Friday morning at the crack of dawn.
OK I left the house at 4:30 AM and I DID NOT post on PBPlease forgive moi :(
Bonjour 
In Washington everything is on a grand scale including Union Station.
And the Metro is divine. Hello NYC MTA? Faites attention.
The Alliance Francaise de Washington is right in the midst of embassy row. Row upon row of simply gorgeous maisons.
My name was on the door. I have to crow a bit.
25 Paris facade watercolors are on view.
More than 100 (!) people showed up for the vernissage/opening. 
Somehow through the blur of people and pictures, I spotted what looked decidedly like a macaron bag 
What was inside the box? 
The end of the soiree turned into a macaron fete! Comparing macaron 'feet' and parfums etc. Educational director, Sarah Pickup-Diligenti tests one out. Well we all did. And guest, Alexander, shared how easy it was to bake your own macarons! Poor guest Christopher's macarons from Michel Patisserie were more or less decimated. This is what happens when you dare to walk around with macaron bags in tow. Beware! 
Saturday morning I received email instructions from Merisi of Vienna (a former DCer) that I must go to Eastern Market and off I went. 
The Market Lunch is the place to eat brunch.
Not to worry about the long lines either. You will meet people who will only be too happy to advise you what to order when your chance at last comes.
Darlene insisted I order crab cakes, fried green tomatos and grits. Best crab cakes on the planet IMHO. 
They had the buckwheat with blueberry and grits.
Then an appointment with a lady in a red hat at the National Gallery.
Carol, congratulations on your well-attended vernissage! It is no surprise that the macarons were totally consumed. Love all the photos! As for eating your way through DC, well it's not like you were wasting calories on Twinkies and M&Ms! You had an obligation to experience and evaluate the offerings of DC, n'est-ce pas?
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie
Congrats, Carol! How exciting. Loving experiencing your travels vicariously. Keep up the excellent work.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, carolg! I love DC too! PS - just a little adjustment: it's Mont Blanc, but Maison *Blanche*.
ReplyDeleteBrava, Carol! And thanks, too, for reminding me how much I love DC.
ReplyDeleteThat's our job to eat our way thru a visiting city. What fun you must be having!
ReplyDeleteHi Carol...
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you rec'd my email...obviously I could not make it. I'm glad it was so well-attended. More people will be visiting before the 1 Nov closing date (people should know that--it's open here 'til then).
Eastern Market is the best & I'm glad you went...on a normal Saturday I might have bumped into you but...it was not a normal Saturday.
Glad you like our town & I had to laugh though about Metro. It's so bad now that most people (like me) who brag about it, keep our mouth shut. I'm glad it behaved well for you.
ciao
Susan (& Giulia is so mad at me that I couldn't just send her in a taxi on Friday....)
"who brag about it" - the Metro. "Used to brag about it." I had to put it in there. I mean when it's the subject of criminal investigations...ahem.
ReplyDeleteS.
I really enjoyed my virtual trip to Washington DC with you and to your wonderful show. I hope it's a sell out.
ReplyDeleteSo very beautiful.Thanks very much for all the great views into Paris( and DC ). You are AMAZING! Very inspirational... inspiring me to make reservations to go to PARIS!
ReplyDeletemerci!
Oh Carol, your showing looked wonderful! My cousin and I were planning to attend, but she had to leave town at the last minute. Et alors, I was told it was booked to capacity!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed Eastern Market and made it over to Capitol Hill! I know I live there so I might be a tad bit biased, but it's the best neighborhood in D.C., à mon avis! And I had to laugh at your glowing praise of the Metro. I'm glad it behaved for you, but on a day to day basis, c'est horrible!
Come back to D.C. soon, please, and bring some more lovely macarons!
And just curious, but did you mean to label the Capitol building as the White House?
Great shots, it looked like you had fun while mixing with high society :)
ReplyDeleteYou're on a roll!
What's next?
