criplomats

National Christmas Tree

John and I got in the Christmas spirit a bit this week. Friday evening we had a nice steak dinner at the Hamilton, then walked over to see the National Christmas Tree – lots of folks were out enjoying the sights. All of the buildings look so pretty at night with the garland and wreaths!

White House

I really enjoyed Pamela’s visit this week! We chilled on Monday and watched the rest of “Handmaid’s Tale,” and on Tuesday we went to the Phillips Collection. They had a special exhibit of Renoir’s “The Boating Party.” It was a beautiful gallery, and I also enjoyed getting to see my favorite Georgia O’Keefe painting, “Taos Church.” Tuesday night, one of Pam’s former student workers came over for a visit.

With Muffy

Pam left early Wednesday morning, so it was back to work for me. I had a fun lunch on Thursday with Pamela B., Tammy, Lisa, and Jenny at Tonic. Those girls are so funny and smart, and really make me laugh.

Yesterday was a bit rainy and blustery, but I braved the elements to go to the Renwick Gallery. I saw their permanent collection, plus a very interesting exhibit of diorama crime scenes, made in the 1940s by the first woman police chief in the country in her effort to train police on the proper way to work a crime scene. Oddly enough, she was also the heiress to the International Harvester fortune. It was fascinating!

John and I walked over to Georgetown this morning for a 9AM showing of “The Last Jedi” – it was lots of fun! We stopped for a bite to eat on the way home. It’s cold out!

With my favorite O’Keefe

John at his office holiday party.

My good friend Pamela flew in Saturday afternoon. We’ve had a great time just talking and catching up, plus watching some television.

Tuesday night Tammy and I metro’d over to meet our friend Wendy who was in town for the week. I love those girls! We had a wonderful time.

With Wendy and Tammy

Thursday I went to lunch with a couple of the guys I sit by in the office – one of them is leaving. They’re really funny and nice.

I took Friday off – it’s nice to have a little bit of breathing room!

Lighthouse across the bay

I had a fun and productive trip to the Bahamas this week for work. The highlight of the trip was staying in a lovely old colonial hotel (now a Hilton), conveniently right across the street from the Embassy. It was on the water, a quiet bay where the cruise ships dock, so it was fun to watch them come and go while I ate breakfast. They are so close, and it’s amazing to see them maneuver in a small bay.

Love old hotel where I stayed

Work was interesting and I met some nice folks. The consular section sees a lot of American citizens due to the high number of tourists, and also sometimes passengers have to de-board the cruise ships due to some kind of problem – and they usually end up at the Embassy needing an emergency passport.

I walked around a little bit after work a couple of days but it got dark early, so I didn’t linger too long. Most of the businesses in that part of town cater to the cruise ships, so there are lots of tacky bars, souvenir shops, and high end stores selling (supposedly) duty free luxury goods like watches and diamonds. Two nights I sat by the water’s edge and did some work while having a glass of wine – the weather was lovely.

Happy hour view

I have to say it was a pretty nice get-away since D.C. is getting pretty cold these days! Click to see all of my photos.

John is in Fayetteville this weekend visiting his family, but Flavie was happy to see me come home!

Fresh conch for sale

Lobster fresh off the boat!

Hotel beach – the ships come so close!

Old church

John

We’re very thankful for all of our friends, many of whom we saw this week!

We spent Thanksgiving morning at home with the Macy’s parade on in the background, then went to a late lunch at a restaurant nearby with two of my old high school friends, James and Chuck, along with Chuck’s lovely wife Susan. I hadn’t seen Chuck since we graduated, and it’s been seven years since I last saw James. We had a nice visit and enjoyed the view over looking Georgetown.

From there we headed to Kevin and Helen Stewart’s house for dinner with them and their family, including Helen’s sister and mother. Friends Allida and Judy were there as well, and we really enjoyed meeting them.

We saw several other friends this week, too! We had dinner with Marjorie and Fauve on Tuesday at Circa, along with their six-week-old baby Ivan. Wednesday we met Edward and Barbara for drinks at the beautiful bar at Joe’s Steak House. And yesterday, Paul from our A-100 class spent the afternoon with us, along with his husband Bruno.

We’re really enjoying being in DC and being able to spend time with friends!

Paul and Bruno

With James and Chuck