Washington DC perhaps not quite as magnificent as Rome, and not surrounded by 7 hills, but this is where the current world power lies. In Rome, Capitoline Hill was the symbolic center of the ancient city, both spiritually and politically. It was Thomas Jefferson who chose the name “Capitol” for the building that would house Congress, and the name of the hill that it would sit on. Did he have Rome in mind? I’m not sure, but certainly many concepts of the Republic endured.
The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country’s East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The population is just under 700,000.
We loved the city, especially its ambience and fine dining, and will definitely go back.
The architecture in DC is impressive. Of course the government buildings are large and magnificient, but the apartment buildings are also beautifully designed and are all unique. There are no cookie cutter glass towers here, or for that matter, any tall towers due to the building height restriction.
The city has many wide avenues giving it a spacious grand atmosphere and it is well planned. It has roundabouts to help ease traffic, and a grid system with logical street names that makes it easy to get around. Letters are east and west, and numbers are north to south. State streets are diagonal and often run into the traffic circles. There are some exceptions to this, but generally speaking, the system makes it easy to know where you are in the city. The beautiful design of the city and the unique homes impressed us both.
Getting there: Reagan International airport is downtown, and Dulles airport is about 40 minutes outside of the city. We took Uber downtown from Dulles (about $50 USD) but there is a bus that goes to the subway, and the subway will get you to many locations in the city.
Weather: In the summer it is very hot and humid. Washington was built on a swamp so it feels tropical. The humidity is high so wear light clothing and bring water with you.
Key Attractions
Obviously, there are many attractions in DC, but the list below shows what we were most interested in. The Smithsonian museums are all free. We walked around the main sights, but due to the humidity, it was exhausting. I recommend taking a hop on/off tour.
- Capitol Hill
- White House
- National Mall
- Lincoln Memorial
- Washington Monument
- Jefferson Memorial
- Vietnam & Korea veteran’s Memorials
- Arlington Cemetery
- Library of Congress
- Smithsonian Museums
- National Art Gallery
- National Spy Museum
- Potomac River Cruise
- Georgetown
A few photos from key DC destinations:
We very much enjoyed spending time in historic Georgetown and will stay in this area the next time we visit DC. Located along the Potomac river, it has cobblestone streets, historic houses, many shops, cafes and restaurants. The Frye Shoe store on Wisconsin Ave has a good collection of shoes and boots, nice staff, and a decent sale from time to time.
Where to Stay?
We stayed at the Kimpton Mason & Rook in a great neighbourhood. Known as Washington’s “it” zone, there are many bars and excellent restaurants that are walking distance. Whole Foods Market and Dolcezza coffee shop are one short block away, and the bustling 14th street with boutiques, bars and great food is right around the corner. The Black Cat music venue is on 14th st. about 6 blocks north. The only time you need to leave the neighbourhood is to see the key attractions, which are further downtown (about $7 by Uber or $2 cash by bus on 14th street).
This boutique hotel is very reasonably priced, has large rooms with large bathrooms, free wi-fi, a good sized flat screen TV, and free wine & beer in the lounge at cocktail hour. It also has a rooftop lounge with a small pool. The drawbacks are that it has no coffee machine, the elevators are painfully slow, there is no closet so the only place to hang your things is in a tiny space in the bathroom, and overall the hotel could use a bit of a scrubbing.
Next time we will try The Jefferson which is not too far from this neighbourhood on 16th street, or The Rosewood in Georgetown.
Where to Eat?
There are many great places to eat in Washington. This is a short selection of a few restaurants that we tried, plus some that were recommended by trusted sources, but that we did not get a chance to try.
Estadio is a Spanish restaurant on 14th street, near Logan Circle, with great tapas. Reasonably priced with many Portuguese wines by the glass. We thought the food here was superb.
Another good dining spot that we tried near Logan Circle is Logan Tavern on P street. They serve local farm fresh products at a fair price. Good food, pub style.
We had dinner at Le Diplomate (French restaurant) on 14th street because it was recommended in several blogs, however, for the price they can do better. It is a popular tourist spot and very busy, but this is not a foodie destination. The food was mediocre at best. We had the beef bourguignon, duck breast and salad verte, and for desert: creme brûlée and profiteroles. I sent the salad back because the vinaigrette tasted like cheap super market dressing – it was far too tart and made the salad inedible. The main meal was unimpressive. And the desert… well, I’ve had better at coffee shops. The creme brûlée was tasteless and left a waxy film on the roof of my mouth – truly one of the worst I have ever tried. The profiteroles, to which they added bananas (why?!) were not much better: low grade chocolate sauce, with tasteless vanilla ice cream and superfluous bananas. No, I do not recommend this restaurant. Expensive and mediocre.
The Partisan / Red Apron, located on D street near the major tourist attractions, provides good quality local and ethically sourced food in a casual setting. Good food, fair prices and nice ambiance.
We had a nice lunch in Georgetown at Martin’s Tavern – the oldest family owned restaurant in DC. And it has a lot of history! This is where Senator John F. Kennedy proposed to Miss Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on Wednesday, June 24, 1953 in the back booth. Martin’s Tavern also had the honor of serving every President from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush when they were Senators, Governors and Congressmen.
And this is where we discovered the Boulevardier with bourbon; our new favorite drink.
Other Recommended Restaurants
Enjoy Washington DC!