I really cannot put into words just how wonderful this past weekend was. I spent the weekend in Washington, DC, with my college roommates. We all live in different states (New York, Massachusetts, Georgia and South Carolina) and are busy with children, jobs, husbands and life in general, so these trips are a rare treat. So rare, in fact, that we totally splurged on this little vacation. We stayed at the best hotel, ate at the best restaurants, treated ourselves to room service, hair appointments, and all of the coffee and cocktails we desired. It was heavenly…..minus that pesky little football game Saturday night.
We stayed at the Hay Adams hotel. It’s a bit pricey, but worth every penny. Not only is it gorgeous, but it’s mere steps from the White House. The decor is super elegant and no detail is overlooked. I wish I had been better about taking pictures! The hotel staff is hands down the best I’ve ever encountered. From the concierge to housekeeping to the bellhop to the bartenders and servers……every last employee we met was helpful, friendly, sweet, funny, thoughtful and charming. The bar is set pretty high for all other hotels after this stay. www.hayadams.com
First stop after checking into the glorious Hay Adams was the rooftop bar at the W hotel just down the street. Check out that view behind us! After drinks we headed just up the street to the Old Ebbitt Grill. This place is legendary. It’s a really cool spot with a casual menu. I ordered the chopped salad and buffalo chicken sandwich, both of which were delicious. Again, too busy having fun to take pictures. But trust me, make a reservation at OEG if you’re in DC. www.ebbitt.com
We were up early the next morning for a full day of sightseeing. I still can’t believe how much we crammed into a single day. First stop….
The White House!!! After reading First Women, The Residence, and Sister’s First recently, I was chomping at the bit for the WH tour and the first ladies exhibit at The Smithsonian. I didn’t take a single picture at The Smithsonian, but we did manage to snap a few at the WH.
After our morning of checking out some of the sights at National Mall (btw, the weather was FREEZING!), we walked to Founding Farmers for lunch. Once again, this was a casual spot with tons of comfort food options on the menu. The concept is really cool: the restaurant is owned by more than 47,000 family farmers. Not only is the food delicious, but sustainability is key. I ordered the veggie burger with extra avocado, as did two others in our group. The odd woman out ordered the chicken and waffles. We were all very happy with our choices. www.wearefoundingfarmers.com
After lunch we made our way to The Newseum. The Newseum’s web site states that the museum “promotes, explains, and defends free expression and the five freedoms of the First Amendment: religion, speech, press, assembly and petition.” It’s so much more than that. The Newseum was probably my favorite part of the trip, although it’s hard to pick a favorite. The exhibit of Pulitzer Prize winning photographs made us cry, the Camelot exhibit all about JFK and Jackie was mesmerizing, and the FBI portion of the museum was fascinating. And we barely scratched the surface. My sister and I actually had a few extra hours in DC Sunday afternoon after our friends left, so we headed back to Newseum. Plan to spend a good chunk of time here. www.newseum.org
After Newseum we treated ourselves to blowouts at DryBar and then hailed a cab to Georgetown so we could dine at Martin’s. Martin’s is where JFK is rumored to have proposed to Jackie. It’s a small, fun tavern and it was packed. The food was good and we loved seeing all of the historical illustrations and photographs on the walls. Georgetown is super cute. I would love to have done some shopping, but we just couln’t squeeze one more thing into our day. We headed back to the Hay Adams during Notre Dame’s halftime where we changed into pajamas and watched Hallmark Christmas movies. The game was just too painful to watch. www.martinstavern.com
Sunday morning we slept in a bit (whoa….7:40!) and then walked a few blocks to Compass Coffee. I ordered a Nutella Latte and just about fainted with joy. I’m a Nutella freak, so this was too good to be true. My sister had the same while our northern besties opted for Chai tea lattes. We all loved the brews. www.compasscoffeeroasting.com
We walked back to our hotel and got showered and packed after our breakfast. Boston bestie had to leave shortly after breakfast, so we said our goodbyes (sad!) and three of us remaining decided to head down to Off the Record, which is the coolest bar EVER and it’s located in the Hay Adams. We actually had champagne at Off the Record when we first arrived Friday, but didn’t take any pictures. We ordered light lunches and spent our last few hours together chatting and reminiscing and making friends with the other patrons and our server. Seriously, OTR is where lots of political bigwigs meet, so the people watching is superb. And the decor is amazing.
We went our separate ways (tearfully) after this. What a perfect weekend. These girls mean the world to me! I wouldn’t change a thing about our weekend. Love thee Notre Dame.
