I blog about my travels, but don't really talk about my hometown. That's because I tend to stay in the suburbs and don't venture inside the city often. It's such a shame because DC is just a short metro ride away and really has a lot to offer.

My cousin was in town over the weekend and asked if I could take Friday off so we can spend a day inside the city. I happily agreed as I already had plans to be off from work. She wanted to check out Union Market, then also casually mentioned that there's a ramen shop inside. Umm... no need to ask this glutton twice!

Along with my mom, we spent a girls day in the city playing tourists. First stop: Union Market. I didn't know anything about this place, and hadn't even heard of it until my cousin brought it up. According to SIL, it's now the hip place to be. What rock have I been living under?! DH was also shocked because he remembers going there often with his grandma when he was growing up. He described it as a place that smelled and looked like a dump (this was in the mid-80s). His sharpest memory was the long walk, especially the part over some bridge that seemingly went on forever. I teased and said his stubby legs probably couldn't keep up. The world (and bridge) just looks bigger from a child's point of view.
The neighborhood surrounding Union Market isn't the nicest -- it's fine in the daytime, but I'd use common sense after dark. The market itself is housed in a white, warehouse-like building with a very airy, bright, and modern feel. There looked to be garage doors along the main entrance, so I imagine they'd be lifted come summer time. The place actually reminds me of San Francisco's Ferry Building, in the shop setup and offerings, but on a smaller scale. I recall seeing booths for coffee, meat & butcher, soup, cheese, tea [photo below], granola, bread, and the like.
Unfortunately we didn't see a ramen booth, so we settled for an oyster bar instead. We sampled tuna tartare [photo below], oysters and chowder [photo above left]. I like the taste and texture of oysters, but my tongue isn't discerning, so I'm useless with a review. I felt the chowder portion could be bigger, but they made up for it with chunky ingredients. The tuna tartare tasted quite good, with a touch of spiciness, lime zest, and a good amount of tuna bites. Unfortunately I couldn't help but compare our meal to Hog Island Oysters from when I was in SF (which was amazing), so I was a bit disappointed.

We also sampled Korean BBQ tacos from TaKorean (which I believe originated as a food truck). The menu and ordering style is set up like Chipotle's -- you pick a meat, a vegetable, and toppings. I wasn't sure what to make of the flavoring. On one hand, I feel I've had more authentic Korean flavors in Annandale (unofficially considered "Korean Town" in the DC metro area), but my low tolerance for spicy food allowed me to enjoy the kimchi and sriracha sauce of the tacos. I do wish they had the option of flour tortillas because I'm not a fan of the corn version (blame my Americanized tongue). If memory serves, one taco is $3.50 or three tacos for $9.

After lunch, we metro-ed over to the National Mall mainly to see the cherry blossoms but to also check out museum exhibits. Personally, I think DC is the most beautiful during cherry blossom season. Though I don't know how much weight you can place on my opinion, considering I've only gone to see the flowers about 5 times in the span of 20+ years. We try to make a point to walk all the way around the Tidal Basin every time, to enjoy the scenery and check out the memorials.

We made the trip too early this year and so instead of a sea of pretty pink, all we saw were brown twigs with some buds [photo below]. For out-of-towners trying to time their visit during peak bloom, I highly recommend consulting this bloom guide which documents historical and projected peak dates. The best time this year is actually the upcoming weekend. I'll probably be too lazy to make another trip out though.

Day two of my cousin's stay was spent in Georgetown, DC's mecca of all things preppy. I lost count of how many bow ties, olive J.Crew downtown field jackets, and Longchamp bags I saw. Not hating, I was carrying the latter myself.

Georgetown lacks a metro stop, so it's more inconvenient to visit if you don't have a car, or if you're like me, horrible at parallel parking. On nice weather days, I like to take the metro to the Rosslyn stop, then walk about 15 mins across the Key Bridge to one end of M Street (the main shopping area). I highly recommend this walk because as you cross the Potomac River, you see a gorgeous view of Georgetown along the water, as well as the Washington Monument off in the distance. Another alternative is to take a bus from the Foggy Bottom metro stop (for $1-2), which will take you to select locations along M Street. A tip to riding the metro: stand on the right, walk on the left of escalators. It drives the locals crazy when there's a bottleneck during rush hour.

Friends in real life rave about Luke's Lobster and blogging friends SPG & Jean only have good things to say about lobster rolls, so I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone. We opted to try Noah's Ark [photo below], which includes three rolls split in half (shrimp, crab, and lobster), two drinks, and two bags of chips for $42. Yum. I couldn't decide on a favorite between the three types of meat. I personally wouldn't mind more seasoning, but if you like the fresh flavor of seafood, then you'd probably enjoy these rolls.
There's also a Luke's location in Penn Quarter and some in NYC. The one we were at is actually located next door to the original Georgetown Cupcakes. After lunch, I saw a few people lingering outside looking like they had won the lottery because there was no line for cupcakes. Unfortunately I pooped on their party and told them the new location is now on M Street, with lines even longer than before. I recall overhearing someone say the wait was 2+ hours long. Ain't nobody got time for that!

I wanted to tell them we were headed to Baked & Wired, a cupcakes shop that rivals Georgetown Cupcakes, but felt uncomfortable since I hadn't tried it myself and didn't know what the wait was like. Thank goodness the line for pastries was much shorter, about 15 mins or so. The coffee line was even shorter and people can bypass the main line and go right on in.

We chose to try three cupcakes for $11.50. From left to right [photo below]: cherry blossom, red velvet, and strawberry. I had Georgetown Cupcakes a long time ago and wasn't impressed. I felt Baked & Wired's were bigger, more moist, and tasted better overall. My favorite of the three is the cherry blossom. It had chunks of cherries mixed in and the icing wasn't too sweet. My cousin liked the red velvet because it was the least sweet of the three. But what she really enjoyed was Baked & Wired's coffee. She's a coffee person and really liked the blend they used. Me being the fake coffee drinker that I am, opted for a chai latte. I actually found it to be quite good because the flavor wasn't overwhelming.

Georgetown's great for shopping and I had the chance to visit a few new stores for the first time. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos, so I'll do my best at being descriptive.

- Massimo Dutti is the higher-end version of Zara with seemingly better quality and a price point to match. Two items caught my eye, a pair of chain ballerina flats and a striped dress. I didn't see my size for either, so I didn't try them on. See Elle's experience with the brand.

- My cousin wanted to check out Barbour, a name that felt familiar but I couldn't quite place. They're a British company known for their outdoor wax jackets. I ended up trying their navy Liddesdale quilted jacket with a fun floral print on the inside lining. This is when a photo would be handy, but I'll be relying on my memory instead. The sleeves were a bit roomy and long, which was perfect to cuff so the floral pattern shows. A size 4 fits me just right in the shoulders and best throughout the torso with not much room for layers underneath. A size 6 fits comfortably when I tried it on over a sweatshirt. I passed because I needed time to mull over.

- I've been using an old purple round chair with metal legs as my reading chair. I'm an adult now and I figured it's time to find a more mature reading chair as a replacement. We stopped by Jonathan Adler, which reminds me of a higher-end C. Wonder that also sells furniture. The colors and patterns are bright and trendy with a preppy feel. It's a pretty store but most items were out of my price range. We then stopped by CB2 and I may have just found what I'm looking for in this parlour tweed chair. It's comfortable, not too big (space is limited), and not too feminine that DH would object. I love the tweed material and actually would love to get my hands on a blazer or pair of pants in that fabric. Now I just have to figure out if the chair is worth retail or if I should hold out for a sale.

That's it for a quick tour of DC. Thank you for letting me share!