Last weekend I headed to Washington, DC to check out this nation’s capital city. It was a bit of an impromptu trip, planned with a view to catching some cherry blossoms while they are in bloom in the city.
I have seen so much of DC in movies and on TV, I couldn’t help but think of all the iconic scenes and locations as we explored.
We set off on the train from Penn Station, in chilly NYC and arrived in the stunning Union Station DC on a warm, sunny Friday evening. Shortly afterwards we got to our Airbnb accommodation in the U Street / Logan Circle area, and New York seemed far far away.
After freshening up quickly, we headed for the U Street / 14th Street vicinity – such a buzzy area! We had a cocktail and dinner in District Distilling Co, followed by a couple of Friday night drinks on the busy roof terrace at The Lost Society.
We wandered home in the warm temperatures and by Saturday morning, we were stocked up on sleep and ready for some serious sightseeing! To get ourselves going, we picked up some amazing coffees and pastries at The Coffee Bar, then headed for the River Potomac at the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
The city is well laid out for tourists like ourselves – there is lots to see within a short distance. From the bridge, we visited the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool – reliving the happiest moment of Forrest Gump’s life (“JENNY!”). Robin Wright has certainly gone for a different vibe in her more recent DC incarnation hasn’t she?! I love both though!
We approached the Korean War Veterans Memorial from the back. You really get the feeling of troops moving forward as you walk alongside them, and some sense of how terrifying it must have been.
On a much lighter note, we had been told that the best cherry blossoms could be found down by the Tidal Basin. We passed the Martin Luther King memorial (“out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope“) to get there.
Sure enough, there were some beautiful blooms and a view across the water to the Thomas Jefferson memorial.
We came from freeeeezing temperatures in New York and had heard that similar icy weather had slowed or even killed the cherry blossom growth in DC, so I don’t think they were as spectacular as they have been in other years.
Still very easy on the eye though.
The cherry blossom trees were originally a gift from the people of Japan to the United States in 1912. The gift was a gesture of friendship and goodwill. Now, there are almost 4000 trees of different varieties on National Park Service land.
We meandered along the banks of the Tidal Basin and then towards the World War II Memorial which was also very moving. Thundering water features, triumphal arches and stone pillars “mark the price of freedom” very effectively. It’s hard not to feel heavy with the weight that war has had on the world as you walk around this part of the city.
From there, we climbed towards the Washington Monument (it is absolutely massive up close!) where kites were flying among the American flags. This gave us our first good views of the Capitol.
Cue House of Cards theme music…
We walked along the National Mall, passing huge museums and more beautiful buildings.
I had to pinch myself to realise I was actually there!
It was almost lunchtime by the time we reached the Capitol. We decided to move to the grassy banks of the Potomac, at Georgetown Waterfront for food and to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine outdoors. We were incredibly lucky with the weather – some of us (me) even got a little sunburned! It felt great to be out of my puffa coat and furry boots, having lived in them for the past 4 months in New York.
Afterwards, we had a walk around Georgetown – the main street is full of character (and LOTS of lovely shops) and is well worth a visit. The college campus itself is really impressive too. It was the stunning houses that stole my heart though…
Green and gorgeous. (George-ous? No?)
More green… and this purple door… swoon.
A rainbow terrace just outside the Georgetown campus gates.
We even passed a college party blaring the sounds of Justin Bieber and lots of ahem, different varieties of weed in the back garden… The frat guy with the red cup on the door wasn’t quite Zac Efron, but it definitely smelled like a scene out of Bad Neighbours.
Speaking of movie locations, we also passed the stairs from the scene in The Exorcist where the priest falls down at the end. Shudder.
I felt the need to put in a pretty picture of a pink house after thinking of that horrible image!
Back in the city and after another fairly quick turnaround, we got ourselves out for pre-dinner drinks in balmy temperatures on the patio at Redlight. This was followed by a delicious dinner downtown at buzzy Spanish restaurant Jaleo.
Full of tapas and vino tinto, we went back to see the Big Man by night…
He’s HUGE!
From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, you can look over to the Washington Monument. Pretty magical in the darkness and highly recommended. Much quieter than during the day too.
We passed by the Whitehouse on our way home but it was after midnight and the lights were off so we agreed to get up early on Sunday to see it.
The money shot!
We had just enough time before heading back to NYC to get an hour in the Air & Space Museum (completely free and well worth a visit!)
I decided to go home via Bolt Bus. It takes longer than the train, but is much cheaper, and leaves from the same place (Union Station). The station is huge and really well kitted out with shops and food options if you have to spend some extra time there. I managed to squeeze in a cheeky Shake Shack burger and cheesy fries just before the bus left!
All in all, a great trip to DC and I can’t wait to return. In addition to the thought-provoking and impactful memorials of all that has gone before us, there is a real sense of things happening in the city – but at a much less frantic pace than New York. I’d love to explore more.
I spent the journey home planning world domination…. watch this space…!
