90+walking tours and 11 bike tours of DC neighborhoods and landmarks, free of charge, this weekend only

This weekend Cultural Tourism DC is hosting its semi-annual WalkingTown DC. The tours have been designed for DC locals as an opportunity to explore up and coming Washington’s neighborhoods and learn more about the community and local history. There will be 90+ walking tours and 11 bike tours this year (bring your own bike and helmet; Bike and Roll is offering discounts for those who need to rent a bike). Note that many tours require advance reservations on website.There will be tours all over town so there is something to discover for everyone. The tours are scheduled from 9am Saturday morning up to 5:30pm on Sunday evening. This is the perfect opportunity to get a tour of Brookland. Here are a few tours worth checking out if you’re interested in the area:
Saturday Morning (see the full schedule)
• Explore Florida Market/Capital City Market — 9-11am
Saturday Afternoon (see the full schedule)
• 16th Street: Avenue of the Presidents — 2-4:30pm
• Hillcrest and East Washington Heights — 2-4pm
• Brookland: A Historic Overview — Noon-1:30pm, 1:30-3pm & 3-4:30pm
Sunday Morning (see the full schedule)
• Capitol Riverfront: From Navy Yard to Front Yard — 10-11am

Picture via CHRS

O Street Market coming to DC

From the end of the 19th century up until the 1968 riots, O Street was the home of the Northern Market one of the most visited public markets among Washingtonians.
Shaw community and public officials gathered on Wednesday 1st September 2010 to officially break ground on the new CityMarket at O project between 9th, 7th, P and O Streets, NW.
The new market will incorporate and build on the old market’s edifice (pictures above), which is in the style of the Eastern Market in DC and the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
Construction for the market is starting today The Giant Food store, which is right across, will also be demolished in the beginning of 2011, to be replaced in the end by a better and improved version of 71,000-square, in addition to a hotel and new housing.
The development team for this project is Roadside Development. Looking at their portfolio, I realized they have orchestrated a comparable redevelopment few years ago with the Harris Teeter located at 600 N. Glebe Road behind Ballston mall in arlington, VA. This project should be different though since the focus should be more on the public market than the grocery store.

The German grocery store, ALDI, to open its first store in the District on 17th Street, NE.

The German grocery store chain Aldi is set to open its first store in the District in the ward 5. The discount grocery chain started construction on September 7th at 901 17th Street, NE
Aldi stores are smaller than your everyday supermarket. Their size is more comparable to Trader’s Joe.
Like Trader’s Joe, they don't carry everything; but if you are looking for quality staples at a good price, they have a great selection of food items and seasonal items. They even have certain specialty goods from Germany, Austria and France. You want to try out their imported frozen strudel from Germany. I also have to put in a plug for their chocolate. They sell the “Chocoeur” brand and the “Moser-Roth” brand, which are every bit as good as Lindt chocolate.
Some of Aldi practices may surprise customers, such as the system of metal gates and turnstiles forcing customers to exit through the checkout, the practice of charging for shopping bags ( feel free to bring your own bag instead), and the fact that Aldi generally does not accept credit cards, though debit cards are accepted. Although these are typical in German supermarket, they are somewhat of a novelty in the US.
In conclusion, if you do not mind these few singularities, there are some very good deals to be done there. While we wait for their opening in NE, I thought I’d let you know that the closest Aldi’s store is in Hyattsville, MD

ALDI Hyattsville, MD
3025 Hamilton Street
Hyattsville, MD 20782
2.24 mi.
Monday-Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm