playing tourists in d.c. {part 1}

Dan grew up just 50 or so miles from Washington, but had never even seen the inside of the Capitol. Til Wednesday.

I lived in DC for seven years and never admired the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin (save for by car) til Wednesday. And, I kind of still haven't... more on that later.

Springtime calls for a little weekday work break, doesn't it? Since Dan had a mid-day client meeting in the District Wednesday, and since the Congress is in recess, we decided to steal some time playing tourist the rest of the afternoon.


I gave Dan a tour of the Capitol where, between pointing out some important pieces of American history, I tried to convince him that chandeliers always trump ceiling fans (we've long been in a debate about this one since becoming roommates).

"It is pretty, but...we don't live in the Capitol" - Dan

I'm particularly obsessed with this AMAZING chandelier that hangs just outside the old Senate chamber. 

There is a really interesting story about how it was purchsed from this store in Baltimore back in the day because the store was going under, but I'm officially the world's worst Capitol tour guide, so I can't recant the specifics. Really, I'm bad. Like, I forgot to point out the original copy of the Declaration of Independence that hangs in Statuary Hall.  As you can imagine, I earned some mocking for that omission from my history-loving husband.


I did remember to take him down onto the House Floor (no cameras allowed there) where all the important votes happen, and where the POTUS gives the State of the Union, and I let him stand right at the "Center of Power" in the Capitol's crypt. It's my favorite place to take people, especially those who don't really care about fancy lighting.

He also got to meet John Carroll, namesake of his native Carroll County, Maryland.  He and JC go way back...

Then we lunched because foodies like us, well, we do not skip a meal. We opted for Good Stuff, a very popular hamburger place owned by Chef Spike from Top Chef. Good Stuff is in the heart of Capitol Hill, in my old stomping grounds.  I'll always have a soft spot for this little neighbhorhood where I used to live!

Dan declared his burger the best he'd ever had in life. Ditto with this roasted marshmallow shake.

If he looks stoned it's because the shake was THAT good.

I was trying to be skinny, so I ordered a turkey burger. I didn't love it (proof that one should NEVER order healthy in a burger joint), so I ended up just dipping my whole wheat bun in flavored mayo, which is exactly what Jillian from The Biggest Loser would have recommended, since my favorite flavored mayo at Good Stuff is the mango. Mango = fruit. Fruit mayo = healthy.

Don't even get me started on the rosemary french fries dipped in the mayo....I don't even really eat mayo, but this stuff...just give me a spoon!

To walk off this monster lunch, we headed down to the Tidal Basin with big plans to take in the cherry blossoms. I'll tell you in my next post why that did not happen...