DC on Day One

OOooooooof! We had an early flight! The hub had business in DC and I jumped on board after Miss Sherrie told me she would stay with the kid and mom. Yay! I was really ready for a weekend away with the hub. And, it just so happened to fall on Valentine's Day. How nice is that?

I didn't tell a soul until I actually got there and even then there were some I didn't have time to see. It's always a whirlwind, as you know, when you only have a few days to do everything. The hub's business meetings were downtown so we chose to stay at the Hotel Monaco. My brother had shown me where the old F Street post office had been transformed into this wonderful new hotel when I was there last January when Johnny was in the hospital. This is our old stomping grounds while growing up. Our photo studio was at 6th and F Streets, NW and there were many a day I had to bring the postage meter up here to have postage installed. It was built in 1842 and was designed by Robert Mills, the same architect that designed the Washington Monument. It was the first all-marble building in DC. The old neighborhood has changed so much. No longer is the big Hecht Company that took up the corner of 6th and F, nor is there Woodward & Lothrop's flagship store. F Street was the shopping district with all the big department stores in the 60s. This is where, at Christmas, the store windows would be full of beautiful Holiday scenes much like the NYC store windows. Later, in the 70s, this area became a little on the ragged side. But now, it's hopping! I could barely recognize anything! That's hard. Makes you feel old.

Across the street is the Portrait Gallery. I had many a lunch up in the little cafeteria here. Thank goodness, it looked the same!

We grabbed lunch in the hotel's restaurant, The Poste, while waiting for our room to be cleaned. Yum.

The hub had the special of the day, fish and chips, all wrapped in The Washington Post. I loved it!

I ordered the Serrano ham and manchego baguette. It was sooo good, except the little anchovy in the middle. Ew.

We did a little exploring while we waited a little longer and was just amazed at the beauty of the old place. This is the lobby.

A little side nook.

A side entrance.

A lounging area.

And the most gorgeous staircase I have ever seen. I wish I had gone to the top and taken a photo looking down. Next time.

When we finally made it to the room, it was spectacular. I showed you the hallway in my first post. And our little fish, Bill Cosby. So much fun. Thomas Jefferson kept an eye on the place at all times.

The ceilings were so high. I suppose these were all offices back in the day. You can see where they walled in the addition of a bath. I was dying to see what was on top of it. Do you think people throw little mementos up there? I thought about doing so but didn't. tehe.

Look at the robe and socks they supply! Reeeer!

And the bed was scrumptious!

The hub had to work so I went out to Arlington and visited my brother Johnny. It was good seeing him and he was doing well!

That night we had dinner at Jaleo, my favorite tapas restaurant. The hub had not been here, and it was a true treat for both of us. We just ooh'd and awed all night at chef Jose Andres' concoctions. BTW, he now has his own TV show, Made in Spain! Too bad we missed when my bf Tony Bourdain was running around town with him! That would have been fun to spot those two carousing the streets.

We walked back across the street to the hotel and crawled into bed and fell into a tapas coma. It was wonderful being home. So good for the soul.