Washington D.C. - First Thoughts & Impressions
The best part about experiencing D.C. for the second time was watching my dad experience it for the first time. Hands down. I can’t remember the last time I just let myself be a tourist.It was wonderful.It had been nine years since my first trip to D.C., so I had a uniquely strange sense of nostalgia and newness all at once. I remembered the Washington Monument, but forgot how tall it was. I remembered sitting in Chambers, but forgot how exciting it was. I remembered the Smithsonian's, but forgot how absolutely massive they can be.Although it’s been a few weeks since my return from our nation’s capital, I wanted to give you my (previously written when everything was still fresh in my head) first impression of my second trip to D.C.
The Food
I’ll definitely be talking about this more in the future, but some of the BEST food I had during my trip was in the USDA cafeteria (I know, right?!). Everything we ate in D.C. was great. I went in with the mentality I have in Boston, which is: city prices.We went to Whole Foods and picked up some light breakfast pastries and snacks so that we could save some money, but it was definitely one of our greatest expenses during the trip.Plan accordingly, my friends.
Some of the best food I had on this trip was in the Senate cafeteria...
The Hotel
When we first got to our hotel, it was rough. I hadn’t realized they were under construction and our entrance was the service entrance which was also the front lobby. Our room was slightly delayed in availability because of the special requests we had made (it needed to be pet-free because my allergies are horrible, but combine them with my dad and my brother? Catastrophic.)So yeah, not the best first impression.I was bracing myself for apology after apology to my dad, and was ready for some righteous indignation when we saw our room.Then we saw our room.Guys, it was beautiful.Exposed concrete floors, black subway tiling in the bathroom, the perfect mixture of chic and bohemian and industrial. It was like someone pulled my dream bedroom from my imagination and put it in front of me. From the little peaks and glimpses of the main floor of the hotel that we got, the rest of the place will be the same way. My biggest regret is that I didn’t grab pictures.I am so excited to go back once the worst of the virus has blown over and see the transformation!
The Monuments
I love how Boston is so full of history. Walking around areas like the North End or Beacon Hill can feel like stepping back in time.It doesn’t hold a flame to D.C.The whole city is a museum. It’s grand and imposing, beautiful and stunning. I’d go so far as to call it opulent. White marble, iron, gold -- the city screams wealth and power. It broadcasts to the world “Look what we can do. Look what we did.”Perhaps the best thing? Almost all of these buildings are free to enter.It’s the ease with which they can be entered that’s the tricky part.The Smithsonians, the National Archives, and the Capitol Building are all pretty straightforward with bag checks and metal detectors; meanwhile The White House can take months to obtain a visitor’s pass.We didn’t tour The White House.
Free!!!
My Feet
One of the things I love the most about D.C. is how walkable it is.One of the things I hate the most about D.C. is how walkable it is.Let me elaborate.A lot of the major monuments in the city are close together, gathered around the National Mall. You can easily spend three or four days hopping from one place to another and slowly make your way from the Washington Monument to Capitol Hill. The one thing that didn’t cross my mind when I was thinking about how great it will be to walk from place to place is that I would actually have to walk from place to place.We walked almost twenty miles in three days.The moral of the story? When you go to our nation’s lovely capital, bring your walking shoes.
To quote my Pepere: Boy, did it feel good to sit down...
As I sit in my apartment during this insane COVID-19 crisis, I keep thinking back to this trip that we barely squeezed in before the seriousness of this situation was truly made known. If that was the last trip I can take for a while, I’m glad it was to D.C.More importantly, though? I’m glad it was a joy I got to share with my dad and my brother.