Virginia Square-GMU Metro Station

Brad and I had a quick nap to recharge our batteries and then got dressed for our night out. We took the metro back to the Clarendon neighbourhood to eat at Ambar. Ambar is a Balkan tapas restaurant where you can choose to do the “Balkan Experience” which is unlimited small plates. We like to try many different foods, so this was for us!

We began with grilled calamari and a tasting of spreads that included an aged cow cheese with chilli flakes, beet tzatziki, and lamb pate served with a variety of breads. Next was the Balkan salad (Greek salad), the kajmak selection (whipped curd that is as light as air and flavoured in a few different ways - this was something that I’d never had before and it was incredible!), and drunken mussels. Our waiter then suggested the rainbow trout and potato salad, a lovely and light dish. This was followed by moussaka, lamb stew, BBQ pork ribs, and a meat and a cheese pie. It should be noted that each dish was small, so only a few bites each. We weren’t done yet! We also ate pork sausage, lamb rotisserie, stuffed peppers, and lastly the short rib beef goulash (one of everyone’s favourites!). Whew.

Our meal had taken two hours and we needed to get to the Marine Corps park for the fireworks, so we grabbed an Uber. We weren’t interested in camping out all day at the Capitol to see the show, so we found out that you could see the Capitol’s fireworks from this park in Rosslyn. This park has a sculpture of the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and to see it all lit up was quite breathtaking.

After going through a security check to get into the park (there were police and security everywhere!) we found a place on the grass to set up shop. The fireworks began as promised at 9:09 and lasted 20 minutes. At one point the fireworks spelled out U-S-A! That was pretty impressive to see! As you can imagine, the display was large and stunning! It was hard to get pictures because it was so dark, but Evan took a few videos.

Once the grand finale happened, we headed out of the park with the thousands of other spectators and walked back to our hotel. It was a pretty perfect way to end our time in DC!Read more