I have been meaning to pull this post together, I promise you that, but something about having taken most of the photos from my iPhone made me hesitant to do so. Since when has this blog been too good for cell phone images? No worries tho, I got over myself quickly.
As you already know, to celebrate Valentine’s Day the fella whisked me away into the city for a romantic staycation sans kids. We had a long weekend to ourselves to eat, do touristy things and eat some more – that’s my type of vacation! Friday morning we woke up at our usual time, got the kids ready and fed, and dropped them off at their respective daycare’s. Since I was already up, I made sure to have a good sweat sesh at the gym before heading back home to pack, shower and get ready before driving into D.C.
We stayed at the Hyatt House in the Wharf District, and while the weather was really gloomy, we still had a beautiful view of the waterfront pier. We decided on the Wharf for its centralized location. It was perfectly situated near many of the places my husband had planned for us to visit that weekend. And in case of inclement weather, which we were prepared for, a short Uber ride was a call away.
That evening we got ourselves dolled up and headed downstairs to the hotel’s H Bar for a few cocktails and an appetizer (mainly for me). I opted for a lavender Moscow mule and we split the Korean street tacos. I’d say both were slightly above average.
An Uber than escorted us to the main event of the night, and one of my favorite restaurants, Jaleo. Kevin and I make sure to have our Valentine’s Day dinner there every year, a tradition we enacted seven years ago! When we lived in Arizona we made sure to find a tapa’s place there to celebrate, just to keep the tradition semi-alive. The Spanish tapas restaurant is one of José Andrés’ locations and my goodness it has some of the best plates of food I’ve ever had in my life. We ordered a few of our favorites: a sliced apple and fennel salad with Manchego cheese, walnuts and sherry dressing; fried bacon-wrapped dates; a shrimp sautéed with garlic tapa; a pressed ham and Manchego cheese sandwich; and a sautéed garlic and mushroom dish. We also tried a sautéed spinach with pine nuts, raisins and apples plate too that was pretty good. I know that sounds like a lot of food, but…no, it was a lot of food! We only go once a year so we make sure to savor every bite! Oh, and I enjoy a glass (or two) of the house red.
As we were paying our bill I noticed that the woman sitting across from us look very much like Sarah Michelle Gellar. I joked to my husband that she looked like The Slayer and proceeded to stare at her like a freak. After polling social media (thanks Instagram Stories fam!), I concluded it was her and began to fan girl in my seat until my husband convinced me it would be rude to go up and ask for an autograph (she was with her family). So we wrapped things up and left. #BuffyForever (If you’re interested, there are several locations in Mexico City and Las Vegas. If you’re local, in addition to the D.C. spot there are locations in Bethesda and Crystal City too.)
To end the night we Ubered to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on 14th Street where I enjoyed a scoop of brown butter almond brittle in a waffle cone (duh). We discovered Jeni’s when we visited Charleston back in October of last year and it quickly became my favorite ice cream shop! For a girl that doesn’t really like ice cream, that’s saying something! The churro flavor is a MUST!!
On Saturday, we decided on Station 4 for breakfast before doing the tourist thing. Because it wasn’t blistering cold we opted to walk the few blocks away to enjoy the waterfront views and the crisp, cool air. The “new American” restaurant had swanky decor – fun wallpaper, lush curtains with geometric designs, bright red half-moon booths, chandeliers – it was a little excessive but I get what they were going for. While the furnishings were glitzy the food was just average. My husband ordered the steak and eggs, which also came with breakfast potatoes, and I got the huevos rancheros (if it’s on the menu I’m getting it). They over-cooked Kevin’s steak, even though he asked for it rare and my huevos rancheros were just okay. We also got a side of their garlic fries for the table and they were sub par but it was still nice to try a new place in the city.
For the remainder of the morning, and into the afternoon, we hit up a few of the iconic D.C. tourist spots: The Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin, and the Roosevelt Memorial. It was a lot of walking but it was nice to stroll the city streets and have an actual conversation with my fella, without kids interrupting us. It was pretty chilly, and it began to snow hard, but that didn’t stop all the tourists from coming out. There were so many people, especially at the The Lincoln Memorial, but it was kind of cool to be enjoying the history with hundreds of strangers.
We grabbed sandwiches and cookies at a local sandwich shop by our hotel and when back to our room were we decompressed from the day and watched an HBO movie. That night we went to Sushi Taro in Dupont Circle for dinner and ate way too much food. The sushi was so fresh and literally melted in your mouth! I couldn’t recommend this place enough. The atmosphere was super quaint and cozy which fared well for that cold, snowy night.
All weekend we had tried catching a showing of Black Panther to no avail, so Sunday we decided to head out a little early and grab breakfast at the hotel to make an 11:00 a.m. showing of the movie on our way home. Before driving back to the suburbs we stopped at Dolcezza at the Wharf for coffee. I’d been at the one at Mosaic so I knew I was in for some good java! One cup of latte art later and we were on our way back to Virginia.
A special shout out to D.C. for hosting us;) While the fella and I don’t necessarily like driving into the city (hello traffic and crappy parking), it was nice to get away in our own backyard! In case you missed it, catch my four tips for planning the perfect staycation!
