Week 10- It's a blur!

So this was the week after spring break, and it was so busy I completely forgot that I just had a break last week.  It was full of research and studying, basically just trying to keep up with things.  On an upside, the weather has warmed up significantly this week, we had some absolutIely beautiful days.

These are the only things I remember about this week...

Friday night Tom had a gig playing Jazz at a restaurant in the burbs so we met Sara for dinner and listened to Orpheus.  It was great.  Tom was the youngest member of this group (I think all other members were over 60), he told us the previous drummer died and that's how he got the gig. 

Saturday night, Piola (delicious pizza) and Boccato (yummy gelato) with Katie and Kurtis.

So the week wasn't a total wash.  I did get to socialize a bit.  I also got to go outside and study and enjoy the weather.  But I have another intense soul-sucking week ahead... On the bright side I get five days off for Easter, this is my silver lining to focus on to get through this upcoming week!

Week 9-SPRING BREAK!!!

Sunday
Brunch at Eventide (one of DC's top 100 restaurants) which is about a 20 minute walk from our apartment, courtesy of GROUPON.  (If you don't know about Groupon check out this website: http://www.groupon.com/boston/deals/tavolo?utm_campaign=UserReferral&utm_medium=email&utm_source=uu201110

Monday

I took mom on a Segway Tour.  We went with Capital Segway, it is the best tour I've taken in the city.  It is a great way to see a lot in a short period of time without all the walking, we covered 7.5 miles in 2 hours.  The segway is super simple to operate and a lot of fun.  It usually costs $70, but we got a living social deal for $35 each.  Living Social is not located in Dallas but if you are planning a visit you should definately sign up to get the daily living social and groupon deals because they can save you a ton of money on vacation. Living Social Link: https://deals.livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/214333-crysra?ref=lnk

Then we took a trip to the Old Ebbitt Grill, the OLDEST saloon in DC.  They have really great food, I recommend trusting the waiter/waitresses recommendations.  Great for oysters (slightly pricey), Crabcakes, and the fried trout.

I also decided it was time to start P90X.  I borrowed it from a friend to make sure I like it before shelling out the money... I'll let you know how it goes!

Tuesday

Mom went home, and I used the rest of the day to run errands.

Wednesday and Thursday

I studied. 

Friday
Off to NYC on the Megabus...another Groupon deal.  It about a 4.5 hour bus ride from DC to NYC and very affordable, around $25 roundtrip per person depending on date/time.  We strolled around in the rain before settling at a bar in little Italy called Casa Bella for some espresso and vino, but mostly a break from the rainy day.  Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our date! 

We had dinner at Thalia at 50th and 8th just two blocks from the Ambassador Theatre, where Chicago is playing.  The dinner was fantastic.  I would highly recommend this restaurant, the service was great, they serve housemade pasta, and fresh housemade mozarella in their Caprese salad.  It was wonderful.

Then on to the main event, CHICAGO!  This is one of my favorite musicals, in the top three with RENT and Mama Mia, and the first time I've seen it on stage.  So I was really excited.  It was good, except the Michelle Williams (from Destiny's Child) played Roxy Hart, and in my humble opinion SUCKED!  Other than this the show was really good, and we had great seats.  It was a great end to our evening.

Saturday

Pizza tour day!!!  The entire reason we came to New York was to go on a pizza tour, Scott's Pizza tour specifically.  It was $30 for a 3 hour walking tour of NYC pizza interests including 3 pieces of pizza.  The tour guide, Scott, is a pizza freak and is passionate about sharing his knowledge with you, he really made the tour memorable.  If you're ever in NYC, take Scott's Pizza Tour: http://www.scottspizzatours.com/ If you don't take the tour, at least go buy a pie at Lombardi's at 32 Spring St.  It is the oldest pizzareia in NYC and has the best pizza I've had this side of Italy, CHECK IT OUT! The only downside to the tour was that it poured rain ALL day, we were soaked.  I had to buy some new rain boots, my boots are still wet and today is Tuesday. 

