Last week, we were invited to the first-ever Media Day hosted by the merchants who adorn Del Ray, the Alexandria neighborhood littered with eclectic pet clinics, yoga and massage studios, gourmet stores, coffee shops, green dry cleaners and even a butcher to boot! The day began with our hostess, the lovely Leslie Keating who recently launched Notable PR, gathering all the merchants and the media at St Elmo's Coffee Pub (Owner & Realtor Nora Partlow says people often call asking if they serve booze, which they don't) where the owners introduced themselves and took PR tips from Keating on how best to pitch the local angle.

After coffee and bagels, we were led on a walking tour by Christina Richardson, PhD, the head of the Del Ray Business Association (Richardson, like many other local business owners, wears two hats: She owns a grief counseling practice in Del Ray and she also runs 4Paws2Hands, a Pet Reiki store). On our tour we ran into Kristina Roberston who runs Karing by Kristina, a pet care business and a cute little store called Canine Cuisine Unleashed (Kristina relo'ed from pedestrian-friendly Old Towne to pet-friendly Del Ray a year ago) and as we spoke, one of her vans idled waiting for canine coochies looking for a day of pampering in her mobile spa.

On our walking tour, we also cajoled with the Cheese Lady Jill Erber who owns Cheestique, a cheese and wine bar where you can indulge in artisan salami tastings with wine pairings on the strip.

The walking tour was followed by a sumptuous, family-style lunch at La Strada, the block's most famous osteria and enoteca where the entire group gathered to feast on Veal scaloppine layered with sage and prosciutto with a white wine butter sauce, spinach and polenta; homemade ravioli stuffed with veal and vegetables in a morel mushroom cream sauce, among others. The meal was interspersed with rich passages of local history narrated by a native who can trace his lineage back 12 generations!

Before we called it a day, our gracious hosts had a surprise lined up for us: A heavenly, one-hour massage at the Healing Tree, established in 2002 by Maryellen Thorp. Our masseuse, Cheyenne Kettler (shown in the picture below with a co-worker) combined swedish and deep tissue massage - skills he gathered at the Utah College of Massage Therapy - to help us unwind and prepare for the next challenge for the day: A challenging three-hour Master Class on Port and Portuguese wines by the Douro Boys at the Embassy on Portugal (more on that later!)

To stroll Del Ray and its businesses, go to http://www.visitdelray.com