Thanksgiving weekend

It was Thanksgiving weekend here in the US. This is fun because it means a long weekend and a big turkey dinner. It's pretty much like Christmas dinner, but in November.

I've never roasted a turkey before. In fact, I've never even roasted a whole chicken before, so we were pretty happy that it all worked out so deliciously.


Along with the turkey, we had roast potato, garlic mashed potato, sweet potato, garlic, broccoli, onion, tomato, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, carrots and asparagus. And then we had cherry pie for dessert! Mmmmm!

We bought the smallest turkey we could find, but it was still huge. We are going to be eating left-over turkey dinner for weeks!

Mie N Yu

Last week we went to a Georgetown restaurant called Mie N Yu.

It was great. The decor was exciting and beautiful, the cocktails were fruity and delicious, the cheese was stinky and blue (just as I like it!) and the mains were mmmm...!

Lima restaurant

We went to Lima Restaurant tonight. They were extending their DC restaurant week menu, which we sampled last night.

The Open Table website describes Lima's cuisine as 'Latin American, Fusion/Eclectic'. This sounded promising as I usually like anything that's 'eclectic' and/or 'fusion'. The food was very good, and so was the ambience and the service, but I have to admit that I do prefer Asian Fusion/Eclectic.

Skydome Lounge

Last night we checked out the Skydome Lounge. It's a revolving bar at the top of the Doubletree Hotel. So many of the major DC landmarks are visible from the Skydome including the Washington Monument, the Capitol, Washington National Airport, and the Washington Cathedral way off in the distance.

There's a 360 degree sample available here online, but it really doesn't do justice to the great view. Unfortunately the Skydome wasn't revolving last night, so we'll have to go back again another day.

Agraria, Cabanas

Last night Peter and I walked down to the Georgetown waterfront. First we stopped by Agraria, and then we had dinner at Cabanas.

There are so many great places to eat within walking distance ('walking distance' by Australian standards that is) and I think we should try all of them! I suggested to Peter that we try at least one new place each week.

We're doing pretty well this week having tried 4 new places over the weekend!

Whole Foods, Marks & Spencer, Dean & Deluca

Something I miss about the UK is Marks & Spencer. I love Marks & Spencer. It's one of my favourite stores in the whole world. I have bought so much stuff there - food, wine, clothes, jewellery, shoes, everything!

I am yet to find a store as awesome as M&S in the US, but one store that does rate a mention is Whole Foods. They have a very good cheese section. This is important because I thought I wouldn't be able to get my favourite French cheeses in the US.

Another store which I understand has a very good cheese selection is Dean & Deluca. I have visited this store, but I've not yet sampled their wares. Must remedy this!

Old Town Alexandria

Peter and I went on a big walk today, about 13-14 kilometres (8-9 miles). We walked to Old Town Alexandria.

We walked along a very long bike path, part of which goes from the Rosslyn side of the Key Bridge, and follows the Potomac River to Alexandria and beyond. It's called the Mount Vernon Trail and appears to be very popular. We saw zillions of others out walking, running, and cycling. Here's a map of the whole trail.

In Alexandria we had ice cream at The Scoop, and dinner at the Fish Market. Mmmm.

"Mixed" vegetables

The other week Peter and I were at a restaurant with a friend. One of the dishes we ordered was mixed vegetables. What we got, to my surprise, was a plate of broccoli. Fortunately I quite like broccoli, but this doesn't make it okay to pass off a plate of broccoli as "mixed" vegetables!

Note: "Mixed", when used as an adjective, means "combining characteristics of more than one kind" or "made up of or involving individuals or items of more than one kind" (source Merriam-Webster Online).