Washington D.C.
Well, it’s my first post about a domestic trip I took and it is long overdue. I traveled to Washington D.C. back in October to attend a privacy and security conference and had some time to explore the nation’s capitol!
I flew into BWI airport and took the train into Union Station (which is gorgeous by the way). I was starving so I went straight to lunch. I decided it would be good to walk to the restaurant, well it wasn’t. It was so far and I took some wrong turns and an hour later I finally got there. I had looked up some suggested restaurants and settled on Thamee, which serves Burmese cuisine! I’d never had Burmese food, so I was excited to try it. Holy moly it was so yummy. It was a Sunday and there was a brunch special so I did the deep fried chicken samusas (still have dreams about them…) and palata and curry. All very amazing; would highly recommend.
I eventually found my way to the hostel. Yes, an American hostel. Now before you say ew, it actually wasn’t that bad! It was exactly like the Eurpean hostels I’ve stayed at, maybe even better than some of the European ones. Don’t discount American hostels; they’re not bad :) The name of the hostel was Highroad Hostel DC and was in such a cute neighborhood. There were plenty of cute restaurants, bars and shops literally right outside the door. There was a supposedly amazing Ethiopian restaurant close by, but I never made it there to eat. It was close to a metro stop which was super nice. I was able to take public transportation to and from the conference each day.
The first full day I had was jam packed with activities! I started out at the Smithsonian National Natural History Museum. It was awesome! I got so see some very neat exhibits and watch a tarantula feeding! I also saw the Hope Diamond and was a little unimpressed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s huge. I don’t really know what I expected, that just wasn’t it.
After leaving the Smithsonian, I walked all along the national mall and saw the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the Washington Monument! Luckily I had lots of time because it’s a much farther walk than it looks. I took a tour of the Capitol which was interesting! I felt like I’d hear a lot more National Treasure type stories but it was pretty bland. I swung by the Supreme Court of the United States and wow that was cool!! No one was around so I got some good pictures of the building. I also went to the Newseum which is unfortunately now permanently closed. It was by far one of the best museums I have ever visited. The layout was awesome and the content was very moving. It really gave me a new perspective of the media and a new appreciation for journalists.
The rest of the trip was mainly spent at the conference. I’d love to go back and see more of the museums and experience the food scene more! See you soon DC!
