Home away from HOME

What started out as a brief, breezy fling with Dupont Circle turned into a deep, satisfying, long-lasting relationship.

My attraction to this Washington neighborhood started in 1990. At that time my employer, the Gannett-owned Arkansas Gazette, routinely lent writers and editors to Gannett’s flagship newspaper USA Today in Arlington, Va., for four-month periods.

I was one of the lucky ones.

It was a terrific opportunity to move away and change jobs without actually having to move away and change jobs. We got free housing in tidy efficiency apartments (saucily nicknamed “the stay-free mini pad”) in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood near George Washington University, our regular salaries plus a stipend to help us out with Washington-style costs of living, and a flight home (or a flight for someone from home to Washington) once each month.

I never came home. I was too busy hanging out in Dupont Circle and shipping my Little Rock friends in to show off my hot new neighborhood.

Located about a mile away from Foggy Bottom, Dupont Circle is at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW. In the center is a grassy, shady park anchored by a white marble fountain.

The surrounding neighborhood is bounded by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW to the west, M Street NW to the south, and Florida Avenue NW to the north.

The key word here is “neighborhood.” Dupont Circle isn’t a tourist attraction. Those people on the sidewalks are residents. They’re out running errands, shopping, catching up with friends, walking their dogs, jogging, playing with their kids, coming and going from work - doing the same things people do in Little Rock’s Hillcrest and Fayetteville’s Wilson Park. That’s what makes it feel so familiar, yet so different.

From my first visit I was captivated by Kramerbooks and its Afterwords Cafe, a restaurant and bar on the premises where customers can sip Chardonnay while inspecting the latest releases from best-selling authors (in the fall of 1990 they included Hocus Pocus by Kurt Vonnegut, You Just Don’t Understand by Deborah Tannen and Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard). I loved Second Story Books, filled with fascinating out-of-print, used and rare books. The Phillips Collection, a private modern art museum that opened in 1921, introduced me to the gorgeous paintings of French expressionist Chaim Soutine and Renoir’s simply beautiful Luncheon of the Boating Party.

Dupont Circle was and remains everything I could ever want in a neighborhood. Every couple of years when I return to Washington to enjoy the Smithsonian museums, Georgetown, Adams Morgan, the monuments, Eastern Market in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and other sites, there’s never any question that I will visit my old stamping grounds to refresh memories and see what’s new.GETTING THERE

A recent visit was simplified by a nonstop flight on US Airways that takes travelers from Little Rock to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, arriving at 7:40 p.m. There’s talk that the flight, which takes about two hours and 20 minutes, will disappear if and when US Airways merges with American Airlines later this year, so grab it while you can.

The airport used to force travelers outside to trek across a busy parking lot to get to the efficient Metrorail station. Now there’s a wide glass-walled covered walkway that protects visitors from the elements, clearly marked Metro route maps,and easy-to-understand vending machines dispensing fare cards.

There are occasional closings along selected Metro routes this summer to accommodate repairs. Shuttle buses are being used to transport passengers whose stations are affected; check monitors at the airport Metrorail station for information.

Although there’s a Dupont Circle Metro station on the Red Line, it requires a transfer at Chinatown. So we chose instead to ride the Metrorail Blue Line directly to Farragut West station and walk about a half mile to Madera, a Kimpton hotel on a quiet block of New Hampshire Avenue. We checked in, dumped our stuff and headed out into the warm summer evening to make sure my romance with Dupont Circle remained intact.

I was quickly reminded that crossing a traffic circle can be tricky, as the inner circle might be moving when the outer circle isn’t and vice versa. It’s like crossing two separate streets. Watch for the walk signals and pay attention.

The best thing about arriving at a destination in the evening is there’s no need for doing anything touristy except sitting down to dinner. A pleasant option is fish and chips and a 20-ounce Guinness at James Hoban’s Irish Restaurant and Bar, two blocks from Madera at 1 Dupont Circle. It’s open until the wee hours to accommodate late diners and is a choice location for people-watching from a table on the outdoor patio.

A long run the next morning along Massachusetts Avenue NW to admire Embassy Row (from the ultra-modern glass-walled Brazilian structure to the imposing stonework of the architecture of the Saudi Arabian embassy) brings back memories of getting turned around on the diagonal streets that are part of the city’s confusing hub and-spoke design. It’s smart to consult a map before turning a corner, which may not take you to the next block as it would in a city built on a grid pattern but instead send you off in a direction you don’t want to go.

After a shower and quick stop at Bagels Etc. at 2122 P Street for carb-loading (bagels are $1; a bag of five day old bagels is $1.79), we head to the Phillips Collection,1600 21st St. NW, the country’s first museum of modern art. There’s usually an admission charge of $12 for adults ($10 for students). But on this weekend the museum was celebrating Jazz & Families Fun Days with free admission.

The event includes musical performances, hands-on activities for kids (including a try-out-a-musical-instrument room), friendly docents, and the art itself. The collection, displayed in intimate spaces spread throughout the former home of museum founder Duncan Phillips and several adjacent buildings, includes Renoir’s stunning Luncheon of the Boating Party and Edgar Degas’ Dancers at the Barre along with works by Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse, Chaim Soutine, Childe Hassam, Paul Cezanne, Edward Hopper, Henri Rousseau, Paul Klee, Berthe Morisot, Auguste Rodin, Jackson Pollock … It’s an art admirer’s dream, so take your time.

