Days 8 - 12: New York, NY

We've spent the past several days in New York City and will be heading back to Washington tomorrow. In that time we've gone to a Mets baseball game, seen the Statue of Liberty, cut Ani's hair, braved the crowds in Time Square, enjoyed the view from the Empire State Building at night, drank late night chai, and done a fair amount and window and real shopping.

More photos and highlights to come.

Day 7: Washington, DC

I'm WAY behind on my blog postings, but on Friday we hung out in DC for a bit. We had lunch at the Tidal Basin and wandered around the Jefferson Memorial for awhile.

Will write more when we're back home.

Day 6: Reston, VA

Today we had a lazy day in Reston. We hung out at my house for most of the day and then went to the Reston Town Center for a little shopping. We did have fabulous sandwiches and a milkshake at Potbelly for lunch. Yum.

This evening we treated my parents to a great Indian dinner. It was my first Indian meal since coming back to the US and it was much needed. We had butter chicken, lamb korma, dal makhani, naan and rice. And of course, we had gulab jamun for dessert. And to my surprise, both of my parents loved the meal.

I will definitely have to go back to the restaurant, Minerva, in the future. I'd never eaten there before, but I've always seen streams of Indians walking in. That's always a good sign.

Tomorrow we're finally going to do some sightseeing in DC. We'll probably hit the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and the Washington Monument. How I love being a tourist!

Next stop: Washington, DC

Day 4 & 5: Pittsburgh

Tuesday evening we arrived in Pittsburgh to meet up with my sister who is finishing her Master's at Carnegie Mellon. After a brief nap, we walked around Walnut Street and then had dinner at a Thai restaurant. Yum.

Today, after a nice breakfast at Laura's place, we set off to do some sightseeing. First we visited the Andy Warhol Museum in the Northside of the city. From there, we ventured up the "Incline" to catch a spectular view of the city and the Three Rivers.

Then we stopped for a late lunch where Ani and I enjoyed the finest vegetarian cuisine because "it's Tuesday." Actually, I didn't have to, but the avocado sandwich sounded too good to pass up. And it was! By the way, Ani took this picture of his lunch because every time he talked to his family back home, we asked what kind of food he's eating. Now, he can show them.

Next stop: Washington, DC

Day 2 & 3: Annapolis

We spent this past weekend in Annapolis, Maryland. Although it's only 1 hour from my hometown and a nice weekend destination, I had never been there before. On Saturday we were greeted with cold, rainy weather, but Sunday turned out to be quite nice.

First we explored the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Maryland State Capitol. In the evening, we went on a sailboat cruise on the Chesapeake Bay. As it turns out, the schooner we cruised on is the same one featured in the movie Wedding Crashers. Despite the cold weather, our time on the water was beautiful and lots of fun.

Next stop: Pittsburgh

Day 1: Georgetown

Like all good Washington tours, our started in Georgetown. Actually, we didn't visit anywhere else (not yet). When I asked Ani if he wanted to go see Georgetown, he replied, "I guess so, since you talk about it so much." But I'm not the only one.

In any case, we spent the afternoon walking through the Georgetown campus. I pointed out all of the places where I used to live, went to class, ate, and everything else I did at Georgetown.

Then, we hit Wisconsin and M Streets for a little shopping. After stopping into several stores, Ani asked me, "Why do the salespeople keeping on asking how you are? Do you know them?" No, I replied, this is simply what they are trained to do.

Next, we hit the Georgetown Waterfront, which was packed on a sunny Friday afternoon. There we met up with Mike and his dad, and later Kelly, Katie, Liz and Ryan. We all enjoyed the sunshine before heading off to Matchbox with even more friends for a wonderful wood oven pizza dinner. All in all, a good start!