Well these doors aren’t mine, but I would be completely happy if they were! I recently had time to kill before a flight out of Washington D.C. and when I was thinking about what I would do near the airport, Alexandria popped right into my head. I have heard over the years, from several people, that it is just the cutest town. And my verdict, it is! So much charm in one city. There are endless restaurants, adorable shops for miles, cobblestone streets, and as you will see from these photos, the cutest houses around. Sometimes you forget how old the D.C. area really is, but Alexandria is a true reminder that you are definitely in New England. I love that the old colonial homes can stand out not only with their simple charm, but their bold paint colors, and many times, even bolder front doors. They really do entice you to knock and ask for a peak inside. (I promise I did not, that would just be incredibly creepy!)

I am sure there is so much more I could have seen, had I had more than a few hours to kill. But I filled my time very nicely! I spent my time wandering around looking at all of the gorgeous homes, enjoyed a delicious (and gluten free!) sushi dinner at Asian Bistro, then browsed all of the shops along King Street, in gorgeous Old Town. A few of my favorite shops included 3 Sisters, The Hour Shop (all vintage glassware -just amazing!) and Lucky Knot. Of course, after all of this window shopping, I was in need of a sweet treat. I looked up gluten free options and found a cute little coffee shop with GF baked goods…Killer ESP. (P.S. The Alexandria, VA website gives great GF options, which I have linked to here.) I also fawned over the fun street names. Besides King Street, there is a Queen Street, Prince Street and Princess Street. I mean, could you just imagine saying “yes, I live in the pink house at the corner of Queen and Princess.” I think I could live with that!

If you will be in the D.C. area and are looking for something fun outside of the traditional to-do list, I highly recommend visiting Alexandria. You can be there within a matter of minutes (even via water taxi from D.C.) and you will be transported back in time, and enveloped in charm…and probably some new goodies from the cute shops.

Signed with Style,