DC vacation

a good friend of mine went out of town this week and asked me to housesit for her at her gorgeous place in dupont circle. i greeted this invitation with glee - her condo is in an incredibly desirable neighborhood, and her home itself is stunning - high ceilings, hardwood floors, beautiful kitchen, two bedrooms and full baths... including a shower for two... so, basically, in return for taking care of her adorable kitty, i got to pretend i was a lucky girl living in the city for a couple days. so sunday evening i parked my car in her spot behind the building and gave myself over to the life, however briefly.

i wasn't feeling so hot that night, but once cam arrived he easily talked me into walking around the neighborhood in search of dinner. we ended up at one of my favorite spots, thai chef, and ordered up a tablefull of food - miso soup, salad with ginger dressing, and sushi for me, green curry for cam. between the warm weather and good food and perfect company, i started to feel a bit better. we wandered home and curled up on the couch for an episode of entourage - special, since i don't have hbo! the next morning i got to walk to work (instead of my usual walk to bus stop - bus to train - train to work trip), an incredible treat, and i arrived at work refreshed and sunny, rather than harried and commute-beaten. walking home from work was equally pleasant, and when i got "home" i cracked open a beer and awaited cam's arrival. he's been dying to take me out for ethiopian food, a cuisine i have shunned after 2 less-than-delicious outings, and that night i relented. after a quick stop at the hardware store to pick up a hostess gift of sorts (a lightbulb for my friend's refrigerator, which had gone dark), we walked over to dukem on u street and it was magical. i truly felt like we were on vacation in an exotic locale - not africa, necessarily, just anywhere that isn't here, that isn't the states. the food was delicious, there was a live band and dancers, the waitstaff all wore gauzy white dresses, and i didn't ever want to leave.

packing up the next morning was tough... hopefully we left the place as good or better than we found it, and will be invited back!