After a few weeks on the road to El Salvador and LA living out of a carry-on, I was ready to come back to DC. I had a bajillion adventures that I CAN'T WAIT to share with you (stay tuned!), but the thought of jumping right into VERY EXCITING things like laundry and bill paying made my heart hurt. When the friendly folks at Capitol Hill Hotel generously invited me and my partner, artist Martin Swift, to come for a two day staycation to recharge, I jumped at the chance. Is there anything that softens a landing back to reality better than champagne and a gigantic fluffy king size bed? Nope. Definitely not.
There was cuddling, ultra-soft robes, coffee in bed, and light that made me swoon each morning. And also cuddling IN ultra-soft robes WHILE drinking coffee in bed BATHED WITH light that made me swoon. All the things ALL AT ONCE, y'all.
And we jumped on the bed because we're adults and we can choose to do that. The bed took it nicely.
The staff checked us into our room, a sun-filled space two blocks from the Capitol that felt more like a posh one bedroom apartment with the best bed you've ever seen than a generic hotel. There was a tiny and adorable cake from Firehook Bakery around the corner, a handwritten note from the manager (I love notes!), a bottle of champagne, and a list of recommended neighborhood haunts and DC must-do's that we both agreed was ON POINT...the perfect balance of classic, cool, and local. Snaps.
Also: CAKE. Party horn emoji.
After we got settled we went to the free (!!) daily wine hour in the hotel living room and made a STAYCATION PLAN OF ATTACK using the hotel's recommendations. Fortified, we set off for dinner.
We were starving, so we popped around the corner to Sonoma, a sweet wine bar and restaurant. I got gnocchi, because #teamcarbs. We passed out in the middle of a sea of downy delicious king-size bed immediately upon returning to our room and had a major 10 hour snooze fest. Exactly what I needed after all that travel.
Martin is NOT a morning person (sometimes I catch him sleeping like the above photo, with a pillow on his face!), so the next morning we padded downstairs for the complimentary breakfast and his coffee, which made starting the day MUCH easier. Several pastries and omelettes later and we ventured out into the city in beautiful fall weather. We hadn't seen each other in a few weeks so having an adventure together was long overdue.
First, we headed to the newly reopened Renwick Gallery near the White House, which the hotel recommended. The historic building received a swank 2 year renovation and reopened with an immersive show of site-specific installation work called WONDER. We'd seen the opening on Instagram and were dying to check it out for ourselves! We wandered through the rooms and had a blast checking out the work of nine contemporary artists curated by Nicholas R. Bell.
Obviously thrilled that I found a tiny couch that matched my coat perfectly.
Gabriel Dawe's rainbow installation is made of thousands of individual threads, giving new interpretation to the old adage, "You can't see the forest for the trees".
Wandering through Patrick Dougherty's installation, which felt like a magic space.
The chandelier by Leo Villareal in the grand staircase makes for a dramatic entrance with LEDs that shimmer.
Jennifer Angus' gallery is decorated with real insects delicately configured into decorative wallpaper for a whimsical, immersive experience.
Chakaia Booker created a labyrinth out of reclaimed tires.
John Grade used 500,000 pieces of old-growth reclaimed cedar to construct this replica of a 150 year old hemlock. The piece will eventually be returned to the forest and left to decay, much like the trees it's made of and imitates.
Janet Echelman's woven textile installation mirrors the affects of an earthquake through suspended nets and a corresponding carpet below.
Maya Lin used a forgotten glassblowing technique to create the marbles used to construct this map of the Chesapeake Bay tides.
Martin stands among Tara Donovan's installation made of index cards.
Phew! After all that art seeing we got a veggie lunch at Beefsteak in Dupont and wandered around the neighborhood drinking our green juice. Martin and I lived in Dupont when we first started dating, so it was a nice walk down memory lane.
After that, we went back to the Capitol Hill Hotel to freshen up before going to the famed Rose's Luxury for dinner at the hotel manager's suggestion. Chef Aaron Silverman whips up some insanely creative culinary creations, and the restaurant was named Best New Restaurant of 2014 in Bon Appetit. We walked over in preparation for eating ALL THE THINGS; that ended up being a great life choice when we discovered they had a tasting menu.
You guys. ROSE'S HAS A TASTING MENU DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?
New pants. It means needing new pants.
We came, we saw, we ate EVERYTHING IN SIGHT. We chatted with friends who work there, including Chef Aaron, and left so full it took us twice as long to walk back to the hotel. WORTH EVERY BITE.
I took a bubble bath to recover before we split the bottle of champagne in bed and fell into a forever food coma with goofy grins on our faces. I think I'm still recovering.
The next morning we begrudgingly checked out to return to real life (boooo) and hit the road for Thanksgiving travel, but a little lighter. The relaxation and hospitality was exactly what we needed, and our super date staycation was a success.
I'd like to give a huge THANK YOU to the Capitol Hill Hotel for taking such great care of us and inviting us to come stay. They're managed by IC Hotels, who have a stable of boutique hotels that focus on being local. You can jump over to my Instagram handle @gokateshoot for more photos, or check them out @caphillhotel or @ic_hotels on Instagram and Twitter.