Foodie Friday! - Washington Version.

My boyfriend and i went to Washington DC a few weeks ago and my friend Jess brought us to Vapiano, a cute restaurant in their 'China Town' that specialized in home made pasta dishes. The atmosphere was dim light, spacious, with lots of high and low tables. There were some couch chairs and small tables in one corner and the place was PACKED!

I had these really fun squiggly pasta shapes, with scampi sauce, shrimp and added broccoli [my favorite!!]

They gave us fresh bread and olive oil, which was delicious. [almost always a winner in my book] The pasta dish was quite yummy; a nice amount of both shrimp and veggie, but the sauce was a tad bland for me. The pasta was a [smidgen] too al dente, but that's just my preference. 

The boy and Jess really enjoyed their meals too, and we totally enjoyed tasting each others pasta dishes. 

In a city with lots of expensive or fast food restaurants, i would recommend Vapiano's if you're looking for a pretty decent Italian place.

I wonder what shape of pasta i'll try next time we go to DC? 

Hmm...

Until then...!

-jenipher

Oh Cali, how i miss thee today...

So..i woke up this morning, reminising about California. I miss how beautiful it was there, the freedom of not having to be anywhere specific, the company :) , and just generally traveling.












I've never craved travel before in my life time, and since this trip and after meeting some travel emthusisit friends, i want to go EVERYWHERE now.

* Portland (THIS really should be soon!) (Crossing fingers!)
* New York City
* Brooklyn
* Savannah
* Chicago
* Seattle
* North Carolina

Those are all on the "soon i hope" list. :)



Oh yesh...I miss this too. :)

I can tell you about NC in 6 images...

I returned home from North Carolina a couple of days ago, and it has been quite hard to adjust back to reality after being in a fantasy world [ie: vacation] for 13 days. My trip was definitely an interesting adventure. It was nice to get away, and i enjoyed seeing my friends. I had the best travel buddy, successfully learned how to use the NC bus and train system, and ate and drank a large abyss of wonderful goodies.



Tree.

I believe one of the biggest differences between Florida and North Carolina are the trees. NC had the most amazing trees. There was such a variety, some flowering, some waiting patiently for spring time. This tree captivated me. This tree was found on a nature hike Mel, Camilo and I took in Charlotte.



Jump.

I love this picture. I think it's one of my favorites. This image defines why my friends are so much fun.



Cupcake.

Polka Dot Bakery had THE cutest ad in this local women's newspaper. Just based on the ad alone, i was determined to visit. I was slightly disapointed in the decor of this small, somewhat hidden bakery, but honestly, you MUST visit Polka Dot if your ever in town. The cupcakes were exquisite. Very flavorful. Great presentation. Highly recommended!



Friendship.

I have an obsession with houses. Doll Houses. Cottages. I love any home in a sweet spring time color. Honestly, one of my life's goals is to find and buy the perfect "doll house". There were many in NC that came close. This house was definitely a favorite, plus it had a ledge outside it which was perfect for taking timed images. This was my favorite pose when i was in middle school. Quality pose eh?



Church.

I really wanted to take touristy images, but there weren't really any touristy places in Charlotte. There were dozens of beautiful churches though. I wanted to take pictures in front of them waving and such, but they were just to terrible. I like this perspective of the church much better.



Pizza.

Pizza is one of my favorite foods, but honestly, 80% of pizza places suck. We had pizza three times in NC. Fuel pizza had a really cute atmosphere, but the pizza itself wasn't wonderful. We ate at a yummy pizza place (I'm sorry i can't find the name right now) in South End, close to Uptown Charlotte, and i was quite impressed. On the way back from Asheville Camilo and I stopped at the CUTEST town called Black Mountain. [More about Black Mountain later] and had salad and pizza. It was absolutely delicious. The pizza above is from "My Father's Pizza" place in Black Mountain.