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| *Travel Tips>>>Washington, D.C. Travel Tips |
Has anyone ever been to Washington, D.C.? If so, what do you consider seeing? what hotspots? What to eat? |
Travel Info Has anyone ever been to Washington, D.C.? If so, what do you consider seeing? what hotspots? What to eat? Travel Tips A few years ago my dad and I road tripped to Washington, D.C. just days after they caught the snipers. Other then weird road shifts coming into the city and getting an impromptu vanning <anti-meat protest where a bunch of people drive pop a van up over the curb next to the subway exit and pass out pamphlets, while a screen mounted to the side of the van shows explicit depictions of animal mistreatment at the hands of slaughter houses> YUCK! A great place to stay: You can't beat the in Dupont Circle area with it's beautiful 1880's to the 20th century row house architecture, art galleries (21 art galleries withing spitting distance of each other), book shops, coffee houses, and cafes. We choose the Carlyle Suites. An inexpensive (100-300 relative to other hotels) retro art deco style hotel just off the circle. To save a little cash we opted for a room with a full kitchen and shopped the local markets for fresh produce and snacks. The metro is within a few minutes and a perk is walking through the circle of Dupont (a medium sized fountain park). Places to see: I suggest parking the car at the hotel and using other modes of transportation, such as the metro, which is surprisingly fast and clean (1,000x better then the Detroit people mover). Besides all the FREE must-do Smithsonian museums (even the post office). Make it a point to drag a friend through the Spy Museum. We went in on a whim and spent over 3 hrs going through some amazing exhibits (worked 10yrs at an American History one, so I know what I'm talking about). If you don't want to drive or are short on time. A day tour bus ride is well worth the money. You would spend all day trying to get to half the places these guys get to. Seeing George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate (I suggest opting for the headphone narration tour) , whipping through Old Town Alexandria, and witnessing the changing of the guards at Arlington National Cemetery without worrying about traffic or parking made it well worth the expense. Unique places to eat: Discounting quick bites at hot dog stands, the Hard Rock Cafe, and a landmark $$$ one I can't remember the name of, but it was filled with suits doing "dinner". Our second night saw us out walking around Dupont and coming across The Mount Everest Restaurant, which serves Royal Indian and Nepalese cuisine a true taste of the Himalayas. We ordered two combination meals to test the waters one meat and the other vegetarian. They came to us served on military metal dinner treys! It was a little strange but very good if you like to experiment with unusual fare. A few nights later, before we left out to visit Jefferson's Monticello. We tried The Marrakesh, which I had secretly been wanting to visit after reading about it in the tour book. It is an traditional Moroccan family feast with each of the 6 courses served on a large central silver platter placed on a tripod stand between 2-3 guests. Everyone is seated on extremely long couch sections divided into large U sections. After washing your hands you are presented with a slice of bread from one of the large baskets dotting the central isle way. You traditionally use a piece of the bread and your right hand to scoop up the food! My favorites were the mint tea and The B'Stella - Layered Pie with Chicken, assorted nuts, almonds, eggs, parsley, and onions. Topped with Confectioners sugar and traced with Cinnamon. This is a very expensive place, which the tour book didn't go into detail about. They only accept cash and have a well stocked ATM stationed in the back. All told our meal with entertainment came to almost $90.00! Half-way through our meal. Our waiter approached us to ask if we could move down the couch, as he and another server made preparations to removed a wooden bar out of the vacated couch back. A small stage was cleverly made out of the two opposite couch backs and a thick Persian rug in the middle of the room. As the lights dimmed and the music swelled out came a troop of waiters carrying lit sparkler garnished red drinks which were presented to various parties celebrating that night. At the start of the next song out came the belly dancer! We heard mummers of a performance, but no one near us knew what it would be. My dad still had his camera handy and almost blinded the poor woman as he shot almost a full roll. He took some gently ribbing from the other guests after she finished and we completed our meal. There are a million things to see, do, and eat! Definitely pace yourself with a little list of places to see each day, as you will get easily sidetracked and never make half the main sights you want to see. Have a great time! Kris Source(s): Lonely Planet - Thorn Tree Forum (traveler to traveler advice). AAA Michigan tour maps and guides (map without the road shift listed!) Other Travel Tips i like the sackler gallery i like the roosevelt memorial i like the capitol tour (through your representative) riding the metro i like georgetown, the boat ride on the potomac i love the african, peruvian and belgian food. i like the nighttime bus tour but i am a 46 year old female so what i like might be different than you. The Capitol, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and the Smithsonian all are great. The National Zoo is good too. Foodwise, it's a big city, but lots of good places in Georgetown. see all of the monuments, library of Congress, etc some museums and restaurant I'm not sure Oh and Howard Univ and GW Univ. If I can remember Go to VA also it's nice there too. I live about 20 minutes from D.C. and when you live here you don't really do the whole touring thing but from the places I have been I'd recommend the White House (if you're into that whole thing), the Capital, The Monument, The Vietnam Veteran Wall, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington National Cemetery, the list goes on and on. I haven't been to any of these places in a long time but I know that these are the places most people are interested in seeing when they're in this area. I don't know how long you'll be in the D.C. area but if you can I'd try and make to down to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore there's a lot to do down there, restaurants, lounges, shops, The National Aquarium etc. Ocean City is a couple hours from D.C. and it's beautiful. Have a safe trip!! Live in the Baltimore/ D.C. area |
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