Stepping out of this glorious space into the hot sunshine, we start talking about how much our three small terriers would enjoy the tree lined streets. We need a critter fix, so we head east to the neighborhood dog park on 17th Street NW and S Street. It’s small by Little Rock dog park standards and not nearly as shady, plus it’s covered with Astroturf (not as comfortable as real grass). But the local dogs ambling about, particularly a pair of enormous basset hounds, seem to be enjoying themselves. We admire their antics for a while, then walk a few blocks south to the Safeway supermarket at 17th and Corcoran to stock up on fruit and bottled water (not needed at home, but Washington’s tap water wasn’t terrific during my time as a loaner and isn’t much better now).

BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS

The rest of the afternoon is spent in Kramerbooks, where we note an increased emphasis on best-sellers and novelty books (like the exuberant Underwater Dogs) and a dwindling collection of poetry (What? No Miller Williams?), and in Second Story Books at 2000 P Street, with a fascinating array of first editions, out-of-print publications, maps, illustrations and used books. It’s where you can have your printed materials, fine art and antiques appraised by Allen Stypeck Jr., best known as one of the Book Guys. This is the place to pick up a $1 paperback for the flight home; you won’t feel bad if you forget to take it with you when you deplane.

While strolling around the area, I note what’s new in Dupont Circle since my loaner days: A Starbucks on almost every corner. Ditto for CVS drugstores. Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 1645 Connecticut Ave. Mediterranean restaurants everywhere. Thai restaurants too, including contemporary Thaiphoon, 2011 S St. (try the drunken noodles or fiery Ka Pow entree, each $10.95). Hoity-toity hair salons and day spas. A farmers market just north of the circle on Sunday mornings. Bethesda Bagels, 1718 Connecticut (not New York bagels, according to Yelp website comments, but closer than what we can get at home, and they’ve got sun dried tomato cream cheese).

What’s missing: Childe Harold, a wood-lined saloon, named after a Lord Byron poem, with decent food, well made martinis and a stellar lineup of performers that included Bruce Springsteen in May 1973, where he played for three nights for $750. It closed in 2007. Also gone: A theater that showed foreign and independent films on Connecticut Avenue just south of the circle.

What’s still here: La Tomate Italian Bistro, 1701 Connecticut Ave. Odeon Cafe, 1714 Connecticut Ave. Royal Palace Gentlemen’s Club, 1805 Connecticut Ave. The huge, curving Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. Rock Creek Park. Anderson House, a Beaux Arts museum celebrating the history of Washington’s Gilded Age, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. Brewmaster’s Castle, a 31-room Queen Anne masterpiece built in the 1890s,1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW. Fondo del Sol Visual Arts Center dedicated to the Latin American art and culture, 2112 R Street, NW. The L. Ron Hubbard House, where the founder of Scientology worked from 1957 through 1960, 1812 19th Street NW. The Mansion on O, five interconnected row houses with more than 100 period-decorated rooms, 2020 O St. NW. The National Geographic Museum, exploring nature and human culture, 17th and M streets NW.

What’s nearby: Adams Morgan, a culturally diverse neighborhood to the northeast that’s stocked with funky shops, ethnic restaurants (including Meskerem, serving Ethiopian cuisine) and free outdoor concerts from 5-7 p.m. Saturdays at Columbia and 18th streets all summer long. The magnificent National Cathedral at 3101 Wisconsin Ave. AMC Loews Georgetown movie theater, 3111 K St. The National Zoo at 3001 Connecticut Ave. Shopping on K Street (there’s a Macy’s at 12th and G streets). The White House.

My time here is over much too quickly. Sometimes an encounter with a long-lost love is a disappointment. Not this time. My romance with Dupont Circle may be limited to long weekends, but it’s far from over.

If you go

All major airlines can get you to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is closest to the district, as well as to Washington Dulles and Baltimore/Washington National Airport, each about a 45-minute drive to or from Dupont Circle. US Airways has nonstop flights from Little Rock to Washington Reagan and back; visit usairways.com. Southwest has nonstop flights to and from Baltimore/Washington National Airport; visit southwest.com. A cab from Washington Reagan, which is only a few miles from Dupont Circle, will run $20-$25. The Metro will get you to Dupont Circle station for around $3.

Kimpton has three hotels in the Dupont Circle area: Madera, 1310 New Hampshire Ave. NW; Palomar, 2121 P St. NW; and Topaz, 1733 N St. NW. They all offer decent rates, freshly brewed coffee in the lobby each morning, and a complimentary wine hour daily. For rates, visit kimptonhotels.com.

EATS

The Front Page, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., reasonably priced American menu with entrees, salads, sandwiches, burgers, brunch, drinks, a terrific happy hour from 4-8 p.m. daily and a DJ every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. Open until 2 a.m.Sunday-Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday-Saturday. Visit frontpagedc.com.

City Lights of China, 1731 Connecticut Ave. NW, freshly prepared traditional and modern Chinese dishes featuring stir-fry, steamed and sauteed menu items. Delivery available. Open until 10 p.m. Sunday-Friday, 10:30 p.m. Saturday. Visit citylightsofchina.com.

Meiwah, 1200 New Hampshire Ave., NW, meiwahrestaurant.com. A modern light-filled space with a sushi bar and attractive outdoor terrace that serves neighborhood Chinese dishes such as dumplings and soups, whole fish, Mongolian lamb and sweet and sour pork. Owned by LarryLa, who sold City Lights of China a few years ago.

Bethesda Bagels, 1718 Connecticut Ave. NW, bethesdabagels.com. You’ll wait in something that resembles a line (similar to the disorder encountered at Mother’s in New Orleans, with people shouting out orders) for a fun, cheap and tasty breakfast, brunch or lunch. Bagel flavors include banana nut and pina colada as well as traditional stars like pumpernickel, onion, sesame, garlic, and whole wheat, plus tempting spreads like asiago cheese, sun-dried tomato and blueberry cream cheeses. The coffee’s good, as are the black and white cookies.

• Karen Martin