Located just a few miles southeast of our nation’s capital, Alexandria, Va., offers a pleasant respite from the busy political hustle of Washington, D.C. Alexandria is a vibrant destination in its own right.
This city was the launch point for Major Gen. Edward Braddock’s infamous Wilderness Campaign during the French and Indian War (Carlyle House) and the site of one of the first casualties of the Civil War (now a Marriott Hotel). The city itself has also been indirectly affected by history. It became one of the major slave markets for Maryland and D.C. (even when the slave trade was outlawed D.C.) and was embroiled in recent news as Christ Church has long displayed plaques honoring past parishioners George Washington and Robert E. Lee.
With warmer weather right around the corner, this is a great time to visit such a walkable city. Visit the waterfront, which offers countless activities including boat cruises, kayaking, festivals and a bike trail. The Torpedo Factory Art Center, founded in an old munitions plant, is a riverfront highlight and an Alexandria landmark for more than 40 years. It’s home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios under one roof, and features a wide variety of media including painting, ceramics, photography, jewelry, stained glass, fiber, printmaking and sculpture in 82 artists’ studios.
Wandering along the main thoroughfare of King Street, there are numerous nearby places to grab a bite or a tasty treat. You can sample some local flavors and ingredients at Virtue Feed & Grain. Located in an historic building, which was once a feed house in the 1800s, Virtue features a modern American tavern menu. The baked mac & cheese with cavatappi pasta, smoked gouda, cheddar-jack and cracker crumbs paired distinctly with seared crab cake sandwich with sriracha mayo.
For a quick snack there’s Megrolls, featuring delightful gooey ingredients wrapped in crisp egg rolls. We expected a typical frozen egg roll, fried and ready to serve. Not at Megrolls. I ordered the 4 Cheese Broccoli Mac with cavatappi pasta, Cheddar, Gruyere, American and Parmesan cheeses with lemon-butter Broccoli. We actually waited about 10 minutes after ordering but with good reason, everything you choose on the menu is made to order.
To help cool off your taste buds, after impatiently taking your first bite of that egg roll, stop by Nicecream. After picking out my flavors (I choose banana and chocolate), the staff used liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream to create one of the freshest handcrafted cups of ice cream I’ve ever tasted.
In addition to all the rich food to sample, there is also a rich history to unlock and the most cost efficient way to explore it is to purchase, for $15, the Key to the City Pass. The Pass includes admission to nine museums including the Alexandria Black History Museum and the Carlyle House Historic Park. You also receive a 40 percent off coupon to tour George Washington’s Mount Vernon, which is eight miles south of Old Town. There are also many free museums including the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, Freedom House Museum, Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
At the Carlyle House, a Georgian manor house built in 1753 by merchant and city founder John Carlyle, we learned that Carlyle’s slaves lived and worked in his Alexandria home, on three plantations and in a foundry located on the same lot as the house. The house was later converted into the Mansion House Hotel, and then during the Civil War it became the Mansion House Hospital for Union soldiers. The story was the basis of the 2016 PBS series “Mercy Street.”
Nearby is the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, a unique and unusual museum that is frozen in time. Opened in 1792 by a young Quaker pharmacist named Edward Stabler, the family business operated until 1933. From the glass cases, to the stately clock to the hundreds of medicine bottles and wooden boxes of herbs, everything is just as it was left 54 years ago.
High above Old Town is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Observation Deck. Access to the observation deck is included with your City Pass, but we weren’t aware until we arrived that a guided tour of the Memorial was $15. While the cost was a little bit of a surprise, the tour was definitely worth the experience. There are five daily one-hour guided tours, and they include five or more areas of the Memorial, including several exhibit rooms and the Observation Deck. On the eighth level there is an impressive chapel expressing the symbolism of the Masonic Knights Templar.
And after a day of touring, we learned that even our hotel’s location is full of history. Several years ago during construction of the 120-room Hotel Indigo, workers discovered a large, heavy ship, scuttled between 1775 and 1798. Remains of the ship and warehouse are now undergoing conservation. In the stylish hotel’s lobby, guests can learn about the ship’s history.
Alexandria offers a wonderful mix of culture, cuisine and local flare for those out-of-towners that want all the history of our young country, but without the congestion, politics and huge city-feel of next door.
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| Flags decorate Alexandria's colorful homes. |
With warmer weather right around the corner, this is a great time to visit such a walkable city. Visit the waterfront, which offers countless activities including boat cruises, kayaking, festivals and a bike trail. The Torpedo Factory Art Center, founded in an old munitions plant, is a riverfront highlight and an Alexandria landmark for more than 40 years. It’s home to the nation’s largest collection of working-artists’ open studios under one roof, and features a wide variety of media including painting, ceramics, photography, jewelry, stained glass, fiber, printmaking and sculpture in 82 artists’ studios.
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| Christ Church has welcomed guests since 1773. |
Wandering along the main thoroughfare of King Street, there are numerous nearby places to grab a bite or a tasty treat. You can sample some local flavors and ingredients at Virtue Feed & Grain. Located in an historic building, which was once a feed house in the 1800s, Virtue features a modern American tavern menu. The baked mac & cheese with cavatappi pasta, smoked gouda, cheddar-jack and cracker crumbs paired distinctly with seared crab cake sandwich with sriracha mayo.
For a quick snack there’s Megrolls, featuring delightful gooey ingredients wrapped in crisp egg rolls. We expected a typical frozen egg roll, fried and ready to serve. Not at Megrolls. I ordered the 4 Cheese Broccoli Mac with cavatappi pasta, Cheddar, Gruyere, American and Parmesan cheeses with lemon-butter Broccoli. We actually waited about 10 minutes after ordering but with good reason, everything you choose on the menu is made to order.
To help cool off your taste buds, after impatiently taking your first bite of that egg roll, stop by Nicecream. After picking out my flavors (I choose banana and chocolate), the staff used liquid nitrogen to freeze the ice cream to create one of the freshest handcrafted cups of ice cream I’ve ever tasted.
 |
| The checkered entryway of Carlyle House. |
At the Carlyle House, a Georgian manor house built in 1753 by merchant and city founder John Carlyle, we learned that Carlyle’s slaves lived and worked in his Alexandria home, on three plantations and in a foundry located on the same lot as the house. The house was later converted into the Mansion House Hotel, and then during the Civil War it became the Mansion House Hospital for Union soldiers. The story was the basis of the 2016 PBS series “Mercy Street.”
Nearby is the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary, a unique and unusual museum that is frozen in time. Opened in 1792 by a young Quaker pharmacist named Edward Stabler, the family business operated until 1933. From the glass cases, to the stately clock to the hundreds of medicine bottles and wooden boxes of herbs, everything is just as it was left 54 years ago.
High above Old Town is the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Observation Deck. Access to the observation deck is included with your City Pass, but we weren’t aware until we arrived that a guided tour of the Memorial was $15. While the cost was a little bit of a surprise, the tour was definitely worth the experience. There are five daily one-hour guided tours, and they include five or more areas of the Memorial, including several exhibit rooms and the Observation Deck. On the eighth level there is an impressive chapel expressing the symbolism of the Masonic Knights Templar.
And after a day of touring, we learned that even our hotel’s location is full of history. Several years ago during construction of the 120-room Hotel Indigo, workers discovered a large, heavy ship, scuttled between 1775 and 1798. Remains of the ship and warehouse are now undergoing conservation. In the stylish hotel’s lobby, guests can learn about the ship’s history.
Alexandria offers a wonderful mix of culture, cuisine and local flare for those out-of-towners that want all the history of our young country, but without the congestion, politics and huge city-feel of next door.
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