Walt

Walt is not always the greatest fan of DC – there are way too many politicians, the weather is terrible (as is the Metro) and the city’s rats are the largest he’s ever seen. He is, however, appreciative of the city's diverse cultural offerings, which he thoroughly enjoys and organizes his social life around. On Wednesday Walt went to the Austrian Cultural Forum for the opening of the exhibition Vienna Café 1900. While he wasn’t overly excited by the show, he did enjoy the talk “The Viennese Café and the Social Life of the City,” as well as the piano and oboe concert by Duo Savage. The evening left him dreaming of Vienna (and its cakes), as it’s been much too long since his last visit.

Thursday night Walt stopped by the Art Museum of the Americas to hear Rafael Lozano Hemmer discuss his various projects. The artist was a great speaker, and Wally thoroughly enjoyed the talk. Hemmer’s Vectorial Elevation will light up the Vancouver night sky during the 2010 Winter Olympics, and while the public installation has been previously displayed in numerous cities, this is the first time it will be done over water. One has to go to Vancouver to see the exhibition, however anybody can design how the 10,000-watt lights move from the comfort of his/her home by accessing the project’s website - a personalized webpage will be automatically created for each participant to document his/her design. Walt is looking forward to creating his design, and urges everybody to participate.


Unfortunately Walt had to leave before the Q&A session began, as he had committed to attending a kick-off party for the L’Enfant Society. The L’Enfant Society is a group of young professionals who support the Trust for the National Mall in its mission to raise funds to restore the Mall. Walt enjoyed catching up with friends at K Street Lounge, and was easily convinced to join the group. What can he say, there’s nothing like expanding one’s opportunities to socialize for a good cause!

Kookette

Kookette knows that sometimes the most fun evenings turn out to be those when one hadn’t planned on doing much at all. Feeling the need for some post-holiday detox, she had envisioned a quiet weekend in, with evenings spent in front of a roaring fire. Her only Saturday night plan was to quickly stop by a reception at Irvine Contemporary. The gallery’s current show features Kerry Skarbakka’s The Struggle to Right Oneself, an ongoing photography project in which he stages himself in scenes of losing balance and control, and Sebastian Martorana’s Uncommissioned Memorials, a series of marble sculptures focusing on themes like everyday objects and memory and memoralization.


Kookette had such a grand time checking out the art and catching up with friends she hadn’t seen since the holidays that she completely lost track of time. She knew the chance of her having a well-behaved evening in was slim when the magnum of bubbly appeared (albeit Cristalino, but if it has bubbles and isn’t Asti Spumante she’ll drink it. And if she’s really desperate she might even drink Asti). It didn’t take much to convince Kookette to head to the after-party at Eatonville. She was anything but impressed with the restaurant’s service – not only was the (rather large) party's reserved table not anywhere near ready, but a waiter kicked her and some friends out of one of the empty tables at the bar. Kookette never made it to the dinner table, but had a fabulous time hanging out at the bar (she was allowed to sit on the stools) drinking cocktails and nibbling on rather tasty three cheese mac and cheese and Cajun fries. She was not particularly proud of herself for ending up at McDonald's at 2am, but their fries are good too, and at least there she and her friends had a table. And, of course, there’s always tomorrow for detoxing!

Backpack

Like Cliff, Backpack happily escaped the cold to welcome in the New Year in sunny Southern California. However, as his travel usually involves heading to another country he felt slightly confused upon finding himself still in the United States after a long flight on a United 777 (his airplane of choice to Europe). To remedy the situation Backpack decided to look for the foreign in Los Angeles.


His first stop was Olvera Street, the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles. He took the Metro Gold Line from Pasadena to Union Station (contrary to popular belief there is public transportation in the LA area…and some people even walk), and crossed the street into a bit of Mexico in LA.


Backpack wandered around the colorful marketplace and plaza, and took a peek inside Avila Adobe, the oldest house in Los Angeles. The sight of all the Mexican food made him rather hungry, but as the restaurants were crowded he decided to wait and indulge in Mexican food at Señor Fish, just a short walk from where he was staying in Pasadena. He greatly enjoyed his big glass of horchata and a very yummy vegetarian sope (he has yet to find a decent sope in DC…if anybody knows of a place please let him know!).


Having gotten his taste of Mexico, Backpack decided to take further advantage of the city’s diversity and get in some German culture. He thus made his way to the Alpine Village in Torrance, where he wandered the shops in search of German Christmas decorations and accessories.


