!

From Air and space we went to lunch. We were starving.  We headed for The District Chophouse and Brewery. What a great find!

Delicious cornbread was brought to us.  It was moist, sweet and hit the spot.

We both tried two of their special brews.. mine was the Bourbon Beer, light and smooth. Ted’s was a darker beer with hints of chocolate, no C02 but infused with Nitrogen. It was a bit to “beery” for me.

We both had salmon dishes…

My salmon was oven baked sitting on a hint of lemon cream served with rice pilaf

Ted's dish was the special. Blackened salmon served over a green salad. Terrific!

Both dishes were cooked to perfection with flavors that paired well with the salmon.  Nothing too heavy nor too light.

The prices were $17.99 for both dishes.

A nice atmosphere, good beer, and great food. The District Chophouse and Brewery.

Following lunch, we went to the National Gallery of Art.  

Ted fooling around..."Joanne...who do I look like?!"

Would you quit fooling around?!!!

These are TOASTERS!

Julia Child's Kitchen

We left the gallery and decided to stop for a glass of wine before hitting the Lincoln Memorial.

We found “Occidental”.  A nice outdoor spot in the middle of Happy Hour. Half off this wonderful glass of white…

A 2008 Pinot Grigio from Portugal offering flavors of green apple and honeysuckle

Now… everyone’s favorite.  The Lincoln Memorial.  What can one say?  It was breathtaking.

The view looking towards Washington Monument…

Now it was 6:15 pm and our feet were tingling to say the least.  We hailed a taxi, went back to the B&B, cleaned up. Ted cat napped for 5 min. while I uploaded pics and it was off to eat again. Oh Yay!

We went to “Paolo’s” in the Georgetown district. 

It was a small, busy Italian Restaurant.  Everything was ala carte.  Ted and I ordered two different Italian reds. Mine was a Banfi and Ted’s was a Sangiovese.  It’s getting late and I’m sorry, but no wine specifics.  They were however both very typical of Italian wines.  Earthy and complex.

The bread sticks were phenomenal! The bread was warm and chewy and it was dotted with seeds of different varieties.  The tapenade was a sun dried tomato with some saltiness from the olives.  Very good… maybe a hint too much on the garlic.

We ordered the same salad.  Grilled Zucchini with Arugula served with shaved fennel, parmesan, and deep fried chick pea croutons. $9.00

Did I mention how unique and tasty the chick pea croutons were?  They had a hint of spice.  Most certainly a great treat for entertaining friends.

Now the entrees.  No photo of Ted’s delicious Lasagna Bolonaise rolled with Veal, Beef, Sausage, Spinach, Ricotta served in a duo of sauces (red and white) because I blurred the picture.  I think my photo snapping finger was getting sore at this point.

However…my dish was worth a photo.  It was very good.  Branzino whole sea bass pan roasted in a walnut flour crust with cippolini onions, green beans, gnocchi, topped with a walnut pesto.  It was $26.00 and …not worth it.   It was good… but just not worth the $26.  Maybe because I don’t like gnocchi.  Maybe because when I have had whole fish before, they have removed the bones for ease of consumption – not at Paolo’s.  Bones and all.  

Dinner was a nice experience since we dined out side and Georgetown district was a nice area. 

After dinner, we walked down Wisconsin Ave. to find Blues Alley.  We found it but it was in between shows and paying $25.00 cover at 10pm was no good for two tired walkers.  Another time….

 

Tomorrow we will try to see the Aquarium and the National Museum of Portraits.  Then we leave for the northern most tip of Chesapeake Bay to go sailing.

Have a great night.