Arriving in the grand Union Station in DC.
For the second day in a row, I'm delightfully eating a toasted onion dill bagel with smoked salmon and a wasabi sauce from Au Bon Pain. It's Aunty Bren's morning ritual stop after clocking into her quiet corner desk here in downtown DC. They've let me use an empty office where I can sip rain forest nut coffee and browse through two of the local free newspapers while contemplating where my day is going to take me.
Yesterday, awakening to the sound of harmonious sound birds, my thoughts were consumed by all of the museums that awaited me. Cold and still with leisurely security staff, a museum is like a happy funeral. On this, my first day here, my instinct led me straight to the National Gallery of Art. A few scheduled tours and a many hours later, my mind couldn't take any more direct visual stimuli or comparisons between eras of artistic impression.
My preverbial jets were cooled with a hike through the sculpture garden, to the Washington monument, and then to the National Aquarium. A nice breeze brought in some cloud cover and sprinkles which was an absolute joy compared to the beaming UV rays. I came to find out that the aquarium was a far cry from what I expected and I guess the larger of the two locations is in Baltimore.
With only a short time before I planned on meeting my Auntie, I sucked in my gut (like I learned in yoga) and made my way to the National Botanical Gardens where I unleashed a vicious eco system of my own in the men's room. The guy in the adjacent stall recommended a stomach doctor who might be able to help.
We decided to eat dinner at Gordon Biersch where Eric our server suggested complimenting our meal with garlic fries. I followed his advice and proceeded to scare away two H&M employees while shopping for non-touristy eye wear. The saga continues...
Yesterday, awakening to the sound of harmonious sound birds, my thoughts were consumed by all of the museums that awaited me. Cold and still with leisurely security staff, a museum is like a happy funeral. On this, my first day here, my instinct led me straight to the National Gallery of Art. A few scheduled tours and a many hours later, my mind couldn't take any more direct visual stimuli or comparisons between eras of artistic impression.
My preverbial jets were cooled with a hike through the sculpture garden, to the Washington monument, and then to the National Aquarium. A nice breeze brought in some cloud cover and sprinkles which was an absolute joy compared to the beaming UV rays. I came to find out that the aquarium was a far cry from what I expected and I guess the larger of the two locations is in Baltimore.
With only a short time before I planned on meeting my Auntie, I sucked in my gut (like I learned in yoga) and made my way to the National Botanical Gardens where I unleashed a vicious eco system of my own in the men's room. The guy in the adjacent stall recommended a stomach doctor who might be able to help.
We decided to eat dinner at Gordon Biersch where Eric our server suggested complimenting our meal with garlic fries. I followed his advice and proceeded to scare away two H&M employees while shopping for non-touristy eye wear. The saga continues...