We stopped in to Le Pain Quotidien for lunch while strolling through Olde Town Alexandria on a Saturday afternoon.  We all ordered tartines.  I had an interesting combination of prosciutto with pesto, fresh mozzarella, and sun dried tomatoes.  It was quite good and a perfect light lunch.  We also tried the chocolate chip cookies and the lemon tart and no one was disappointed with those.  The restaurant is organic which makes it a soda free zone – Thank God.  The bread is baked fresh daily and is amazing.  It was nice sitting at the communal table because it felt more like someone’s home than a restaurant.

Check out their website:

http://www.lepainquotidien.com/

Last weekend I visited the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA.  There were a myriad of treasures and something to suite everyones taste and budget.  Each artist has their own store within their studio so you could actually watch the artist work and chat with them as they create their next masterpiece.  I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area. 

Visit their website and check out the directory of artists.

http://www.torpedofactory.org/