Talk about an eventful evening. As my time here is winding down, I am continually feeling the urge to do more and see more, even though I am tired and my budget is exhausted as well. But trucking around the city still seemed like a good idea after a very relaxing afternoon in the National Sculpture Garden for “Jazz in the Garden.” By the way, every Friday from 5:00-8:30pm, there is a jazz band or group that performs for free. Bring a blanket and relax after a long week at work.  Check it out.

http://www.nga.gov/programs/jazz.shtm

But back to my evening. I am an eclectic person, and it just became much more apparent to my friends how true that is. After we relaxed with our jazz ensemble, we walked the half mile to the Washington Monument, which I had never taken interest in before because it is the white phallic symbol of the US, but I digress. We took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city we had. Carried by the warm, night breeze, we ventured down to the World War II Memorial and took pictures of our state stones.

However, surrounded by all these statues and tributes to the U.S. armed forces and other historical deviances, I felt that it was time to move out of the tourist space and into the real DC, where people actually live.  Where else would I go first? U street! A quick stop at Twin Jazz found another jazz band cutting up, but with a $25 minimum, I wasn’t feeling it. Don’t they know interns like good music too? So we moved on, just three doors down to the 14th and U Café which had their own jazzy thing going on, with no cover or minimum. My friends and I headed inside and soaked up the sounds as chi-lattes were being served. We decided to escape a little and headed back to a small room that looks like it had once been someone’s office or study. Surrounded by pin cushion leather and fabric chairs, dusty books, a park bench and mustard yellow distressed walls, the atmosphere catered to our whims, and we settled in. I pulled out my weekly City Paper, which is really good for finding stuff to do if you think there is nothing going on, which is hardly ever true in DC. Check it out. http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/

My friend pulled out a book she needs to finish reading by the end of the summer so she can begin her thesis, while my other friend pulled out paper and pen to begin what is sure to be a great poem one day.

After spending about an hour there, we closed the place down as the last customers and headed up to Adams Morgan for some $5 Jumbo Slice pizza. Although you could catch the bus, the walk is always worth it to me. I like the vibe. Plus, the walk makes me feel slightly less guilty about my consumption for the evening. By the way, Pizza Mart is the best in my opinion on that block.

Deciding that we really wanted some more quality time with books, we headed up to the Red Line to go to Kramer’s Bookstore, which stays open 24hrs on the weekend (how great is that!). Located in Dupont Circle, Kramer’s is an off beat bookstore, café, bar and restaurant. We asked to sit in their outdoor seating and enjoyed the warm air, nachitos and peach cobbler. At 3am, we were done and called it a night, only to remember that we had a rigorous walk from Dupont Circle to Foggy Bottom because the train stopped running. It was fine though. No rain or summer death heat? I can get down with that. Needless to say, we all slept as soon as we got inside. What an evening! If only all weekend nights were like that.