Sunday In Old Town

On Sunday afternoon, Gina and I took a trip down to Alexandria, via the G.W. Parkway, to see Old Town. Apparently, we were also visiting the "fun side of the Potomac," according to Alexandria's publicity brochures. Hey, we did have fun, so maybe they're on to something.

At any rate, we spent most of the afternoon and evening wandering Old Town's sidewalks, which are lined with many buildings dating back to the beginning of the American colonies. For the tourist, there's the perfect mixture of history, shopping, and dining, all situated right off of the Potomac. What's more, even walking down those streets, you can't help but feel a bit more connected to the history of our nation.

We stopped by the Ramsay House first, which serves as the visitor's center for Old Town. From there, we followed the recommendation of one of the employees and headed over to Christ Church (pictured in this entry). There, a nice churchlady escorted Gina and I around the church while telling us some history, including stories of Christ Church's two most famous parishioners: George Washington and Robert E. Lee. I highly recommend this tour if you ever make it down there.

By this time, most of the museums and historic places were shutting down for the evening, so we took to the various shops lining King Street and bought a few random souvenirs (like the good luck pigs, which stem from German folklore). After that, it was time for an excellent seafood dinner at the Fish Market, followed by some overpriced ice cream at Pops' on King Street. We strolled around for a while snapping pictures of the Christmas lights, but by then it was starting to cool down, so we headed back to the car.

That was our evening in Old Town, but as soon as we had been there one day, we realized that we wanted to come back to see more. As Gina commented when we started walking by the river, it feels like you're somewhere completely different and detached from the bustle of the capital region while you're immersed in the Old Town experience.