Eastern Market

I traveled to the Eastern Market area today to investigate/explore the weekend goings-on, and I was not disappointed! The Market itself reminds me a lot of my cousin Scott's market - flower vendors, cheese vendors, meat vendors, pasta vendors (etc, etc), but the outdoor market on the weekends is phenomenal! They close off the whole block and vendors of all kinds sets up booths; there is also a second area dedicated to a flea market. I could have gone CRAZY picking up great finds either way, but will have to wait on that until I have an income again! I did pick up some more of my beloved ravioli and another bottle of wine - don't worry, I'm not becoming a wine-o-saurus, I just wanted to get a spare bottle while I was in the area!
The history behind the market is fascinating as well. The following is from the Eastern Market's official website: "Public fresh-food markets were included in L'Enfant's original plans for the City of Washington. Capitol Hill has had a farmers' market from almost the inception of the City of Washington. The Eastern Market, completed in 1873, was designed by Adolph Cluss, a prominent local architect who designed the Franklin and Sumner Schools as well as many other post-Civil War buildings in the District of Columbia. Today, Eastern Market is one of the few public markets left in Washington, DC, and the only one retaining its original public market function." When I was here for my Einstein interviews, the original market was closed for renovations; there was a terrible fire in April of 2007. Thankfully, it has been restored to its full (and quite remarkable) splendor!
I did pick up a couple of neat items at the flea market. There is a booth where a man and his teenage daughters find vintage stamps and mount and frame them; they are inexpensive ($8.00 each) - I purchased a 15-cent Einstein stamp (after all, I am here as an Einstein Fellow) and a 3-cent stamp honoring the teachers of America. I also bought a cute (and ridiculously inexpensive) vintage dress - totally work appropriate w/a blazer or cardigan and a (non-vintage) silver bracelet to match. On my way back to the Metro (to come home) I got an organic fruit-and-cheese tray and a strawberry-banana smoothie (why do there have to be so many Starbucks here???) for a late lunch. I plan on relaxing and watching (in black and white - I MUST exchange the DVD player tomorrow) movies/shows on DVD for the rest of the day. And catching up on my postcard-writing!