Earlier in June it was announced that Ben and Jerry's would be churning up ice cream flavours to reprensent five different U.S. cities. Washington, D.C. was one of the chosen few and last week, we kicked off the show with the reveal of our very own ice cream flavour. Drumroll: Capitol Chill. As part of Ben and Jerry's City Churned Campaign, ice cream fan based in the district voted (sort of) to have the following represent us: chocolate ice cream (we're known as Chocolate City after all...) with Divine Chocolate corn-flake clusters, marshmallows and caramel swirls along with a Route 11 sweet potato chip. Sounds pretty good right? It was. Though you'll have to trust my word for it because ...
Better know the district
La Fête de la Musique at Malmaison
Malmaison and l'Alliance Française teamed up again this year to host the 2013 edition of la Fête de la Musique. La Fête de la Musique is France's annual celebration of music that takes place on the longest day of the year. Musicians take to the streets (for amateurs) and to public stages (for professionals and more established artists) to give free concerts. In Washington, French establishments like the Sofitel Hotel and the French Embassy typically host events, as does l'Alliance Française. For 13 hours, 13 different artists took the stage and took Washingtonians on summer journey through many musical worlds. Here are a few pictures I took during the daytime portion of event at ...
A Look at the District’s Artistic Bike Racks
In honor of Bike to Work Day 2013, which is this Friday, May 17th, here are some of my favourite artistic bike rack from around Washington, D.C. From left to right: “Equality Bike Rack” outside of the Human Rights Campaign HQ; part of “Bike Here” outside of Dupont Metro station’s south entrance; one of the 28 racks designed by local artists in 2009. "Duck, Duck, Bike!" at 1776 G Street was inspired by the mama duck and her ducklings that nest in the National Geographic courtyard each spring. ""(Re) Cycle" at 1901 Pennsylvania Avenue NW provides parking for up to 10 bikes and is made out of used parking meter heads. It was designed by local firm Design ...
Paris’ Metro Diplomacy
There's so much to see in Paris. There's literally a landmark or museum every other street. So it's not surprising that even our metro entrances would be historical monuments... Paris' metropolitain is one of the oldest in the world, opening at the beginning of the 20th century for the 1900 Exposition Universelle. The metro was, at the time, a very novel mode of transportation. Only London had one... Since Parisiens are all about style, they thought having attractive entrances would be a great way to encourage them to get on board (literally). So they hired Hector Guimard, a young architect, and between 1900 and 1913, some 141 Guimard metropolitain entrances were installed throughout the ...
Paddling Through the Heat Wave
Why should kids be the only ones who get to go on play dates? This afternoon, I went on a hot grown-up play date with my friend, fellow froggie and partial namesake Laure in Georgetown. And I mean hot in a very litteral sense... we're in the middle of a record setting heat wave here, it went up to a sweltering 106 degrees (40.5 celsius) this afternoon! Which begs the question: are we crazy for picking today out of all days to go kayaking on the Potomac? Perhaps oui, we're a little bit folles but we brought plenty of water and headed to the Boathouse at Fletcher's Cove rather early (10AM.) Together, we paddled some 5 miles from the dock to the Key Bridge and back while enjoying the somewhat ...
A Few Simple Ways to Celebrate Earth Day
April 22 is Earth Day, the annual celebration of all thing "green." From movie screenings, eco fashion shows or clean-up volunteer activities, there are many ways for Washingtonians to participate in the celebration, too many ways for me to even attempt to list them all. So I thought I would focus on a few I think are pretty neat. The first one probably doesn't need anymore advertising but I'll mention it briefly because, well, I need my caffeine fix in the morning, so I'll definitely be participating! Starbucks is offering of a free brewed tea or coffee to anyone who brings in a reusable mug or tumbler. For those who do not own one, you can just pick one up and benefit from a 20% ...
Fall 2010 White House Garden Tour
Working a few blocks away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, I often take the sight of the White House for granted. It is nonetheless, one of the world's most famous buildings and is visited each years by hundreds of thousands of Americans. On occasions they even let foreigners in and a few years back, I not only got to go on the regular East Wing tour I also had the opportunity to visit the West Wing and see the Oval Office. Now that was pretty cool but until today I still had some unfinished business with the White House. I had never actually been in the White House garden. Tours of the garden are organized for the general public twice a year and I was so confident I would be able to go on ...
DC-To-Do-List For 2010 ~ A Mid Year Update.
July 1st is more than just Canada Day it's also the mid point of 2010 and time to check up on how well I've been doing on my DC resolution list. I've lived in Washington for close to seven years now and there is still so much for me to do and see here. So six months into the year, how I am doing with my D.C. check list? Well... not so well :( 1) Sit on a US Supreme Court hearing > the Court reconvenes on October 4th so this resolution is tabled until the fall. 2) Visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum > Check! Of course it's impossible to say that I "enjoyed" visiting the Holocaust Museum but I am certainly glad I finally went through this powerful experience. 3) Run the Cherry ...
DC-To-Do List For 2010
There no shortage of things to do in the District. From the must-see tourist sights to off the beaten path spots, there's enough to keep you occupied or coming back. I have lived in D.C. for 6 years and have crossed a lot off my check list already (see the Oval Office, check; eat a hot dog at Ben's Chili Bowl, check...). Instead of New Year's resolutions this year, I decided to make a check list of 10 things I haven't done or seen in D.C. yet. 1) Sit in on a Supreme Court hearing. 2) Visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. 3) Run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. 4) Have dinner at Marcel's. 5) Attend a performance or concert at the Barns at Wolftrap. 6) Tour through the 446 acres of the U.S. ...
Better Know The District: Islamic Way
With the first day of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, just around the corner, I decided to explore a little bit of Islam's cultural heritage in Washington as a way to Better Know The District. The Washington, D.C. area has among the highest percentage of Muslim-origin residents in the country. After Los Angeles, New York and Detroit, it ranks 4th, though the majority of them reside in the suburbs. Nonetheless, an estimated 16,000 muslims reside in downtown D.C. with 6 mosques or masjids providing prayer and other services for the community. Far away from the grand mosque of the Islamic Center with its tall minaret lies the smaller yet historically important Masjid Muhammad. Located ...