Scott

Me with my Lombardi's Slice

Richard's Sad Broken Umbrella (we went through 3 over the weekend)

The tour ended on Bleecker Street and we went to Rocco's pastry shop and espresso cafe and they had an amazing assortment of Italian pastries, homemade hot chocolate, coffee's, and espresso.  Best Canolli!!!

Later, after we dried off and went to our next hotel (Hotel Pennsylvania-Do not go here, bad service, dirty, in need of serious renovation, on the upside its CHEAP and in a great location).  We then headed out for a sushi snack before going to Gotham Comedy Club.  Warning: when in NYC not all subway entrances have access to the trains in both directions...be careful! 

We finished off the evening with a walk down to Times Square, Richard's first visit.  It's pretty magnificent at night, so bright you think it's day time.

Sunday

Nothing much, just came home from NYC.  Glad to be back in DC, in my opinion it is a much nicer place to be than NYC, so much cleaner and safer.  I did have one more treat before we left, we had an eclair in Times Square.

Sorry, this was the longest blog post ever.  Leave me a comment if you made it this far...

Week 8-I think I can, I think I can...

I have one more exam to get through, and I have to finish my research paper....I can almost taste Spring Break!

Tuesday:  I DID IT!!!  I took my exam, and finished my research paper (with my fabulous group).  How did I celebrate you ask?  A trip to MAC with Lauren for some make-up... Then I went home and where I did NO studying, I had dinner with my wonderful husband and caught up on TV...FABULOUS!

Wednesday: Mom arrived!  First thing we did was go to TJ MAXX for some retail therapy.  Then we headed over to the Kennedy Center to see the Eastman School of Music perform at Millenium Stage.  Then we headed to Founding Farmers, which happens to be one of the very best restaurants I have eaten at in DC.  It was absolutely delicious! 

Thursday: I had class in the AM, followed by a delicious Greek meal (where I discovered Fasolia), and then mom and I each had an hour long massage.  Just what I needed after the last two weeks.  I felt extremely refreshed.  Then we headed home, worked out, and mom made her homemade fried chicken and gravy...mmmm!  Then we headed out to Tom's concert.  Tom helped put together an Army Band concert highlighting the relationship between music and art.  They commissioned several local artists to construct pieces inspired by the music.  It was fantastic, GREAT JOB TOM!

Friday: More shopping, more class, and Georgetown cupcake.  Mom also got to meet some of my closest friends here in DC, and accompanied us to happy hour and pole dancing.  We bought groupons for aerobic pole dancing class a few months ago, and had scheduled our first class before mom planned her visit.  It was fun, makes me miss Jes and Mel though.

Me, Nicole, and Lauren...Just prior to our Pole Dancing Extravaganza

Our Sexy pic with our Groupons...The socks are really hot, don't you think?

Saturday: More shopping, this time with Richard.  (I emailed Mom after she booked her flight and asked her what she wanted to do on her visit, her response, "shopping").  Today also happened to be the first 50 degree day we've had this year, so we decided we needed to enjoy the lovely weather.  We headed over to Iwo Jima for a little walk, checked out the Carillion bells, and headed home for lunch.  Then we decided that we still wanted to enjoy the beautiful day, so I called Sara to get some advice, she recommended Chrysallis Vineyard in Middleburg, and off we went.  It was absolutely wonderful.  I cannot wait to visit some more of the beautiful VA vineyards.  I particularly enjoyed their Viognier, the 2005 Rubiana, and their Red and White "table wines".  Their red table wine is a sangria inspired wine made with the Norton grape, which I learned is the "Real Virginia" grape.  We bought a few bottles and enjoyed cozying up in the sunshine to enjoy them.

Richard with the Carillion Bells, a gift from the Netherlands signaling friendship

The following are some pictures from Chrysalis Vinyard: