We ended up at this old, windy townhouse Italian restaurant, Trattoria Alberto, near Capital Hill for Sunday night dinner. Because we had to eat before Hamlet (Yes, we went twice! How often is the Globe in the US?) dinner was at 5pm. This is crazy early for us and apparently DC because we were the only people in the restaurant.

Why is it when you’re the only people in the restaurant you tend to talk more softly?

I started with fresh mozzerella, tomatoes and capers.

We mainly watched the restaurant get ready for their evening, which included peeking into the kitchen through a little door on the wall.

We were both in the mood for simple dinners.

John had a basic tomato sauce.

And I had a light olive oil, garlic penne with broccoli. I wish every Italian restaurant had a light option like this (ahem, by every Italian restaurant I mean Cascones. Johnny I hope you’re reading this).

It was a good way to say Ciao to Washington DC.