This is what I am

Foodie. Book lover. Travel enthusiast. My travel experiences have been bizarre. Things just happen when you're exploring the world. The following stories are taken from my travel journals over the years. Some have probably happened to you, my fellow reader, others may be more than your imagination can handle. Get ready for a journey around the world.

Friday, February 12, 2010

I take on the District

Washington, DC
February 4, 2010
Being that one of my true loves in life is history, I decided to head north to our capital of the great United States. Washington, DC is a mere six hour drive from my home in North Carolina, so why not head north and visit the mother load of museums?
Mom and I strike out at five on Thursday morning and head towards the distric. By lunchtime, we are in the city, checking into our hotel on 9th Street and K, the Renaissance Washington. A mega hotel, it comes completely packaged with a Starbucks on the lower level. For the coffee lover in me, this is perfect.
Lunch is first on the agenda. Only a few blocks down 9th is Zaytinya - a fusion of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food in the form of tapas. Inside the great room opens to white upholstered sofas and modern tables. To the eye, it’s appetizing. Let’s see how it fits the palette. With the help of our waiter, we order spatakopita, a spinach and cream mixture in a phyllo dough crust; Htipiti, a spread of roasted peppers, red onions and feta cheese; Lamb Bahar, a spiced lamb kebab; and Falafel, chickpea fritters. A basket of fresh pita is set on the table with a bowl of olive oil with a fusion of pomegranate syrup. MMmmmm. The combination of the smooth olive oil with the tangy pomegranate is a fabulous concoction. This restaurant is not for the faint of heart. Unless, you have an adventurous spirit, you may be overwhelmed and absolutely terrified by the Mediterranean offerings. Sitting here, I am trying to picture my meat-and-potatoes father here, and the idea makes me giggle. Dad eating pita dipped in pomegranate infused olive oil doesn’t form well in my mind. Ahh well...thankfully dearest mom enjoys branching out in the cuisine area, and we both leave satisfied.
The next block down is the International Spy Museum. History fact: growing up I was obsessed with spies. I mean above and beyond obsessed!!! Sydney Bristow was my alter ego for five years running. So of course, I had to come to the spy museum. I mean how could I be this close and not grace the doors with my presence, hmmm? Exaclty.
Entering, the giddiness is building. Ushered into an elevator with a red illuminated floor, the spy in me starts coming out. Where am I being taken? A top secret briefing? an identity changeover??
On the second floor, a guard asks us to enter a room filled with different identities on the walls. We are told we have five minutes to memorize the details of a person of our choice, and that is who we must remain throughout the museum.
Tick Tock. Tick Tock.
I am Allessandro Fettucelli, a travel agent from Medina, Italy headed to Vietnam to pick up a microdot from a hotel communications director. 
Ok...plant the info in the brain. Assume the identity. Become the person. 
The doors open and we watch an educational video on the spy systems in America. DC has more spies in it’s district than any other area in the entire world! Now, I can’t help but keep looking over my shoulder. What if that guy reading a book in the corner is really a spy?!!! 
We meander our way through the 68,000 square foot building. Two and a half hours later, my brain is swimming with spy lingo. I now know how to effectively pick a lock, I know how to make a microdot, I know how to bug a room. The world has no idea what’s about to hit them! What is fascinating is the amount of history in that one building. Spy information ranging from Biblical times, Queen Elizabeth 2, WW2, the Cold War and now to the modern day cyber warfare is showcased in the museum. My brain is absolutely seared.
Flip this coin! What better way to help the brain calm down than a bit of shopping? Indeed. There is an artisan cheese shop and H &M down the next street just waiting for us to explore them and take our minds off all things SPY!
However, after an hour or so, the hunger for history is starting to growl again inside of me, so I drag mother down toward the National Mall and enter into the mega of all mega museums: The Smithsonian Institute, The Museum of Natural History. 
Dinosaurs! Elephants! Giraffes! The Ocean Hallway filled with all kinds of information about penguins, starfish, octopuses, fish, and whales arrests my attention. I can’t help but snap pictures of mom next to the fossils especially being this is not her element in the least. 
“Why are we looking at bones?” She asks me.
“Mom!!! This is amazing! Can you imagine, these are the actual size of the creatures!” I exclaim as I shoot from one end to the other snapping pictures. After all, this is the closest I will ever come to being in the animal kingdom. These do not smell odd, nor do they have to be fed, watered, or cleaned up after. This is the ideal way to view animals.
Upstairs, rests the most beautiful item of all: the Hope Diamond. Brilliantly, it shines in its glass case next to the diamond chain. 
“If only...” I sigh. 
No joke - every single girl that walks by the case makes some kind of remark about having that as an engagement ring. And some girls say that don’t care about the size or shape of their ring - ridiculous! A girl is lying if she tells you she’s never thought about what kind of ring she wants. Girls know. It’s in their head. 
“Will you marry me?” Another girl jokes as she walks by the display case. Girls and their diamonds. Well, looking at this diamond in particular - who can blame them?
Outside dusk is coming upon us. For dinner tonight, we are meeting Laura one of my good friends from back home and her boyfriend, Ryan, for another ethnic meal. This time, we are jumping continents and trying Ethiopian. Yes, Ethiopian! God made all cultures, all people, so why not experience every single one of them? Experiencing more of the world's culture is experiencing more of God. It's getting a better look at His creative tapestry.
Taking the metro, we head north and get out at U Street. Two blocks down is Dukem - the name couldn’t get more Ethiopian if it tried.
Laura moved up here for grad school and instantly fell in love with the city and its inhabitants. Understandably so. I’ve only been here for a day and I’m already loving everything. Tonight, she is showing us another side to Washington. She is helping us see more of the ethnic side
Looking at the menu, I am both excited and lost at the same time. I don’t even know where to start. Thankfully, the two of them regularly dine on Ethiopian and know what they are doing. They do all of the ordering and explain to my mom and I about the way Ethiopian food is eaten after our waitress has left.
You don’t use utensils first of all.
You use injera - a spongelike crepe/pancake to slop up all of your food.
The “food” consists of spiced lamb tibs, yellow lentils, greens, a spicy red puree of “something.” I say something because I still don’t what it is, a cabbage mixture, split peas, and more. 
The varying flavors and the spice is overwhelming. Be prepared with a full glass of water, for you will be kicked in the mouth!
I will attest to the food’s deliciousness, for it is soooooooooo good. I eat way more than I should. The thing about injera is it swells in your stomach like pasta but ten times worse. So one minute you are fine, and the next you are stuffed!
Isn’t it terrible though when you are so full, but you don’t care because it tastes so good? That’s where I am right now.
Laura wants to drive us around DC to see all of the different neighborhoods. I am amazed as we drive through the areas how different the people, the facades, and the culture is in this one city. Every area has its own flavor, its own twist, its own dress code. DC is truly a city of conglomerations. 
The weariness is beginning to hit me. Four o’ clock this morning was a very long time ago. Tomorrow, a giant snow storm is expected to hit the city.
This should be interesting....

