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Run Away for 24 Hours to Washington, D.C. (Part 1) – The Traveling Adjunct

02/12/2020 | Media Contact: Erin Mercer | (609) 343-4923

Heading to DC for a quick getaway, but interested in doing more than the usual tourist stuff? Here are some suggestions for spending 24 hours in the nation’s capital!

Saturday

11:30am: Arrival

We parked our car at our hotel and off we went! We were staying downtown (near the White House) so we took a $10 ride share over to the market to save time for our first stop of the day.

Noon: Check out a Farmers Market

What? A farmers market? In DC? Yup! Eastern Market! Okay, so Eastern Market isn’t strictly a “farmers market”, but in addition to fresh produce, you can find all sorts of arts and crafts at the outdoor section. There’s also an indoor section that sells meats, etc. Located in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, the market’s been around for 136 years! There are all sorts of restaurants and cafes, so stay around for lunch like we did! 225 7th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003.

1:30 pm: Lunch … and dessert: Head to the District….District Taco!

Yeah, District Taco is a chain restaurant in DC, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, but my burrito was delish. Besides, we were really hungry and in the mood for Mexican food. I had a veggie and guacamole burrito and my husband had a grilled chicken burrito bowl. Lunch was about $25 and it fueled us for our walk. The District Taco we ate at was near the Eastern Market.

Oh, and we had to get some gelato, because, well, just because…

Still at Eastern Market, we stopped at Pitango Gelato where I had a scoop of rhubarb and a scoop of matcha (it sounds odd, but the tart of the rhubarb went well with the sweet of the matcha). Hubby, ever predictable, had stracciatella.

3:00 pm: Go green with envy at the United States Botanic Garden

To escape the blistering heat, we decided to take a stroll through the free U.S. Botanic Garden. First envisioned by George Washington, it wasn’t until 1820 that the U.S. Congress established the U.S. Botanic Garden. It’s one of the oldest botanic gardens in North America. 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20001.

6:00 p.m. Happy Hour!

While neither one of us is a big drinker, we headed to happy hour at Fig & Olive for aperitivos! (that’s just fancy for happy hour!) An upscale chain in DC, New York and Los Angeles (among other places), there were tons of locals. I had a Champs de Fraises (Sparkling Wine with Strawberry Confiture, Elderflower Liqueur, Citrus Bitters & Earl Grey Tea) and Hubby had a Rosselini (Passion Fruit Vodka, Blood Orange Juice, Lime Juice). They were both awesome! And we had a little bowl of mixed olives with our drinks…mmmmm.

We stayed for dinner, which wasn’t as delish as the drinks, so we each had another drink. This time, I had a Soulflower (Gin, Rosemary, Honey, Lemon Juice, Aquafaba Foam & Lavender Bitters) and Hubby had the Fig & Olive (Muddled Grapes, Basil, Lemon Juice, Gin, Lillet Blanc)… and then we promptly returned to our hotel and fell sleep!

* Aquafaba is the liquid left over from cooking beans…. you know, the liquid in the can most of us pour down the drain!

Come back next month to find out what we did in the second part of our “run away”!