I loved running the Marine Corp Marathon 10K but if I'm honest, the whole experience was a bit of a downer. My previous race, the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon was SO fun and exhilarating, from flying to Paris with friends to seeing everyone in costumes and of course running 26.1 kilometers in and around the parks. The Marine Corp Marathon and 10K are right here in D.C. and only ran the 10K, which is in the shadow of the bigger and more impressive marathon. I consistently found myself downplaying the race. I wasn't running the MCM 10K… I was “only” running the MCM 10K. And that lessened my excitement for the race and my feeling of accomplishment afterwards. I had "only" ran 10 kilometers ...
Running (Slowly) with the Marines: MCM 10K Recap
The Marine Corps Marathon is a huge running event, with thousands of runners from all over the country coming to DC to run with the Marines. Since I'm a long way from being ready to run my first marathon, I decided to sign up for its little sister event: the Marine Corps Marathon 10K. I figured after the Disneyland Paris half marathon a few weeks before, 10 kilometers would be a breeze. I had a simple goal going into the race: to run a faster 10K than my previous one, the Capitol Hill Classic. Since it took me an hour and ten minutes to complete that course back in May, I also added a stretch goal of finishing closer to the 1 hour mark this time. How did I do? Well, by the first kilometer ...
My Trip To Paris By RaShonda’s Explore Savvy
RaShonda of Explore Savvy is one of my favourite local travel blogger. Between her recent trips to Cuba or Milan and her scooping of fabulous cheap or error fare her facebook and twitter feeds give me major wanderlust - and make me want to buy all the airline tickets! Earlier in the year, she posted about an error fare on TAP Portugal, which I quickly snagged for a cheap Thanksgiving get-away. I mean, $280 round trip to Lisbon? How could I not jump on that? She also took advantage of the mistake, but rather than just stay in Portugal, opted to hop along to Paris. Here are some highlights from her trip to Paris earlier this year. WHAT BROUGHT ME TO PARIS As Laetitia mentioned, I came across ...
U.S. Supreme Court? CHECK!
FINALLY!! After 6 years on my DC-to-do-list, I can cross off visiting the U.S. Supreme Court! Well, actually, the item on my list was a little more ambitious than just visiting the U.S. Supreme Court. I wanted to sit through an oral argument. And that's not exactly what I did this week, but close enough. Thanks to a former colleague, I sat through a lecture on property rights in the progressive era, organized by the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society and hosted by Justice Samuel Alito. The lecture itself was waaaay over my head, I have no legal background whatsoever, but the reception afterwards, in one of the court's stunning conference rooms, was right up my alley! I mean, of course ...
Drink all the French Bubbles at DC’s First Champagne Week
If you missed Champagne Day on October 21, don't worry! Champagne shouldn't be celebrated in a day anyway, it clearly deserves its own week! At least that's what my friends Jess and Alison thought. These two wine pros are throwing DC's first ever Champagne Week, from Sunday November 6 to Thursday November 12. The idea for DC Champagne Week started off small. Jess runs Young Winos of DC, a group that connects people in the District with wine tastings and events. She reached out to Alison, who runs her own wine consulting business Bon Vivant DC, to partner up on a champagne focused event. Jess jokes that Alison took a small idea and blew it up, but Alison retorts that Jess never would've ...
Crossing Off Bad Saint From My DC-To-Do-List
When I added Bad Saint to my 2016 DC-To-Do list in early January the tiny Filipino eatery in Columbia Heights was already quite the popular destination for local foodies. Grabbing a seat at the tiny 25-seats restaurant required a some advance planning (or luck!) since it has a strict no reservations policy. Then came national recognition. In September, Bon Appétit magazine gave Bad Saint the # 2 spot on its Hot 10 list of best new restaurants in America. Michelin inspectors took notice as well and a few weeks ago included Bad Saint in its Bib Gourmand list of worthy yet affordable restaurants in DC's very first edition of the guide (you can see a full list here). Not the greatest timing to ...
Week-End Highlights: GLT Get-Together and All the Pumpkins!
This week-end was all about two things: girlfriends and pumpkins! We had planned a fun day-trip to the Middletown/Frederick area to visit a pumpkin patch and the weather could not have been more perfect. If anything, it was too warm to wear the typical instagrammable fall outfit ;-) We headed to Jumbo's pumpkin patch because I had seen it listed in a couple of articles as one of the best in the United States (like in this post on Travel + Leisure). This seven-generation family farm offers lots of family friendly activities like face painting, pony rides, hayrides etc. but also has a legit patch where you can pick-your-own gourd. There were A LOT of kids, but once you got out to the patch it ...
Celebrating DC’s First Michelin Guide at the French Ambassador’s Residence
Being invited to the French Ambassador's Residence is always a treat... I've only been there a few times in my 13 years in Washington and I'm always elated when I have the chance to attend an event there. Last night was no exception, if anything it was more special than ever as Washington's top toques gathered to celebrate the release of the District's very first Michelin Guide. So. Many. Chefs. In addition to the 11 chefs who were awarded coveted stars in the red guide, representatives from the restaurants who were awarded Bib Gourmand last week as well as from those who were listed in the book were present. Who was left in DC's kitchens last night? A lot of sous-chefs in charge ...
Weekend Highlights: 2Amys, Taste of DC & a Muddy Music Festival
We don't have a lot of three days weekends in the United States and hurricane Matthew caused problems for many travelers who had fun plans for the holiday... I didn't have any plans to get away from Washington but there was plenty going on in the city! POST ITALIAN EMBASSY DINNER AT 2AMYS Since October 2012, the Italian Embassy has engaged the public in an open discussion on digital diplomacy and innovation in foreign policy through its Digital Diplomacy Series. Last week, they gathered a great panel of folks from the White House, Tumblr, Facebook and Google/YouTube to discuss what happens when digital diplomacy goes live. Afterwards, since we were already in the Cathedral Heights ...
Michelin Awards Bib Gourmand Honours to 19 DC Restaurants
The lines at Bad Saint are about to get even longer ;-) As is customary, Michelin announced today the list of "affordable" restaurants that have earned the designation of Bib Gourmand. These restaurants will not be receiving stars next week (the DC edition of the Michelin Guide will be released on October 13th) but do offer "exceptional good food at moderate price." Bib, in this case, doesn't refer to the piece of cloth you place around your neck to keep your clothes from spills while eating. It's short for Bibendum (aka, the Michelin Man!) and I'd encourage you to read this article for a little background on one of France's most beloved brand mascot. Without further ado though, ...