Greetings from California! Before leaving Washington Thursday morning, I attended one of those only-in-DC events that reminded me why I love living in the city so much. Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat down with Catherine E. Fitts, Curator of the Supreme Court, and Clare Cushman, Director of Publications of the Supreme Court Historical Association, to dish out about their personal eating habits as well as reflect on the food traditions and culture of the U.S. Supreme Court. The panel was a part of the Smithsonian’s ongoing Food History Programs at the National Museum of American History (same as the Battle of Paris anniversary event I attended recently). Not only was ...
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Weekend Highlights: Road Tripping in Pennsylvania and a Brewery Wedding
It's wedding season! How many do you have lined up for the summer? Over the weekend, we headed to Berwick, Pennsylvania, to see our good friend David tie the knot at a local brewery. This being me and Berwick being in the middle of nowhere, I broke the trip up and squeezed in a little (rainy) keystone state sightseeing... We left the day before the wedding and spent a night at the Candlelight Inn in Ronks, in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It rained the entire ride up but cleared up just enough by the time we got to Lancaster Central Market for a late lunch. Lancaster Central Market is the oldest continuously operated farmers' market in the country. It's smaller than Reading ...
Catch These French Films at Filmfest DC
In the winter months, I try to cram in as many oscar-nominated films as I can before the awards are given out. After that movie-binge, I typically take a needed break from the cinemas. Until April and Filmfest DC! Filmfest is the District’s first, largest and only international film festival. Between April 14 and 24, 2016 Filmfest DC will celebrate 30 years of delighting Washington cinephiles with a really impressive line-up of 75 movies from 45 different countries. As always, that includes a number of films from France and Belgium. Here are some of the French(-ish) or French-language films you can look forward to this year. THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT The poster claims that "G-d exist... and ...
Helping Raise/Raze Come to Life at Dupont Underground
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 ...
Watch La Famille Belier at l’Alliance Francaise
Grab some tissues and head to l'Alliance Francaise on April 1 to catch a screening of La Famille Belier. The feel good film was quite a hit in France in 2014, but it didn't really come out in the United States :( I got to watch during my Air France flight back to Washington, DC last August and while the film is technically a comedy I found myself practically bawling in my crammed middle seat during the final scenes. Here's the trailer with English subtitles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzWvI8BkrJo La Famille Belier is a coming of age tale about Paula, a musically gifted teenager who has to come to terms with allowing her voice to be heard. The reason it's so difficult for her is that ...
Postcard from NYC: 5 Things I Ate Last Week
Other than a week in Portugal for Thanksgiving, I don't have a lot of trips planned this year. At least not fun trips... So I'm determined to make the most out every single work trip I have, starting with the one I just took last week to New York City. And that, of course, includes enjoying some good eats around town. There's no shortage of restaurants in Manhattan. If anything the options are limitless and a bit overwhelming when you don't have a lot of free time. Since I stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown many of the spots I ended up at are concentrated in that part of town. Here are some of my favourite eats from my last "work-cation" in New York City: ALL THE PINK PASTRIES AT ...
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 Philladelphia: Mural Mile
I didn't venture too far for my first trip of 2016. Philadelphia is just an hour and half away from New York by train and less than two hours from Washington, so my NYC bestie Caitlin and I met up halfway for a quick early January birthdays day-trip in the City of Brotherly Love. Neither one of us had visited the new Barnes Foundation so we had agreed to make the new-ish museum our first stop (purchasing tickets for timed entry in advance is highly recommended). Afterwards, however, we took a break from the Renoirs to explore the open air "museum" that is Philadelphia's Mural Mile. With more than 3,000 murals, Philadelphia is one of the top cities in the US for street art (according to ...
DC-To-Do List ~ 2016 Edition
Every year since 2010, I’ve been listing 10 things I *must* do in the district that year (check out the 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2010 editions.) Washington is a little bit like Paris in that even if you’ve lived there for a while, there’s ALWAYS going to be something you haven’t done yet. Whether it’s checking out a new restaurant that just opened (or has been around for a while) or finally doing that one super touristy thing you just haven’t done yet, like going to the top of the Washington Monument (which I finally did in 2014 and highly recommends everyone does at least once!) I keep a running list for Paris and one for Washington and try to keep it at 10 every year so that it is manageable. ...
