新年快樂
恭禧發財
gong hei fat choi to the rest of you!
This year, my trip to DC coincided with Chinese New Year! So, with not much else on the agenda for the day, I decided to go to ChinaTown and see how it is done in DC.
Now Chinatown here is, for want of a better word, tiny. When compared to New York or San Francisco’s. It is mainly a number of restaurants and shops spread across a few blocks. With a cultural centre located somewhere in the middle.
However, it did not stop them putting on a parade which people came out in force to see. Although I was kinda disappointed by the distinct lack of floats.
As one little girl with her family described it…
“I spent two hours standing to watch people walking”
Best. Line. Ever
It was not a massive disappointment though. The Chinatown Community Cultural Centre (that’s a lot of “C”s) staged a number of events throughout the day, including Go classes, ping pong, martial arts demonstrations, and a lion dance!
I always love watching people do Tai Chi and see the slight differences between how I have been taught, and other schools (all within the Yang style).
And yes, I can’t help but be a little judgemental when watching others do it. Which is bad of me since I know I’m also just a beginner.
In the end, it was a nice way to spend a few hours, and the weather was bright and sunny, which means I can walk around.
As always the next thing on the agenda was to find food. And being in Chinatown, the choice was simple…
Burgers, and fries! Courtesy of Red Apron Butchers near Penn Quarter
What? It was absolutely rammed in Chinatown, there was a snowball’s chance in a pizza oven of me getting a place for one in there.
So I found Red Apron, where I had a lovely chat with some people who were also at the “parade”.
They mentioned that the Navy Yards had been done up since the last time I was there and I should take a look. There were also a number of restaurants there too.
Let’s do the math.
I’ve just had a burger and a load of fries, Navy Yards is a 40-minute walk. That’s enough “exercise” to justify eating when I get there right?
Forty minutes (maybe longer, I’m not the fastest walker) later I am at the Navy Yard. And it is everything I remember.
The bridge is still there.
But there are more restaurants for sure.
What I did not expect was that I arrived around sunset. So I tried to get a decent photo of it.
Not how I envisaged it, but I cannot complain.
As always it was a great time in DC, and I look forward to coming back again.
In the meantime though, time to hit New Orleans.
