Month: July 2025

The Turkish Coffee Lady

M's Adventures
A selection of coffees.

Sometimes a place is just what the neighborhood needed. The Turkish Coffee Lady cafe is just such a place. It’s located in Alexandria, Virginia, on a main street in the old part of town.

Inside the Turkish Coffee Lady cafe.

The place is on a corner, up a few steps, and into a whole different world of ottomans and chatty laughter. The tableware is sumptuous and the food is elegant. There is not only the normal bite size baklava but large wedges of it as well. Who knew?

Lifting the lid on the Turkish delight.

The Turkish coffee is served on a golden tray with a delicate handle connecting the three small parts — one for the cup of coffee, one for the miniature decorated glass of water, and one for the miniature gold pot of ‘lokum’ or Turkish delight.

This place transports you to a different world. Maybe not all the way to Turkiye, but at least to a world of warmth and hospitality.

The corner location is a good one.

I look forward to trying out cafes in Turkiye when I move there…

Free Shows at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage

M's Adventures

Maybe it’s one of those things that everyone knows about, but it bears repeating. The Kennedy Center has free shows (reserve a ticket online) Wednesday through Saturday at 6 pm at their Millennium Stage. The schedule is at this link. That is the long area out in the waiting area by the giant head of John F. Kennedy.

The shows are also livestreamed.

Uniquely Profitable Donation Shopping

M's Adventures

In America, many people donate to charities. One assumes that the used clothes go to poor people somewhere. Or that the profits go somewhere to poor people.

One shop is just open about it. You can donate at the front door and then walk in and shop. They called themselves Unique — which is a clever name.

But, it’s not that cheap. However one feels about it.

What is clear is how grossly over materialistic we have become.

Meet a Founding Father at Gadsby’s Tavern

M's Adventures

But order the west African food (the food is fairly meh but the west African food was not bad — the current cook is from there. I had jerk chicken and jollof rice). And take an easily embarrassed preteen with you (No preteens were harmed in writing this).

Gadsby’s Tavern is famous being one of the restaurants where the likes of George Washington ate. If you want that tourist experience, then go.

The actor who is dressed in period costume and makes his rounds speaking in “olde English” does a pretty good job of riffing in the moment (insert embarrassing comments to parents and preteen).

As Jeeves said, “It makes for light entertainment.”