Day Trippin' - an afternoon in Alexandria

When I lived in Austin, my roommate and I had lofty plans to write an inspiration-filled travel blog, full of anecdotes of where to go (and where not to go) on our various adventures, be they for one day, one week, or even longer. I loved the idea, but sort of let it drop (aside from my really long Argentina post - see January), and it's time to revive the concept! As I venture out and about, I'll capture all the details in a post - for personal scrapbooking purposes and to hopefully inspire you! I found a great resource for day trips / weekend escapes on Washingtonian, and by combining ideas from that and other sites, have put together a couple of repeat-worthy day trips around the area.

The first was a day spent wandering around lovely Old Town Alexandria. Just a short metro ride away (blue or yellow line to King Street, then either a free trolley or ~1 mile walk to the water), it was a great way to spend the first warm Saturday in spring.

We walked from the metro down King St, all the way to the Torpedo Factory. Sadly, it was closed - but it's a great spot to check out art - and talk to the actual artists - for an hour or two. After peeking in the windows, we watched street performers and looked at the lovely waterfront.

King Street on a Saturday night is a busy place - bookstores, art galleries, and furniture stores make for great wandering and window-browsing. Old Town also offers a ghost tour, at $10 / person - you can sign up at the Visitors' Center. We chose to walk along Prince St (parallel to King) and look at the ornate houses instead - if you look closely, posted signs describe the detailed history of each house.

We failed to get reservations at PX - but it's on the list for next time! Instead, we got a glass of wine at Grape + Bean - which I love, despite the high-priced wine. I think it's the atmosphere - hip, low-key, great for date night. Dinner was at the Majestic - and I agree with Sapun when he said it was one of the best meals we've had yet in the area. Fantastic 'upscale, diner-style' food, perfect service...and pretty amazing history (the "Old Majestic" opened in 1932!). I definitely want to go back there, and plan to make room for dessert then. I got the whole grilled fish - recommended, although it freaked out the vegetarian a little - and Sapun opted for the manicotti - the leftovers of which were even better the next day as lunch. Yum!

Stuffed, we headed back home right after eating - all in all, a great evening out. Since many of the shops close a bit on the early side, I wish we'd gotten there before 6 pm for a bit more wandering. But, there's always next time...