Hi Carol, my daughter & I attended the vernissage! We had a great time and enjoyed meeting you and having a chance to chat. The Alliance was enchanting, your watercolours dreamy and the macaroons, whew, they were fantastique! Please let us know when you are in town again, we would love to take you to tea.
ReplyDeleteDebra & Caroline
Ah, Washington DC, how I miss Thee!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you managed to get up to the Eastern Market area and hope that you have more pictures of DC in store!
The Alliance Francaise de Washington resides in quite the neighborhood, tres French! ;-)
Btw, as far as I know, the president still lives in the real White House and not under the Capitol Dome. ;-)
Be still my heart. All that wonderful food! But now I have to look up what a vernissage is.
ReplyDeleteFabulous!! Congratulations on brilliant vernissage in DC. I love the Metro In DC so civilized.. looks like a great time and lovely pieces. xo Jan
ReplyDeleteShe giggles nervously...ahem
ReplyDeleteYes the Metro did act up as she was trying to get to Union TRAIN Station - we were summarily tossed off and told to take shuttle buses, but the info guy said,"Absolutely nothing wrong at Union Metro station -Get Back ON!"
And we did
And the train did stop and let us off.
There are TWO dome-like white buildings in DC?
Eeeek must repair poste toute a suite
More giggling ensues...
Hey I'm a New Yorker..
WhatdoIknow?
Go figure...
Yes the exhibit is on until Nov 1
What's next?
Another exhibit at the Philadelphia Alliance Francaise that's what.
And there will be more macarons, so if you missed out in DC do come on down :)
Dear Carol,
ReplyDeleteSaw on your blog that you just returned from DC.
I have to share the Metro song with you. I, too, thought the Metro was a very nice way to travel around DC.
Joyce
That is so super -
ReplyDelete100 people!
You should be very proud.
Even though you didn't say, I hope you sold lots so you can get yourself back to Paris toute de suite!
xo
Robin
I want to have tea with Woodrow too! But not if I have to leave at 4:30 AM!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
Bonjour Carol,
ReplyDeleteFélicitations on your fabulous show, wish I could have been there to enjoy your art and those macarons.
a beintôt,
Mimi
Dear Carol,
ReplyDeleteHuge congratulations on your opening, how exciting.
My hubby just spent some time in DC and was impressed. It's a while since we have been there - perhaps 20 years.
Your culinary pleasures look divine as well - thank you for sharing them with us
Looks like such a great time! Congratulations Carol :) You deserved all the macaroons, icecream and USA foodie treats
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your exhibition. It looks wonderful, as does all the wonderful Washington food.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to know you and your art were treated royally, in DC, Carol.
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed by the images that come from the collaboration of your eye, and the camera's lens.
Great, brilliant, sharp and colorful pics of your travels, in all kinds of light.See you and your art in Philly.
Congratulations on your exhibition!
ReplyDeleteoh, how i miss DC--and alliance francaise! i took classes there for some time, but moved to go to grad school...thank you for posting and sending me down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteNice photos!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Carol,
ReplyDeleteYou make me feel like Alice in Wonderland. Did you already go to...JAPAN!! I would love to visit Japan since you've mentioned that they like macerons over there.And they are crazy for art like yours!
So...if you don't have anything special to do like a vernissage, you know where to go! ;)
What a great exhibition, lovely building, the one here is gorgeous like that as well. Although I just had to check on the Michels Patisserie. We have one of those here.....but it is not the same by any means, ours is totally horrible!*L* Cant get over that train station too and all that great food!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great trip to DC...I just got back from NYC..We had a ball showing our granddaughter Grace 5 1/2 all the sites...
ReplyDeleteBon Soir! jennifer aka gigi
bonjour ...
ReplyDeleteI am madeleine and I am french :-)
I love your blog, it has this "je ne sais quoi"...I finally decide to leave a comment!!!
I live in LA and my job is to bring France to America :-) Especially Fashion, Candies ( hence fraise tagada) and food !
If you need any french product .. just let me know :-)
Bisous
Madeleine