Recently, we’ve forsaken the tranquility of a typically lazy Saturday morning in favor of madly dashing off to the Del Ray Farmer’s Market in time to snag a coveted loaf of Bonaparte Breads’ Pain Normande. A perfectly rustic bundle of yeast and flour, the Pain Normande is fully loaded with tender pieces of dried apple, black and golden raisins, and walnuts. Sure, plenty of local bakeries purvey a range of fruit-studded handmade loaves, but none…

Baltimore can now start the bragging — according to Men’s Fitness magazine, it’s America’s fittest city in 2006. In a surprising jump in rankings, Baltimore, which last year came in at 25, had the second-lowest number of places to buy ice cream of all cities surveyed, ranked third-best in access to health-care, placed in the top 10 in ratio of people to public parks, and enjoyed an exercising populace (8 of 10 residents had gotten…

Washington is an international city and draws people and visitors from around the globe, but it is more often associated with cynicism and politics than with warm fuzzy feelings of goodwill. That is why it is especially heartening to see local fundraising efforts for tsunami relief activities continue to grow. The latest announcement comes from Georgetown Yoga, which is offering three charity yoga classes, from 5:30-7:00 p.m., on January 16, 23, and 30. Proceeds from…