Washington DC Day 2

Today was a splendid day in the nation's capitol! We were epic tourists for the day and trekked all over the place sightseeing and having a good time.  In fact, my feet are crazy sore and I'm actually excited to sit in a car and drive 4.5 hours tomorrow!

The day started off early with a ride downtown courtesy of Uncle Paul, thanks Uncle Paul! We left some of our stuff at his office and then walked a few blocks to the nearest metro, bought day passes, and we were off! Our first stop was The Bureau of Engraving and Printing where we picked up tickets for the 3:15 tour.  Next, we went to the Supreme Court! We got to sit in on a lecture in the actual court room! The only way to see the inside of the court is to listen to this lecture.  I was a little nervous that it was going to be a tad boring, but it wasn't! I found myself really intrigued and I learned a ton about the court system and it's history.

We had some time before our scheduled tour of the Capitol Building, so we grabbed a quick lunch at my friend Lauren's recommendation, Good Stuff Eatery.  This place is owned by Chef Spike from Top Chef! I got so excited when I found that out! Bri will tell you, I was a huge dork about it.  We both ordered fantastic burgers (his was obviously a vegetarian one) and we split a small Rosemary and Thyme Fries and Vietnamese Coffee Shake.  OMG it was good! I had "Michelle's Favorite" which was a turkey burger with caramelized onions, tomato, lettuce, swiss cheese, and herbed mayo.  Bri had their Portobello Burger (he ate a mushroom!) with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  Both of us were extremely full and extremely happy following this meal.

We stopped by the Library of Congress on our way to the Capitol Building.  The Library of Congress was absolutely stunning and although we only were there for a short time, it was really nice to see it!  The Capitol tour was fantastic as well.  An adorable intern led us around and showed off some of the Capitol as well as a ton of famous statues.  I got to stand directly in the center of this nation's capitol!

After our tour it was time to head back to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where we got to see how paper money is made!  They were showing off the new $100 bill, which won't make an official debut for a few years.  Maybe by then, I will actually be able to possess one of those bills! The tour was fun, but unfortunately there were no free samples.

Our next stop was the White House!  This was actually pretty amusing: at this point, we were exhausted, our feet were killing us, and it was pretty darn hot outside.  We walked to the White House, only to doubt if we were looking at it from the right view.  It looked so small and no one was really around taking pictures.  I thought that this attraction would demand more commotion than this!  We were super confused and we were also in a time crunch.  We had to get back to Uncle Paul's office before he left to get our stuff to change into for dinner.  So, somewhat disgruntled, we headed back to the office.  We showed Uncle Paul our picture in front of the huse, and he laughed and said, "Yep, that's it alright."  So, I guess we were right all along and just underwhelmed by one of the most famous homes in the world.  Anyways, we were glad to have found it because there was no way we were walking all the way back after our crazy day.

We freshened up at the office and headed over towards Zaytinya for dinner.  On the way, we stopped at the National Portrait Gallery and saw all the Presidents!  That was actually pretty neat.  All those pictures in my textbooks growing up were all there staring at me.  Then, dinner at Zaytinya, was absolutely amazing.  The place was super nice and very chique.  We ordered drinks at the bar and then sat down.  The food is served tapas style and our waiter recommended about 6-7 dishes for two people to split.  Everything was amazing! My personal favorite was their Seared Scallops in a Yogurt Dill Sauce, which I got to have all to myself as it wasn't vegetarian! Bri's favorite was the Stuffed Eggplant with Onions and Tomatoes.  I got so many ideas for future dinners and appetizers and it was a great evening.

We left dinner, hopped on a train, and headed back towards Uncle Paul's.  He picked us up at the train station and took us to our last tourist-y stop: Cousin Dave's House.  Except tonight, it wasn't just Dave, Sam, Matty, and Jason's, it was also Georgetown Cupcake! Dave picked us up cupcakes during the day because we didn't think we would have time to make it to the actual shop.  So, Bri and I indulged in a little Chocolate Mint, Cinnamon, and Red Velvet for dessert.  The cupcakes were amazing! I think they were some of the best I have ever had and I do think they deserve all the popularity.  My favorites were Cinnamon and Red Velvet so of course Bri's favorite was the mint one.  We have such opposite tastes! The day ended on a high note and both of us were happy and exhausted.  Now, it's time for some serious zzzz's since I'm driving tomorrow to New York!