So I missed the blossoms this year! I wasn't really expecting them to be there, but it was still a little anticlimactic not to see the clouds of pink from afar. Actually I should have gone last week, before the rain and wind dredged the blossoms from the trees, but I can't be in two places at once (rats).

It's okay though-I still got to spend time with a friend I hadn't seen since last summer. We became friends in Philly, and ever since she moved to DC last fall, it's been tough to catch her since she travels a lot for her job. It means more to me to have seen her, meet some of her colleagues and friends, enjoy the city together.

Highlights: dinner at The Ghana Cafe (jollof rice and egusi stew!), wine and spring rolls at Asian Spice (learned a little more about wine tasting), Rocket Bar, luscious potato soup and beer battered fish and chips at Gastro Pub (seriously, the soup was like drinking mashed potatoes...), Freer Gallery, catching some sun at the Mall, Pho 14 in Columbia Heights. Fragrant bowls of pho, Thai iced tea, and banh mi (finally!!) to take home capped off a great couple of days. In case I haven't said this before, I love DC.

Her roommate has a beautiful dog who is extremely shy and yet very loving. He's not accustomed to strangers so I couldn't pet him and had to be very careful not to startle him, but he would come up to me (when he thought I wasn't looking), quickly sniff or put his nose to my hand, and then run off. He was a darling, with expressive eyes and a dignified air. He crosses his little white front paws when he sits :)

I enjoyed the Korean ceramics and Arabic art at the Freer. The show stopper for us was John Singer Sargent's Breakfast in the Loggia. Photos don't do it justice, you need to see the actual painting. When you look at it, you can feel the warmth of the sunlight streaming in through the columns. Amazing.

Read more of Infidel during my train rides. Riveting..though I had to put it down for a minute at one point..this particular scene made my heart feel sick. And all I had to do was read her account, not experience any of the pain she had to endure. I haven't yet gotten to her later years when her views on Islam really crystallize. From what I've read so far, I think she's extraordinarily brave and tough. More later.



On another note, re: the whole writing about love thing...I need to rethink this, and refine it a LOT more. There are so many ways I can and can't do this, so many perspectives to consider. It'll do you much more good to watch this excellent lecture from anthropologist Helen Fisher. It's a great overview of the biological and social explanations for love, and she is very engaging.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/helen_fisher_tells_us_why_we_love_cheat.html

Sorry, you'll have to click to it..I don't know how to embed this one.

One day I am going to sit down and properly blog about my weekend trip to CT for my Jen's bachelorette, an amazing dance show I saw in DC (LAST MONTH, ohh but I am behind in blogging), weekend fun in Fell's Point including a trip to Blue Moon (yum), winding down at work and the mixed bag of feelings that come with that, and devote some time to writing a not-totally insipid post on L-O-V-E. Oof.


So this is a quick update - just that a new restaurant and grocery store just opened up near work - Ceazar's Palace - which I checked out today during lunch - and I am ga-ga over the selection of Middle Eastern groceries (pomegranate syrup, finally! and I really want to try the yogurt soda. And their Persian baklava). I got their chicken kabob, which I devoured. And baba ghanouj - it is one of my favorite things and it's fun to try different versions. Theirs was garlicky, savory, with just a teensy hint of burnt eggplant (I know...so bad for you, if my mother saw me eating those carcinogenic bits she would definitely have something to say about it :) and topped with generous amounts of fruity olive oil and sesame seeds. Plus mini-lavash to dip. PERFECT :D

The portion I didn't eat came in handy during my 40-minute crawl along 295 N when I hit city limits. It took me that long to get from M&T to UMMS grounds. That's about 2 miles. Ridiculous, no? We have the Orioles and whoever else was playing fans to thank for that...sigh.


Good luck dropped Ayaan Hirsi Ali's Infidel into my lap a couple of days ago. It's been on my reading list for ages. I'm having a hard time putting the book down.

Cherry blossoms this weekend! :)

And now...sleep, I think.