Sunday, February 7, 2010

The District

My goodness! I come to DC for museums, culture, and food, and end up getting caught in one of the biggest snow storms in history here. Close to thirty inches of snow fell on this city between 11am on Friday and 6pm on Saturday. That's right everybody. Snow fell consistently close to thirty-one hours. My goodness...my goodness...my goodness.

I have the photos, the cabin fever, and the freezing toes to prove it. Having completely ignored the weather forecast, I came up here completely prepared for three days of museum scouring, not snow plowing, especially not heavy snow plowing.

Let's go over my shoes first: I have brown heeled boots, or flat black slip on shoes. What's my best snow walking option? The boots obviously. Even though they are designer, and they have gorgeous buttoned details down the back, I take them out to brave the forecast. What else can I do?

Next, all I have are jeans which are NOT waterproof. Thankfully, I have turtleneck sweaters, and a giant scarf, but my gloves are super thin - not good. All sensible people are shouting for me to stay indoors and not venture out into the cold. Well, you forget, who you are talking to.

If there is something I hate doing, it is sitting and doing nothing. So into the city I go. This is the most unprepared I have ever felt for a trip, but you live and learn.

After all, how can I tell you amazing stories if I don't go out and brave the city, snow or no snow?

Exactly! The details of DC to come soon.
~ Happy snow day.