And we've embarked on our trip...first stop, the Washington DC area. We actually decided to fly up here for a wedding before starting our Europe trip. Joe has known the groom, Mahan, since high school and we met his now wife, Teresa, several years ago when they started dating. Mahan's family is Persian and Teresa's family is Korean, and while the wedding ceremony mostly showcased many Persian traditions, it was lovely to see everyone in their respective traditional clothing. Some of the Persian traditions carried out utilized food to "signify and emit sweetness, love, joy and prosperity to the couple," which I thought was absolutely beautiful. For example, various family members came up to the front to grind and sprinkle bits of sugar cones on the lovely couple to symbolize sweetness in the marriage. Various foods, including painted eggs to signify fertility, nuts to symbolize strength, and flatbread for prosperity were offered to the couple on a large, ornately decorated table. We had such a great time celebrating with them!
The next day was actually our second-first (Joe and I had two weddings last year, so it's the first anniversary of our second ceremony) anniversary, so we celebrated by watching Pitch Perfect 2 because my husband is awesome and I love acappella. I have to say, it was a great movie but not nearly as classic as the first one, which I suppose I should have expected going into it.
Afterwards, Joe's parents took us out for an amazing Japanese buffet which included everything from fresh sushi to ramen and udon noodle soups to pan-fried gyoza! We all needed a nap to recover from that dinner.
Finally, we got to meet up with our dear friend, Victoria, for a lovely hike on the Billy Goat trail in Great Falls Park. This trail offered amazing scenic views of the Potomac River but also was fairly challenging with some serious rock hopping. We only did the Billy Goat A part of the trail, which was only 3 miles, but it took us a good two and a half hours to finish Part A of the trail and walk back on the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal path back to the parking lot. What a workout! Here are some breathtaking pictures from our hike this morning:
Thanks for meeting up with us, Jared and Victoria!
Next stop, Toronto!
The next day was actually our second-first (Joe and I had two weddings last year, so it's the first anniversary of our second ceremony) anniversary, so we celebrated by watching Pitch Perfect 2 because my husband is awesome and I love acappella. I have to say, it was a great movie but not nearly as classic as the first one, which I suppose I should have expected going into it.
Afterwards, Joe's parents took us out for an amazing Japanese buffet which included everything from fresh sushi to ramen and udon noodle soups to pan-fried gyoza! We all needed a nap to recover from that dinner.
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Afterwards, we all felt exhausted (but accomplished) so we re-energized with some Afro-Portuguese food from Nando's, featuring the amazing peri-peri (piri piri) chicken. Even though this is originally a Portuguese prepartion, it turns out piri means "pepper" in Swahili and refers to a type of pepper that is generally grown in southern African countries. The chicken is evidently marinated for twenty-four hours and it is absolutely delicious!
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| Roasted chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, and green pea mash with cilantro and mint. |
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| Please do not judge my protruding belly, which resulted from eating too much delicious chicken and mashed potatoes. |
Next stop, Toronto!
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