Of course the highlight of any trip to the Alpine Village is the grocery store, which is stocked with German treats and has a great bakery. Backpack tried to be good, but couldn’t resist a fresh poppy seed Kranz, which he devoured rather quickly. What can he say, he likes his carbs, and calories don’t count on vacation anyway.

Cliff

Cliff is always sad when the holiday season comes to an end. One of the things he dislikes most is taking down his festive Christmas decorations, which he typically does on Epiphany. Because he finds the décor so cheery he thought about keeping it up until Candlemas, but knows that would just be putting off the inevitable. What he does not understand, however, are the many neighbors who take down their trees the day after Christmas (apparently they are not familiar with the twelve days of).


Cliff had a wonderful holiday season, which included celebrating the New Year with friends in Pasadena. He arrived the evening of the 31st to lovely weather, a Mexican feast and lots of bubbly (he was particularly fond of the Henriot Souverain Brut). His friends’ home was filled with beautiful Christmas decorations, and there was still plenty of festive holiday spirit to be found.


He enjoyed waddling the streets of Old Town Pasadena, where he shopped the sales and admired the Christmas tree covered in shiny gold and red ornaments. And of course no trip to Old Town would be complete without indulging in frozen yogurt from 21 Choices.


During his trip Cliff was also able to partake in the 35th birthday celebration of one of his hosts. They marked the occasion with dinner (and a drink or two) at The Parkway Grill, a restaurant specializing in Regional American cuisine. Of course Cliff, never one to resist a good breadbasket (especially when filled with tasty cheese breadsticks and fig-studded bread), was full by the time his meal arrived.


Cliff had a wonderful visit with his friends, and was sad to return to a rather chilly Washington. But, at least he can console himself with the knowledge that in less than 11 months he can start thinking about Christmas again!

Stripey

Stripey also had a very merry Christmas (and hopes you did too). A creative sort, evidenced by his unique and festive attire, he likes to put his artistic skills to work in the kitchen. Thus, while others baked various Christmas treats he decided to try his hand at marzipan art. He made the mushrooms for the traditional Bûche de Noël, but it was his marzipan penguins that he was most proud of (and which he insisted be admired, not eaten).


The day after Christmas, in true American fashion, Stripey went shopping. Sadly the shops in the Spotsylvania Towne Center and Central Park did not have the same abundance of discounted merchandise that they did last year, but he was still able to find some penguin themed goodies. Fighting the bargain hunters took a lot of energy, so after making his purchases Stripey decided to indulge in french fries at Five Guys.


He knew he did not need yet another not too healthy treat, but showing restraint over the holidays is just so boring (and it’s not like he ordered the large anyway).

Christmas Skipper and Reindeer Opus

Christmas Skipper and Reindeer Opus had a very merry Christmas and hope you did too. They celebrated with friends and family in Fawn Lake, Virginia, which was a winter wonderland due to the snow that blanked the region the weekend before. The house was very cozy, and they spent much of the holiday weekend sitting in front of a roaring fire admiring the lovely tree and Christmas décor.


When not doing this they were likely eating…perhaps a little too much, but of course calories do not count at Christmas (and who can resist all of the cookies and treats such as homemade cinnamon rolls, chilaquiles, porcini potatoes and artichoke lasagna). And they figured they were able to burn off at least some of the calories dancing to their favorite Christmas carols (nothing beats Elvis).


Christmas Skipper and Reindeer Opus have to admit that while they know it’s the spirit of Christmas that is the most important, they really do like giving and receiving gifts. Every year they eagerly await Christmas morning, and this year, as always, they were not disappointed (they might just have come home with a new friend or two).


They would also like to remind everybody that it’s only the fifth day of Christmas, so there is no need for the merriment to end just yet (although a day or two of food and alcohol detox might be advisable...if only to be in top form for New Year's Eve)!

Elsny

Like most Washington area residents, Elsny’s many plans for the weekend before Christmas did not materialize, due to the well over a foot of snow that blanketed the region. The snow provided an excuse for a very lazy Saturday morning (and to skip the gym), but after a nice lie in he was ready to bundle up and brave the great outdoors. Elsny was greatly rewarded for his efforts, as one of his favorite local spots, the Amsterdam Falafelshop, was open.


He indulged in their tasty falafel, and eagerly dove into their too yummy for words fries (the best in DC and beyond). During his visit he discovered that the owners live above the shop, and that he can always count on them in inclement weather (until 4 in the morning!).


Elsny enjoyed his adventure in the snow, but was happy to return to his warm apartment – nothing like a cozy winter evening in front of the fireplace, with friends and a glass or two of bubbly!