Sunday, May 5, 2013

A Birthday in DC

Dave was working in Washington DC for a couple of weeks and the weekend in the middle happened to be both his birthday and prime cherry blossom season.
So it was perfect for a weekend exploring the capital city.


I arrived off the megabus bus (which is equally miserable here as in the UK - note to self) at 8pm on Friday night just in time for birthday cocktails and an amazing meal. 
The view above was the first thing you see when you leave the station.


Whilst NY was only just beginning to show signs of life after a never-ending winter in DC it felt like Spring.

Since I'd never been before we had to tick off most of the big tourist sights. 
I loved seeing all the Presidential memorials and so many familiar sights from films and, of course, The West Wing (which I am now even more desperate to re-watch)

{Lincoln Memorial and sight of Martin Luther King's speech at the March on Washington}.

{Obligatory shots with Washington Monument in background, including scaffolding}

We actually just missed peak cherry blossom bloom (and were put off by the huge crowds) but still enjoyed a walk round the famous tidal basin 

{White House! And chocolate milkshake!}
{Library of Congress}

I definitely want to go back. The things we liked most were that all the museums were free (like London and very much unlike NYC). 
We managed to fit in a couple in our quick weekend but we really want to visit in winter and just do museums. 

Also the architecture was so different from New York and definitely felt more southern. 
We loved walking around Georgetown and the Capital District looking at all the amazing houses and old historic streets.