August 2016 – Perpetual Voyager

When August arrived a few weeks ago, I was happily anticipating a little rest and relaxation. August was supposed to be my quiet time after nearly three straight months of rapid-fire, mostly work-related travel through Asia, Africa, Europe, Florida, and Connecticut: time to soak up DC’s summer charms before leaving for my vacation to London, Slovenia and Croatia.

Except, on a whim, I searched online for apartments one morning to see what was available in my neighborhood, and ended up moving into a newer, bigger space upstairs in my building (yay!). So moving, buying new furniture, and shopping for home goods dominated the first few weeks of the month. Not to mention I took a lightning-quick day trip up to New York City to meet up with college friends I hadn’t seen in years. We had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing, and I got to eat what is without a doubt the most impressive milkshake/sundae I’ve ever had in my life at Black Tap. I already can’t wait to go back next time I’m in NYC for work—and I’ll save room for one of their legendary burgers too!

So, August hasn’t exactly been the quiet, peaceful month I anticipated a few weeks ago, but it has definitely been productive! In more ways than one: I’ve also gotten to check several long-held goals off my DC bucket list. Here’s a bit of what I’ve been up to in my hometown this month, and what I hope to get to soon once I return from the road:

Nationals baseball field in DC

My First Baseball Game in Nationals Park! I’ve never been much of a baseball fan, but my dad has been rooting passionately for the San Francisco Giants ever since they were the New York Giants back in his youth. This year, I decided it was time to check out a game in person, so some friends and I booked tickets for the Nats-Giants matchup in early August. It was actually really fun! I was afraid I’d be bored sitting through a whole nine innings of baseball with no escape (sorry, Dad!), but it actually turned out to be much more interesting to watch the game in person than it is on TV. The atmosphere was great, the weather was perfect, and the stadium has Shake Shack(!) Even though the Giants lost, it was still a fantastic evening.
My First-Ever Restaurant Week: Every August, DC holds Restaurant Week, when you can dine at fancy places and try out a range of cuisines and sample special menus for a fixed price. And every year, I say I want to go but always fail to follow through…until now. My friend and I have booked a table at one of DC’s swankest restaurants for Friday evening, and I am so excited for a gourmet experience at a relatively bargain price! Maybe I’ll transition into being a foodie blogger (although my main criteria for restaurant selection was location and the presence of chocolate lava cake on the menu, so probably not).

And a few others I’m still hoping to check off in the next month or so:

Outdoor Yoga: I’ve always been intrigued when I passed by the swathe of people getting their yoga on in Farragut Square, but I was also a bit nervous about downward-dogging and planking in front of a crowd of commuters. But the other day, my coworker, who knows I love yoga, brought in a flier about this outdoor yoga program, and I knew the time had come to take the plunge. The yoga sessions happen on Tuesdays through late September, so I’ve got time, but I will definitely make it happen this year!
Botanical Gardens: This is one of those places in DC I’ve been meaning to get to for ages but somehow, I still haven’t visited. I’m determined to slot it into a weekend in September once I’m back from Europe. In fact, I almost popped in the other day between meetings when I was nearby, but decided to hold off so I can give it the attention and time it deserves.
Food truck tasting: Another weird fact about me: I’ve lived in DC for umpteen years and NEVER EATEN FROM A FOOD TRUCK. Seriously, that is crazy. Food trucks are huge in DC, especially in the downtown area where I work. My coworker and I have plans to go check out the trucks soon for lunch, so this will be an easy and delicious item to check off the list!

I leave for Europe in just a week, so I’m determined to enjoy all the DC summer I can before it’s gone. Hot and humid it may be, but I love this time of year: blue skies, warm sunshine, long days, and a feeling of infinite possibility and excitement. Here’s to the rest of August being as great as (and slightly more relaxing than) as the first half!

Have you visited DC in summer? Any items on your own local bucket list?

The plane was about to touch down, signaling the end of a long, eight-hour night flight from southern Africa to the heart of Europe. I stared out the window, nearly vibrating with excitement, smiling more broadly than I have upon arrival in a city in a very long time. As we landed and disembarked, and I set foot on French soil for the first time in nearly a decade, all I could think was, “I’m in PARIS!”

I was in the City of Lights for a work trip, but that didn’t stop me from squeezing in every moment I could to luxuriate in being back in one of my favorite cities in the world and revisit all my favorite corners of it. I’d say I did a pretty admirable job of tackling some of Paris’s greatest hits in just a few days: light on the monuments (all of which I’ve seen before) but heavy on the cafes and the food. I briefly visited the Louvre, of course, and stopped in at my favorite café in the world, Café Angelina (home of the sumptuous hot chocolate l’africaine, the darkest, richest chocolate concoction you are ever likely to drink). I also hit up Les Deux Magots—haunt of Ernest Hemingway, and home to more sumptuous drinking chocolate (sense a theme here?), enjoyed drinks with coworkers in sight of the Eiffel Tower after work, and dined at my favorite Paris restaurant, Le Relais D’Entrecote—where it’s all steak and frites, all the time, except with salad and bread thrown in for free because, you know, this is Paris and they’re civilized like that. And I discovered an amazing gelato spot right outside my hotel in Montparnasse which crafts ice cream cones in the shape of roses!

My visit to Paris was a brief one filled mostly with meetings and with most of my precious hours spent sitting in conference rooms, but it was still magical. Why? Partly because of all the food and drinks and the pure joy of wandering the streets of the city, taking in the charming shops and restaurants and cafes and the timeless Parisian architecture. Partly because I got to speak French for the first time in years, and being able to communicate in the local language makes me feel just a teeny bit like a local. Partly because I feel like Paris gets me, and I get Paris. I understand the lure of a place where it’s okay to just sit and eat and drink and read in cafes all day, rather than feeling the need to be a typical tourist productively checking activities off a pre-determined list.

Hot chocolate at Les Deux Magots

But mostly, I think my time in Paris was magical because I adored the feeling of getting to return to a place I already knew and loved. I rarely do that. Over the past decade I’ve spent much of my travel energy chasing after the new, the exciting, the exotic. Istanbul! Buenos Aires! Thailand! South Africa! Every chance I’ve gotten over the past few years, I’ve booked myself to the newest, shiniest, most distant place my mind could envision…and believe me, I loved those trips and I’m glad I took them. But they also cut down on the amount of time I had to return to places I’d already grown to love; it’s hard to justify going back to rediscover the past when your inner traveler feels like the clock is constantly ticking on new adventures.

It was work that brought me to Paris, and I couldn’t be happier that it did. After years of vaguely thinking how nice it would be to return, I finally had the chance to go back and soak up everything I loved about one of my favorite cities in the world…and to remember how magical it can be to stop searching for the next great place and rediscover all the reasons you already love the ones you do.

Have you been to Paris? What are your favorite spots in the city? What parts of the world do you love to return to again and again?

Monthly Archive: August 2016

August Update: Checking Things Off My DC Bucket List

Paris and the Joy of Return Visits