DC cuisine

Our nation's capital doesn't have the reputation for great food that some other cities do. But I can testify that, like in many other great cities, mediocre restaurants don't last long in the greater Washington area. On my latest trip there, last week, I had some great meals again.

Like this mango chicken salad for lunch at the Hamburger Hamlet in Crystal City. It was so pretty I had to take its picture, and it was tasty, too. Our merry band of Texas librarians likes this restaurant for our lunch get-togethers since it's close to the hotel and takes good care of large groups.

A smaller subset of the Texas group had another great meal at the Dubliner pub on Monday night. And we had a great time, as you can see on the left. (I was particularly happy to have found Magner's cider there on draft, the first time I've had this wonderful beverage since leaving London three years ago!)

We were in the District visiting the Government Printing Office Building, a very attractive structure you can see below. They are celebrating their 150th birthday this year, and they've put up a very nice historical exhibit that we were keen to see. A bonus was the recommendation from a GPO employee to eat at the pub, where the fish and chips were terrific, and there was that wonderful cider!

I went to several other fine eating establishments in the Arlington/Pentagon City area near the hotel during my stay. I really wish I'd thought to photograph the scrumptious Kibbeh I had on my last night, at the Lebanese Taverna in Pentagon Row. Scrumptious!

The most impressive place I went, though, was amazing as much for its concept as for the food: Noodles. (I know it's a chain, but it's a new one to me. Their locations are mostly across the mid-section of the country but they do have 3 Texas shops—all of them in Austin, wouldn't you know!)

Anyway, what I think is so brilliant about this place is that they take advantage of the fact that so many cuisines feature—noodles. And you can have your choice there among Italian, Asian, Russian, American, all in one place, at very reasonable prices, all quite delicious, and served promptly (an important point when you want to be sure and get back for your afternoon meetings).

I had pesto for one Noodles lunch, but a couple of my friends had good old mac-and-cheese and it looked so good. I was really glad to have the opportunity to have a second lunch there and I didn't miss the chance to have it myself this time. Henry thinks I'm nuts to wax so rhapsodic over such a prosaic dish, but, when done right, it can be like nectar and ambrosia...

....and I would say the Noodles crew definitely does it right.

Wordless Wednesday: views from on high

Monumental variety

Just by chance, I landed in Washington on the dedication day of the new Martin Luther King memorial. It was supposed to happen a couple of months ago, but they had the bad luck of picking a day that hurricane Irene fancied, too! So it got rescheduled to the morning of the 16th.

I was planning on going over there to see it anyway, so it was an extra treat to be part of a still substantial crowd. Which made it very easy not to get lost on the way to the site! And taking in an absolutely gorgeous afternoon was an even bigger bonus.

The memorial is located on the Tidal Basin, at the opposite end from my still-favorite memorial, the Jefferson. And I hoped getting to it would lead me to the FDR memorial, which is also on the shore of the Basin, and which I've tried—unsuccessfully—to find on more than one previous mall trip.

On the right you can see the impressive bulk of the MLK from a ways along the Basin. Notice the crowds!

Walking along the shore of the Basin, you get some great views looking back toward the main part of the mall. We thought the Washington Monument looked pretty cool with all the contrails...

This time I walked around the Basin in the right direction and finally found the FDR memorial. And it's a lovely, interesting structure. Or, more accurately, a series of structures.

There are several separate sculptures, fountains (see one on the left), inscriptions, and open spaces, all tucked away in a pleasant grove of trees and looking out over the Tidal Basin. No wonder I had trouble finding it before; I was looking for something more visually obvious.

Given that Roosevelt was President for four terms, a period which spanned some of the most momentous events in 20th century history, it makes sense that the memorial covers a lot of ground, as it were.

FDR was well-known for inspiring speeches and some of his most famous lines are incised on granite throughout the memorial. Most I recognized but I must admit that the wonderful lines above this statue were new to me:

They who seek to establish systems of government
based on the regimentation of all human beings
by a handful of individual rulers...Call this a new order.
It is not new and it is not order.

About as good a succinct indictment of nazism as I can think of.

A simpler sentiment is expressed, in a very unique and interesting way, in this "sculpture":

The full quotation for which these three words are the conclusion appears elsewhere in the memorial:

I have seen war... I have seen war on land and sea.

