Baby Charly

Although Baby Charly loves a good party he is also very much a one on one kind of penguin who likes to schedule gossip dates as often as possible. He had a packed social calendar this week, and was able to catch up with various friends he hadn’t seen in a while. He planned his first date at the National Gallery of Art (one of his favorite places in DC) as he wanted to catch The Sacred Made Real exhibition before it closed. His trip to the Gallery was somewhat stressful due to smoke issues on Metro's tracks and a lack of proper communication (no surprise there), but once Baby Charly arrived he relaxed immediately. He loved the 17th Century Spanish art, especially the fabulous sculptures – his favorite was Mary Magdalene Meditating on the Crucifixion. Afterwards he and his friend went to the Espresso and Gelato Bar in the East Building’s Concourse Level for coffee and gossip. Although he resisted the gelato, he highly recommends it if you find yourself at the Gallery.


Tuesday Baby Charly ventured out to the suburbs (which he avoids as much as possible, unless of course he is craving Dairy Queen) to meet up with a friend at the Clarendon Le Pain Quotidien. He does admit to being a fan of that particular Pain Quotidien, as it is always quiet on weekday evenings and thus a very relaxing place to sit and chat. They also stopped by Kinder Haus Toys for a little shopping, so that his friend could check out the Smurfs. Baby Charly agreed that they are festive creatures, but of course not nearly as fabulous as penguins.


The week’s activities also included a friend’s birthday drinks at Zola, which Baby Charly thought was a most civilized choice of venue for Cinco de Mayo. Call him a snob, but he does not feel the need to celebrate a “Mexican” holiday that is primarily celebrated in the United States, and especially not with bad chemical laden margaritas and cheap tequila shots. He had a great time catching up with the birthday girl and meeting her friends, and showed remarkable discipline by sticking to Diet Coke. But, lest you think he’s gone boring, it was primarily motivated by the gala packed weekend ahead of him (discipline always goes out the door when there’s free flowing bubbly).