I had a ball - lame pun intended - volunteering at the Dupont Underground with some of my friends this morning. This was actually my first time in the abandoned trolley station which plans to open its doors to the public on April 30 with its first art exhibit, “Raise/Raze.” "Raise/Raze" was the winning project of Re-Ball!, an open design competition for a site-specific installation in the underground space using the more than 650,000 translucent plastic balls from the National Building Museum's "Beach" installation. So today we helped built the installation by glue-ing a bunch of these balls ...
Out and about
5 Things I Ate While I Was in Chicago
Another week, another express work-cation, this time to Chicago in the mid-west. I'd been to Chicago a few times before, including for a hot 16 hours last July 4 and back in 1994 during one of my very first trip to the United States. Despite having a lot of meetings, I tried to squeeze in as much sight-seeing as I could in 36 hours, including catching the Van Gogh's Bedrooms exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. And eating of course... Here are some of my favourites from my express “work-cation” in Chicago: LIQUID ENERGY AT INTELLIGENTSIA COFFEE First things first after a 6AM flight from Reagan to O'Hare, I needed caffeine! But not just any coffee would do. I wanted some Intelligentsia ...
♬ Magnolias for Ever ♪
Des magnolias par centaines | Des magnolias comme autrefois Je ne sais plus comment faire | Les magnolias sont toujours là Current mood today: Claude François for ever! Magnolias will do that to ya ;-) I was looking forward to the beginning of peak bloom for the Washington, DC cherry blossoms this weekend, but the National Park Service has revised the date and pushed it Wednesday March 23-Thursday March 24. Currently blooming, however, are the stunning saucer magnolia trees at the Smithsonian's Enid A. Haupt Garden (right behind the Smithsonian castles.) I think these will hold me over for a few days ;-) ...
Tips for Enjoying Cherry Blossom Season In DC
Spring is coming! Every year the highlight of the season in Washington is, of course, the annual blooming of the district's 3,000 Yoshino cherry trees. The whole town gets cherry fever and hundreds of thousands of tourists (and locals too) descend on the Tidal Basin and the National Mall to admire the delicate white and pink flowers. This year, peak bloom will hit between March 18-23, 2 weeks earlier than originally anticipated due to the recent warm temperatures. This means most of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from March 20 to April 17, will probably happen sans-blossom. Regardless, here are a few tips for navigating this huge Washington, DC event. SET YOUR ...
Postcard from New York: Going to A Late Show Taping
Here's something free and unique to do if you have a spare afternoon in New York City: attend the live taping of a late (or late-late) night talk-show! I say afternoon, because a) while the shows air in the evening, tapings typically happen earlier that day b) even though you have to book your tickets in advance, there's a lot of waiting around in lines involved before you can actually take your place in the audience. Here’s what my experience attending a live taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was like. But first, why The Late Show with Stephen Colbert? I actually watch the show every day and I absolutely love Stephen Colbert. I love his smart humour, and think his guests tend ...
Postcard from Philadelphia ~ 5 Free Things To Do in the City of Brotherly Love
We're spoiled here in Washington that most of our museums and historical attractions are completely free, making DC a very wallet-friendly destination for tourists and locals playing tourists. Like Washington, and just a quick bus or train ride away, Philadelphia is also rich in history and pretty affordable to explore, so long as you're willing to put up with some lines ;-) Here are a few budget-friendly things to do in America's former capital... VISIT AMERICA'S MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL SITES Bonus: they're all conveniently located within a square mile. Between 1790 and 1800, while the Federal City (<-- DC) was under construction, Philadelphia got to be the temporary capital of the ...
Postcard from (snowy) Washington, DC ~ Jonas 2016 Edition
Exactly a month ago, we were celebrating Christmas in t-shirts. Well, the warm spell is over! Winter has (finally) arrived and mother nature made up for loss time by blanketing the north east with a pretty thick coat of snow. According to the National Weather Service, 57 cm (22.4 inches) fell in Washington, DC at the National Zoo (much to the delight of our giant panda Tian Tian) which was enough to shut down the federal government, metro and pretty much the entire city. We don't do well with snow here ;-) While I did brave the snow to toast Mandu's fifth anniversary on Friday night, it snowed really hard for most of Saturday so I locked myself up indoors and watched the blizzard with my ...
Season’s Greenings at the US Botanic Garden
Every holiday season in Washington, I look forward to escaping the winter cold by taking a quick tropical break at the United States Botanic Garden. The dry heat in the desert environment and the warm humidity in the lush tropical rainforest immediately transport you hundreds of miles away. The colourful orchids also have a way of brightening up any grey day! Of course, this year, there's not much winter chills to be escaped, but I still looked forward to visiting the indoor garden for another reason: the annual display of National Mall landmarks made out of dried plant materials in the Garden Court. I'm always amazed at how detailed the ...
Experience the sparkle of the season at Georgetown GLOW
Two years ago my friend Sylvain Cornevaux, then Cultural Director for l'Alliance Française, partnered with the Georgetown Business Improvement District and other groups to bring a week-long public art and light display festival to DC's oldest neighbour. Inspired by Lyon's renowned Fête des Lumières, the festival, now in its third year, has now evolved into Georgetown Glow, independently organized by the BID in parallel to their annual holiday window display competition. The 10-night light art exhibition puts a modern, artistic twist on traditional holiday displays and takes place nightly along the C&O Canal between December 11 and 20th (from 6-10PM). The event still has a bit of a ...
Holiday Spirit on Ice at City Center DC
I'm pretty sure the folks over at City Center DC didn't anticipate that it would be 70 degrees outside when they planned a live ice sculpting event for December 12th. Despite the unseasonably warm temperature, the event was a ton of fun! While two sculptors worked on an ice dress and a Christmas tree at the Park at CityCenterDC, additional sculptures were slowly melting away in Palmer Alley! My favourite was the Birkin bag, of course ;-) Check out some of my pictures below. And while I'm pretty sure none of the sculpture survived the evening, you can catch more icy action at the National Habor where ICE! at Gaylord National features 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice ...
