This was my 7th time visiting Washington DC, so I’ve done pretty much every tourist adventure at this point. While I do love visiting museums and monuments, it was nice to simply hang with Devin while eating, walking and shopping our way through the city (aka some of our favorite things).
Now that I’m thinking about it, I wish I would’ve made note of every place I’ve visited in DC over the past 10 years so I could write a more useful blog post…
I’ll try to rack my brain and look up old photos – if I do find enough information I can always edit this later or create another post.
Friday:
Unfortunately I got a migraine as I was boarding my flight Thursday night, so while Devin went to work Friday morning I stayed in bed until 1pm then walked over to the YMCA near his place. I went to the Anthony Bowen branch and it was super nice! (would definitely go back!)
I met him at Union Station after work where we quickly stopped in H&M then headed over to Union Market. If you’re local, it is very similar to the Downtown Market in Grand Rapids, but slightly larger with a few more unique options. We ended up sharing a Cachapa at Arepa Zone, which serves South American food, and it was delicious! Highly recommend.
The Union Market District is up and coming (for lack of a better term) and there are other shops + restaurants right around the corner from the market. After dinner we walked over to Politics and Prose, a bookstore connected to a coffee shop (The Village Cafe). We met the owner of the cafe, bought Thanks Obama by David Litt to share, and enjoyed a chai latte.
We hopped back on the Metro to head home + freshen up before meeting his friend Kevin at The Smith (their U Street location). Since we’re in the midst of home renovations, and tile has been a topic of conversation for months, I was thrilled when we walked into The Smith and saw their amazing tiled floors and subway tiled walls. As the night went on we made our way to Service Bar and evenutally ended our night at Nellie’s Sports Bar singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which was hilarious.
Saturday:
We started our morning with a stroll for coffee and bagels to Call Your Mother – a local deli nearby. When we got there the line was out the door, but we waited it out. My honest review? I didn’t love the bagels (I had a bagel with peanut butter, apple slices and spicy honey), but I LOVED the potato latkes. I would go back and just get those any day. or everyday.
We walked back home to change (since Devin is the most patient and let me shoot a few outfits for the blog, thanks Dev!) and got ourselves ready for the day. We spent majority of the day on our feet, enjoying the 50 degrees and sunshine. We walked along 14th, stopping in all different stores along the way. If you’re heading to DC soon make sure to spend some time on 14th – there are a plethora of shops, restaurants + bars.
Since the weather was so nice we walked all the way to Georgetown (which I love). I was excited to see they opened an Outdoor Voices store there. If you’re unfamiliar, Outdoor Voices is an athletic brand that has been ALL OVER social media. I have been eyeing their pieces for probably a year, but had no idea how they would fit or feel. It was so helpful to be able to try them on, and I actually found out I didn’t like how the set I wanted fit me. (Sidenote: I plan on doing a big fitness clothing review soon so I will mention my thoughts on Outdoor Voices then!) We stopped into all the pretty stores and walked down by the water. We ended up eating a very late lunch at Guapo’s in Georgetown and their guac was delicious! Hilariously for us, it was the last weekend of the outdoor skating rink there and our entertainment was everyone falling…
From there we headed to the Lincoln Memorial and walked the mall, which I still enjoy doing every time I visit. It was a beautiful evening, and made me so excited for spring to actually hit Michigan (eventually).
After strolling our way from the Lincoln Memorial to the WWII Memorial to the Washington Monument and by the White House, we stopped into
Lebanese Taverna for a light dinner. And by light dinner I really mean fatoosh and baklava – my favorites. I would 100% go back!
Sunday:
On my last day we walked over to brunch at Busboys and Poets, a local chain in DC that is so much more than a restaurant. Their website describes it as a “community gathering place,” and they host events, have a bookstore attached and so much more. The food was also delicious, so I would definitely go back. We took it pretty easy Sunday, more walking + some window shopping + hanging out before I had to leave for the airport.
Since Devin moved I’m sure I will be back at least 1 (hopefully 2) more times this year. Thanks for stopping by today, if you have any DC recommendations leave them below!
xo, Maddy
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