I have seen blood running from the wounded...I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed...I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives.
 I hate war.

I was especially pleased to see that Franklin's wife, Eleanor, one of my favorite historical heroes, wasn't forgotten by the memorial planners. (see right)

Since the FDR memorial is about half-way around the Basin, we decided to keep going and make the full circuit. It might not look like it on the map, but, believe me, it's quite a hike!

However, with views like the one below to inspire and refresh you on the way, it's very, very pleasant.

On the right is the wonderful Jefferson memorial, that we were unfortunately too pooped to really visit. But it's so beautiful from the outside that I always enjoy seeing it even from a distance.

You can also see the towers of the old Smithsonian and the Old Post Office, in between the Jefferson's dome and Washington's obelisk.

We had to walk almost all the way over to the Smithsonian to get our metro back to the hotel. Whew! But it was good to get plenty of exercise in the bank in anticipation of four days of sitting and meeting (and eating). 

Not much more blog-worthy happened on my trip, but I do have a few more photos for you in the next post.

Leaving newly familiar confines...

We just got this super-comfortable and super-snazzy new bed a couple of weeks ago. (The ol' waterbed finally sprung its last leak.)

So it's harder than usual to head off on a trip. (What also makes it not so much fun is that 1) it's for work and 2) I'm also leaving hubby behind.) But my librarians' meetings in Washington are enjoyable.

And this will be my first trip fully connected, as I'm taking my new phone in lieu of the clunky old laptop (which I used to think was a pretty nifty item to have along when traveling). I can't wait to try out the free Washington Metro app I downloaded!

So if I can figure out how to post to the blog from the device—which should be easy, right?—I'll at least do a Wordless Wednesday for you.

But in case I can't, I'll try to have some good pix and stories ready to go when I get back to the more familiar 20th century technology.

Wordless Wednesday: how to change your life

Holy paddlers, Batman!

When there's no water in the rivers (or hardly any) thank goodness we still have lakes.

Our group of paddling friends had the inspired idea last weekend to paddle on Town Lake in Austin (it's officially called Lady Bird Lake now, but old habits die hard). And, lovely as the lake is on its own, there is another attraction.

We timed our put-in so that we would get to the Congress Avenue "Bat Bridge" and see the thousands (millions?) of critters take off on their nightly hunting foray.

What a neat experience! Even though it meant that our return journey would be in the dark, which was rather exciting. (Fortunately there was a good-sized chunk of moon to see by.)

BTW, thanks to our friend Larry for this photo of the bats; none of the ones I took of the exodus came out very well. Notice the crowds of people on the bridge as well as the bats leaving it. This is quite a civic attraction!

Although I was disappointed in most of my bat photos, you can see some clouds of them in the distance in this one, giving you some idea of how large this colony is:

Look close to the horizon and up along the left-hand side

Great as the bat-show was, there were all kinds of other attractions along the river. We saw a rather amazing array of watercraft converging on the Congress Bridge, in addition to our large group of canoes and kayaks. 

we were all intrigued by these cycle-like paddle craft...they were making very good time
 (thanks again to Larry for this photo)

'sup with these SUPs? they seem to be very popular

we didn't see any families of ducklings following these swan boats and eating peanuts
(this is another one of Larry's photos)

The weirdest thing we saw (and of course there has to be weirdness in Austin) was this participant in the Cow Parade, masquerading as a bat hanging from the upstream side of the Congress Bridge (the bats leave from the downstream side). What can you say about something like this? (except, thanks again to Larry, whose cow shot turned out better than any of mine)

A special bonus for us was our kids joining us on this fun expedition. Sally was my canoe partner, allowing me, for the first time ever, to be the steersman in the back of the canoe. (It was easy enough to do on the flat waters of the lake, but I probably won't be trying it any time soon on moving water.) Of course she made sure we had plenty of appropriate beverages.

Hal used my sit-on-top and was kind enough to give our canoe a tow almost all the way back to the take-out after dark. Thanks, Hal!

What a perfect ending to a weird, fun, unique, and altogether satisfying paddle

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[You can see more pictures of Town Lake, from the shore, in this Bridges to London blog post.]

Wordless Wednesday: Sunrises

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