Week Four: My Mom Visits!

Sunday: Exhausted from our drive on Saturday, Mom and I slept in. I missed my Sunday "long" run, but decided I needed the sleep more than the two miles. Still groggy, we unloaded the car, whereupon I discovered that instead of the new (red!) microwave and Japanese screen I had paid my mom to buy, I instead received a box of children's books and the notes from my high school Spanish class. Lovely. I have a 489 sq. ft. apartment. It's great that my mom saved this stuff, but do I look like I have space for my high school Spanish II notes? 489 sq. ft. Oi. I discovered this, shoved the boxes in my newly-discovered storage locker in the bowels of my building, and then packed up Mom in the car and took her to Shirlington. I needed coffee. And then I needed a nap.

After my coffee and a nap, Mom and I decided to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, at Potomac Yards. I loved it, and I personally think it's the strongest of the series. I laughed, I cried -- all the usual. ;)

After that, we picked up Mr. Planner, dropped him off at his apartment (along with the wedding gifts we'd transported for him and Mrs Planner), and headed into Old Town Alexandria for dinner at La Tasca. I don't care that it's a chain, it was yummy! Well, everything was yummy except the Paella Valenciana. That wasn't so great - the rice, chicken, seafood and sausage were no great shakes, and the peas had that "canned peas" taste to them *shudder*. But the Calamari, the Gambas al Ajillo (shrimp with garlic sauce), Tortilla Espanola (Spanish potato omelette) , Berenjenas Fritas con Queso Cabrales (fried eggplant with creamy cheese dip), and the Sangria Blanca (white sangria) were all fantastic. The thing with La Tasca is when you order the unlimited tapas, you don't get a doggie bag, so you have to stuff yourself and/or let what you can't eat go to waste--and I'm Mid-Western, so you know how much I hate wasted food! Aaaaaack!! So we stuffed ourselves. It was ridiculous. And when we couldn't possibly eat any more tapas, we ordered and shared the Flan de Huevo con Salsa de Caramelo, Pasas y Pinones (Egg Flan with Caramel Sauce, Raisins and Pine Nuts). That was just okay. There was something about the texture--you know, when you expect custard and get something slightly watery, it's...disconcerting. But the raisins and pine nuts were a nice addition to a flan which even with caramel sauce was very mild.

By the time we rolled down the street back to our car and went to Trader Joe's, I was crossing things off of my grocery list that suddenly didn't sound as exciting as they had back when I was hungry. When the penny-pinchers tell you not to go grocery shopping when you're hungry, they are NOT kidding. That had to be my cheapest grocery bill ever. Awesome.

If you go:

La Tasca
607 King St.
Alexandria, VA 22314