Hello Seattle...

Last week(ish), bf attended a convention in DC... and I followed him around.  I have been wanting to visit DC for a looooooooong time.  Where have I wanted to visit even more? Seattle, the place I should have/almost went to graduate school but instead landed in a Commonwealth for too long.  OH, lucky me.. this same set of meetings "we" attended, is in Seattle next year.

Hello Seattle!

(the style reminds me a lot of "Boston" by Augustana... what is this genre that I seem to love?)

So, "vacation" last week in DC was superb.  I was given time to experience a city that I fully imagined myself living in since middle school, and a chance to become disenchanted by said city due to its public transportation system.

I do strongly recommend, when visiting a new city, do a little bit of research beforehand and pretend you live there by visiting local, non-touristy places.  I found an amazing little vegan bakery, that happened to be right across the street from a mall which had a Best Buy, Staples and TARGET. What do we call this little mecca?  Oh, the place I would live. Its called Columbia Heights.  Not much of a traveler, I was proud of myself for thinking of doing this.

I tried to take advantage of the free-time I had when not visiting family and friends or participating in convention events. What I learned from the experience? 

-There are probably not pandas at the National Zoo. No one I know has seen them.
-DC weather changes faster than New England's.  (I had to buy an umbrella at the zoo. I was there 10 minutes and it was sunny when I arrived. I left soaking wet.)
-Sticky Fingers is a great bakery.
-DC is in major need of a Wagamama.
-The red line is my NEMESIS.
-Vittoria should move closer to me, wherever it is I end up living.
-People are really friendly... unless you are asking them for help (re: directions, metro machines, etc)
-The Metro really needs to be fixed.  Metro cards can be DEactivated if placed too close to a cellphone?! (I arrived back in MA with FOUR metro cards in my wallet, because they were all broken.)
-There is way too much to do and see in 5 days.
-There are wayyyy too many people in one area.
-Stand to the right, people WILL yell if you stand to the left. (this does not work in MA, unfortunately)
-The escalator at Woodley Park/Adams Morgan is the longest everrrrrrrr.
-Jefferson is cool, but he's really far away.
-Jazz in the garden?! Why does every city not have this magical place?!
-The rumors are true... humidity really is oppressive.
-Orange slices in water makes water taste yummy.
-Underground malls that connect buildings are awesome (oh hello Crystal City).
-Maryland and Virginia are not as close as they look on a map.
-Georgetown looks like a nice place to visit, but it isn't convenient to....anything.
-The Hope Diamond is so much smaller than I imagined.
-Capitol City Brewery gives soft pretzels instead of a bread basket.  Why doesn't every restaurant?
-The FLOOR of the House of Reps is a cool place to be. Yes, I said floor.

And I'm back, and ready to roll.