24 hours

Last weekend was our turn for an overnight vacation while our friends watched our kids. We decided to stay in D.C., try some new restaurants, and visit a museum we would rather go to without the kids. We had such a great time and it was amazing how long 24 hours felt...and how much more we were able to accomplish without the kids.

We stayed at the Morrison Clark Hotel, a beautiful historic hotel near Penn Quarter. After checking in Friday night we headed to Adams Morgan to eat dinner at Perrys. I didn't get any photos but the food was delicious. We were especially fond of their butternut squash soup and the goat cheese salad. Ben tried their saki miso marinated salmon and I had the open faced ravioli. We topped off our meal with their yummy banana cream pie.

We stopped by Locolat, a Belgian chocolate place, for some hot chocolate before heading back to the hotel.

In the morning we leisurely made our way to the Newseum, stopping at Paul along the way for heavenly French pastries. I was so impressed with the Newseum and completely fascinated. We could have spent several more hours there. They had this huge room that had newspaper pages starting from the 1400s through present time and it was so interesting to read about history as seen through the news at that time. Many of the exhibits covered rather dark subjects so I'm glad the kids weren't there. I picked up interesting bits of information that I hadn't known before (like how the unabomber got his name). They also have huge pieces of the Berlin Wall and a powerful 9/11 exhibit. And a great balcony with nice views of the city. I definitely plan to return.

Berlin Wall

Sep 11 exhibit with headlines from around the world.

 

After the Newseum we walked to Co Co Sala to try their brunch (although it was really a late lunch). Co Co Sala is a chocolate lounge and every part of our meal contained some kind of chocolate. We went for the three-course brunch and loved every bite. The first course was the Chef's "amuse of the day." I think I would like to start creating my own "amuse of the day." It was some kind of donut-like pastry that had been rolled in cinnamon and drizzled with chocolate then sprinkled with walnuts. AND it had a molten chocolate center. Since there was already so much sweet going on, we both decided on savory main courses. But I'm still wondering about the s'mores french toast. I had the most amazing grilled cheese on truffle-scented brioche with tomato soup and a cheese fritter on the side. Ben had a really delicious enchilada with an avocado, fennel, and mache salad with chipotle chocolate ganache. Very unique and yummy. Our dessert course contained pretty much every component of a dessert you would ever want: dark chocolate mousse, vanilla creme brulee, salted caramel, crispy pearls, and a brownie...all compiled into one!

And we couldn't resist the hot chocolate sampler. We tried peanut butter, pumpkin spice, and salted caramel. They were all fantastic but I think the salted caramel was our favorite...like drinking amazing caramel diluted with chocolate. 

We needed to walk around a bit after our meal so we wouldn't succumb to a chocolate coma. We headed to Georgetown to walk around and finally check out Dumbarton Oaks. Since I took approximately one million photos, I will save that for another post. (And yes, Erin, it was another perfect Saturday.)