One of my favorite parts about D.C. is how close it is to so many other places. Because I’m only here for 10 weeks, I decided against doing a full weekend trip somewhere, but I did want to take advantage of nearby cities. One of these is Alexandria, Virginia, which was just a metro and bus away.

I would compare Alexandria to Charlottesville or Charleston, as it has a relaxed, southern, preppy vibe with lots of stores and restaurants. I have been here before to grab lunch and do a bit of shopping and was excited to return this past weekend. Besides, it was a great excuse to try out more cupcakes!

Once arriving, my roommates and I were already getting a bit hungry, so those cupcakes sounded pretty ideal. You’ll hear more about my thoughts of both Alexandria bakeries we went to in an upcoming post, but for now, I’ll say that cupcake #1 hit the spot and gave me the energy I needed to do lots of unnecessary shopping. Anthropologie, Papyrus, H&M, Old Town Books, etc.

Eventually, we ended up at the waterfront area, which was totally new for me, and wandered around a bit. On the way back up to King Street, we stopped in a store called 3 Sisters, which I immediately recognized as the store where I bought my high school graduation dress years ago. This was where most of my unnecessary shopping occurred, but who can say no to $1 earrings?

As our energy levels plummeted as hours passed, it was, of course, time for cupcake #2. Yes, this was a lot of sugar for one day, but I took one for the team and did it for the good of the research. There were so many restaurants in the area that looked great, but we had food at home instead to save some money. If you’re in the area, I would recommend something at the waterfront with a nice view, or Mai Thai, a DC chain with a great pad thai.

Though we were only in Alexandria for the afternoon and early evening, it was a great little getaway and opportunity to explore a new place. Be sure to check it out if you like the calm, village feel and are in the mood for some good shopping and food!