Notti Bianche and the Kennedy Center

My sister and I had an interesting meal at Notti Bianche.

Salad with Baby Lettuce, Pine Nuts, Ricotta Salata, and ?

Parmigiano with red grapes

Bread Pudding

We then saw an extraordinary performance of Le Corsaire at the Kennedy Center by the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet.

Lebanese Taverna and Washington By Night

Baklava with a birthday candle

My birthday celebration began this evening with a wonderful dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, the Lebanese Taverna in Pentagon City, with Andrea and Roger and Betty Jean Anderson.

Betty Jean, Roger, Chris, Andrea

The food, as always, was delicious!

Grape leaf

Delicious pita bread

After dinner Andrea took us on a marvelous tour of selected monuments. which were incredibly evocative at night. We saw the illuminated dancing fountains at the World War II Memorial and the faintly-lit soldiers trudging across the field at the Korean War Memorial. Each Washington monument should be seen in the daylight and at night. The view and the emotions are quite different. Perhaps the memorial that made the greatest impression on us in the dark was the 9-11 Memorial at the Pentagon. (See photos of this memorial in the daylight earlier in this blog.)

Smithsonian American Portrait Gallery

My old friend Roger from Washburn High School is in town with his wife Betty Jean. We spent all day at the American Portrait Gallery. I had been to this museum twice before but I had never viewed the Portrait Gallery of the Presidents, the core of the museum's collection. Enjoy the photos of my friends and of our illustrious presidents.

Betty Jean and Roger in front of the Lincoln Inaugural Ball Room

Enjoying lunch in the Kogod Courtyard between the two museums, the Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum

A fan of the 44th president

Roger and Betty Jean with a portrait of Obama



Portraits of a few favorite presidents

Lincoln

JFK

Jimmy Carter

Bill Clinton

Obama Poster

African-American Museum in Alexandria

My friend George and I had a very interesting outing on a very rainy, gloomy day.

We met at the African-American Museum in Alexandria. We visited the exhibit area and then watched an 11-minute video. The focus of the video was a 1938 sit-in by a group of young African Americans at the local "Free" Library. They wanted free access to the library. It was probably the first sit-in in the country. The protest was partially successful. The library was not opened to them but the city did decide to build a separate library for African Americans. The museum is now housed in the former library.

We then had a delicious, authentic Italian lunch at La Piazza, close to the Braddock Road Metro station. Carlo, the owner, comes from Napoli. Excellent food, excellent prices.

It was a very special outing.

The DCDC goes to Founding Farmers - Again!

The DCDC broke one of its cardinal rules for the first time: Never go to the same restaurant twice. Mary, Synthia, and Christine had already been to Founding Farmers but Jodi had not.

Synthia, Jodi, Christine, Mary

We started out with flatbread - ricotta, pistachio, figs with balsamic vinegar.


Jodi had roasted tomato soup.

Jodi's Salad

Synthia's Entree

Mary's Chili Burger



Christine and Mary (note the cloud in the background)