USA 16 – Two Days in Washington DC

Having only visited the States once before, when I spent a whirlwind weekend in New York to celebrate my 21^st birthday back in 2013, I was aware that I hadn’t seen much further afield than the Big Apple tourist bubble. As a keen traveller, I was determined to change this, and where better to start my tour of the north-east coast than with America’s capital city.

I will admit that before my trip, I did not know a great deal about the city – I knew little about the history of the city e.g. Why it became the nation’s capital rather than Philadelphia or Boston?, and apart from the White House and a handful of the other well known monuments, I wasn’t all that sure of what there was to see. As first-time visitors, we gave ourselves a little under 48 hours in the city and I can tell you for sure, we hardly even scratched the surface!!

With less than two full days to explore Washington, we definitely had a lot on our plates. I think that what most people aren’t aware of before they arrive in the city is quite how spread out and open the place is. Sure, the main sights are clustered around the National Mall, but, even that in itself is huge, and it takes quite some time to walk between all the attractions.

Two Days in Washington DC

On our first evening in Washington, we made a bee-line for the one and only White House. Sadly, we hadn’t received an invite for dinner with the Obamas but thought we’d pop by anyway to admire their humble abode! (We did however give them a wave, later on as the presidential cavalcade passed us by.) I think everybody says this when they see the place in real life, but it’s not nearly as big as you would imagine!

We then wandered down in the direction of the National Mall, catching a glimpse of the sky-piercing spire of the Washington Monument, in the last phase of the Golden Hour – every photographer’s dream capture-time – and then spent some time excitedly taking in and absorbing our surroundings. With the sun beginning to dip below the horizon and the tiredness from the flight plus the long day kicking in, we began to head back in the direction of the hotel, stopping for an ever-so-classy Five Guys dinner along the way. We were in America after-all!

The following day we were up early, bright and bushy-tailed, ready to explore. We headed out, once again in the direction of the National Mall, but this time opted to do our sightseeing not on foot, but with the help of one of the sightseeing bus companies, The Big Bus Tour*. From the comfort of the bus we were able to take in the sights, access informative commentary and rest our weary legs. Our route took us up Constitution Avenue, passing several of the Smithsonian Museums along the way before we turned off towards other DC attractions including the Newseum, the International Spy Museum, and Ford’s Theatre (where Lincoln was assassinated in 1865).

Arriving at Washington’s impressive Union Station, some thirty minutes later, we decided to disembark from the bus (Hop-off) and headed inside to get a good look at the interior and to grab a late breakfast at the very un-American Le Pain Quotidien. I must say that the station alone should be considered a visit-worthy attraction – it’s open and airy concourse is reminiscent of the grandeur of a bygone age with high curved ceilings, decorative columns and figurines, a sleek marble floor and beautiful gold detailing on the ceilings.

We continued our day (Hop-on) by taking another of the Big Bus Tour’s routes – there are four in total – over to Arlington where we spent some time wandering through the grounds of the National Cemetery, paying our respect to many of America’s soldiers who died serving their country as well as visiting the resting place for JFK and his family. The first part of the afternoon took us to The Capitol Building where we enjoyed a wonderful and thoroughly interesting tour, followed by a quick ‘visit’ to the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Building, both of which are proudly perched atop Capitol Hill across from The Capitol Building itself.

The late afternoon, into evening, was spent at a more leisurely pace, as we promenaded down the National Mall as far as the Reflecting Pool, and then further along to the Lincoln Memorial, from which Abraham himself still keeps watch over the city. We then meandered a little way off the National Mall to enjoy the pink cherry blossoms which encircle the tidal basin each Spring in Washington. I can assure you it was quite a sight and the photographs definitely do not do it justice!

On our way back towards the hotel on M Street NW and as we searched for a suitable eatery, we stopped at the National WW2 Memorial. It really is amazing how many different visit-worthy stops there are to make just along the Mall itself, and sadly because of time constraints, we had only managed to spend time at a small proportion of them! We ended the day with dinner at Vapiano, a chain that I became obsessed with during my Year Abroad in Germany – if you don’t know the concept, definitely check it out!

Our final morning in Washington was spent in the beautiful historic neighbourhood of Georgetown, just a short walk from our hotel. Situated to the northwest of the city, Georgetown is filled with quiet residential streets, lined with gorgeous historic houses, upmarket stores and high-end eateries, and is as far as I’m concerned, a must-see area to explore when you’re in the city.

After breakfasting with a coffee and pastry from Dean & Deluca, followed by a cheeky cupcake from Georgetown Cupcakes, we aimlessly strolled up and down the brick-paved streets admiring all the well-groomed homes with their flowerbeds bursting with the colour of the pretty Spring flowers. As lunchtime approached we both shared an element of sadness as we had to drag ourselves away from Georgetown’s lovely streets. Our short, but action-packed, stay was fast coming to an end and so we begrudgingly returned to the hotel to collect our bags, ready to move on to our next destination – Philadelphia.

Whilst our time in the city was not nearly enough to do justice to this remarkable centre of American politics and power or to tick everything off on the well-trodden tourist trail, or to delve deeper into its history or culture, it did provide us with the opportunity to see the major sights and gave us a taste for America’s capital. Both my boyfriend and I came away from our time in DC determined to return in the future and spend more time getting to know its different districts and of course to visit all of those Smithsonian’s!!

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