I kept finding myself on Prospect Street

76 Hours in Washington D.C.: Reflections from an Emergent Ventures Unconference + A Final Invite to Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Prospect Street, Georgetown

76 Hours in Washington, D.C.

I used to interview people (full archive here) about the cities they loved walking in and exploring, and one recurring question that I kept asking was: if you could name a street, what name would you choose? One answer that I loved and keep remembering is my friend Kerry’s. She answered:

“Let’s live on streets named for concepts and qualities that uplift us and give us hope: Possibility Lane, Heartfelt Way.’’

Prospect Street in Georgetown felt like an uplifting anchor on a morning when, at 7 AM, I was already strolling, jet-lagged, in a loop, waiting for Call Your Mother Deli to open, to order the bagel I had been eyeing even before I started this trip, back in The Hague.

As the deli opened, I went inside and ordered a Sun City: a bagel with egg, pastrami, and a spicy honey sauce. I savoured it in front of Georgetown University’s main building, as I was taking in the moodiness of that day: the grayest gray, crows covering the sky, enveloped in the silence of an early morning.

Then I continued my walk toward the Exorcist steps, some very steep steps featured in The Exorcist movie, which I’ve never watched, and made my way to another café, maman, where I ordered large amounts of mint tea to soothe my sore throat and rest until other shops and bookstores opened.

Despite the jet lag and being ill, I was terribly grateful to be there. I’ve always had such a strong desire to visit and see places in the US: big cities, small villages, anything. Everything felt like an adventure that I prepared for such a long time. I wrote more about this in Before New York.

Being back in the US after everything that happened since October, my last visit, until now, feels in a way like decades apart. I won’t dive in this particular post into matters of politics, democracy, freedom, or human rights, but it felt heavy and strange nonetheless to understand everything that changed in such a short amount of time.

I had just a few hours for myself on that Friday morning, before the unconference started, and I decided to dedicate them to what I love most: slow, unhurried walks, bookstores, and good food. The Lantern Bookshop opened around 11 AM, and I was its first visitor that day. Three lovely old ladies welcomed me as I entered, and they told me what I could find on each floor. I ended up buying a copy of the American Constitution for one dollar, as a souvenir from this trip.

The next place on my list was Jenni Bick Custom Journals, recommended by a reader of this newsletter, where I ended up buying a few custom leather notebooks for loved ones and myself. I wanted to have lunch at Old Ebbitt Grill, Washington’s oldest bar and restaurant, but even though I had a reservation, I gave up on that idea as I entered and noticed the long queue of people waiting around and the chaos of the place.

I returned to Arlington, to the hotel where I was staying and where the Emergent Ventures unconference was being held, quite satisfied that I had all those eight hours to myself before diving into three days of discussions, lunches, dinners, and salons with interesting and curious minds from all around the world.

Emergent Ventures Unconference

The unconference was everything I hoped for and more. There was an easiness of being, a kind of curiosity about one’s ideas, and a generosity in welcoming people like me, who are still trying to figure out where their long-held obsessions and curiosities might take them.

By an easiness of being, I mean “not knowing where I end and the others begin,” in terms of ideas, hopes, prospects. All the good events I’ve attended had this quality: a full immersion into a kind of acknowledgment that we are here to help each other, in some way.

As a young woman and immigrant, I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a group of people, however small, who support you and whom you can support, and for them to at least take you seriously, however unfleshed your ideas might be. It has a ripple effect. You start to feel a new form of vitality taking over you.

I’m grateful for the people, gatherings, places, and opportunities that offer a glimpse into other worlds.

Thank you for reading. As always, I welcome your emails and comments.

At the end of May, I’m hosting a gathering in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, over a weekend. I hosted a similar gathering in The Hague last year.

We’ll spend our time walking and discovering this beautiful city in the heart of Transylvania. The group is always kept small, maximum 5–6 people. There’s one place left, if you’d like to join us, you can read more about what to expect in this guide I’ve crafted for you.

– Patricia-Andra

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