Baguette?

Brunch at the crepe place in my neighborhood on Sunday left me daydreaming about opening a tiny French cafe, wearing a beret and a striped shirt, and riding a bike with a baguette in the basket to and from work. But alas, I would look ridiculous with no sexy French accent to make up for the beret.

It's Bastille Day on Wednesday, so they were celebrating early with decorations of red, white, and blue flags and feather boas. The proprietress came out at one point and offered a baguette giveaway for the right answer to a trivia question. Can you answer these questions without a lifeline or Google?

What is the capital of Burgundy? How many prisoners were released on Bastille day? How many stages are there in the Tour de France? When was the Eiffel Tower completed?

We were pitiful and couldn't answer them either. Finally she took pity on us and gave us a hint and a man at an adjacent table did the math quicker than us and got the free baguette.

Sitting in the Seats of Presidents

Having an out of town guest is a great excuse to be a tourist in your own town and in Alexandria there is no dearth of things to see and learn. We started the day with a fun and informative walking tour of Old Town with a charming southern lady named Dell. She started the tour by saying "Well let me tell you, you're going to like my tour." And we did.

We walked from shade to shade and learned the history of our community and country. A perfect 4th of July weekend activity. Dell even let us into to Christ Church with her own key, since even though it was closed to the public, she's a member of the congregation. Once inside, we sat in the pew where George Washington sat when he attended the church and where every president since him has also sat at least once.

After some more touring of Alexandria and a visit to my office building to take in views of the whole city, we stopped at Dairy Godmother for some frozen custard. And sat just near where Obama sat while eating ice cream with his daughters. I guess we're pretty lucky to live here and hobnob with the seats of past and present Presidents.

Braddock Road Sunset