August 25th marked the start of new journey. Sean and I left CT behind for Denver, CO. I'm looking at is as a fresh start, a new beginning if you will, since I've never lived outside of CT, ever! Before our CO living began, we did take a trip to Washington D.C., since I had never been. I know right!?!?! The drive was great and not as long as I imagined 5 and half hours to be. Sean was my navigator, so that helped...time flies when we're together. He was working while I was driving. Oh, Tahoe, Sean's three year old chocolate lab was with us too, so he kept us company. Traffic was good and the weather was even better. We made it to D.C. in no time and were able to drop Tahoe off at his doggie hotel for the next few days. We spent our stay in McLean, VA, only about a 10 minute drive from the capital. That night, after settling in we went out for a relaxing dinner not too far from where we were staying, Chimas. It turned out to be quite the dining experience! I'd heard of Brazilian steakhouses, just never been to one. A vast salad bar stood before for us before our true feast began!! We were told by the waitress the items available, but we needed to to a look through, a first pass, before we could fill our plates. Cheeses, vegetables, meats, salads, dishes we wouldn't think to be offered at a salad bar. We had to try the traditional Brazilian fare, black bean soup with pork, sprinkled with yucca flour. That may have been my favorite. I'd heard of it, seen in on menus before, just never tried one like this. Excellent flavoring, the bay leaf came out nicely and the pork was so tender it easily broke off my fork as I lifted it to my mouth. The yucca flour added a nice crunch. Once salad was started, the gauchos came around with the eye popping meat, skewers of it. There was a round card placed by our plates that read "Yes, thank you" on one side, and "No, thank you" on the other. We didn't know what these were for at first, but were told by our waitress. We were suppose to flip them over for the men to read when we were read y for what ever meat they walked around with. I don't think they paid much attention at that point in the night, since they were coming up to use one after the other offering selections. Fillet, then lamb, sirloin streak, followed by chicken coated in Parmesan cheese, then brisket...it went on and on. I really enjoyed the lamb, as did Sean. I think that would have to be one of my favorites. They served us polenta fries as a side that were very delicious, I want to try to make them! We were stuffed, but saved room for dessert, of course. I thought passion fruit mousse would be a good choice. It was served with hot chocolate, in its own serving pot, miniature of course, that added just the right sweet touch to the tart mousse. Needless to say Sean and I loved it all!! We'll have to hold off for a bit before we try something like that again, because there was so much to eat!!!
After the restaurant, Sean wanted to take me to see D.C.. At night it was beautiful!! As we drove closer, the Washington Monument appeared in the night sky. "Wow!" I said. It was more stunning that I thought it would be. We drove closer I could see what was so special about the city. The architecture was incredible...it didn't seem like an American city. We read the names on the buildings, treasury, department of agriculture...
Then we approached the Capital Building! That was beautiful at night. I wish we could have gotten a closer look. It really was an amazing sight to see. My first time seeing anything like that! Thanks Sean for taking me!
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