If you’re travelling in the States, you must visit the home of Donald Trump – Washington D.C.! I was not able to stay for a long time in Washington D.C. due to my tight schedule, but I did visit some well-known landmarks!
First off, the Washington Union Station – a restored Beaux-Arts and Classical building. The Union Station opened on October 27, 1907. It is Amtrak’s second busiest station. It has been restored and is really quite beautiful inside with places to eat and shops.
My friends and I walked through and it was VERY crowded. We were impressed by the gold leaf restoration near the ceiling on the plasterwork. Truly beautiful building! While not as large, the architecture is very impressive and well-maintained. Not only this, but if you’ll be taking any tours of the City, you’ll probably be starting here, so you might as well go inside and enjoy. There are lots of shops, including an excellent bakery and café right near the main entrance. It’s also located near other tourist destinations, so if you like history, train travel, architecture or just exploring old public spaces, this should be on your list.
We stopped at TGI Fridays for lunch.
The place was relaxing with a bar. We sat in the restaurant and our waitress was very personable, extremely efficient, and fun! She and the food made our last day in Washington D.C. a memorable one. I ordered the chicken with mashed potato. My friends ordered prime ribs and steak which was the better cut and taste. But the food was really, really good! I had a glass of shakes and we all had sides of mash potato and broccoli. The food was cooked to perfection!
The White House was FANtastic and incredible! The highlight of my latest visit to D.C. and I loved every minute of it, and what’s not to love?
You could get tickets through a local congressperson. When I visited, it was freezing ice cold but not crowded. If you have read and studied and reviewed all the rules, you should be able to breeze through the security clearances and checks with no problems at all.
Walking through the basement was great, seeing photos, portraits and memorability , and the Presidential Library.
Climbing the famous steps to the main floor was awesome, and visiting the several famous historical rooms was such a great experience to always treasure: such momentous history- the East Room, the Red Room, the Blue Room, the Green Room, the State Dining Room and the Main Lobby, exiting through that world famous front door with the gigantic epic lantern hanging over it. It is quite a heavy door to push open: maybe that’s why an assistant always does it for the President.
I could have lingered there for a much longer time. It was such a great experience to be in the very places where such famous people have been and where such history has taken place- I especially remembered and relived the events after the Kennedy assassination November 1963- scenes from the White House from then.
As you have may know, the tour is unguided. There are Secret Service men stationed, who answer questions. I loved my visit and I’ll try again another day. In the meantime, please remember to take a lot of photos when you’re there.
On this visit to the Washington Monument, we were able to see the monument from the outside in daytime, but could not go up to the top inside. The elevator was closed.
Apparently the monument’s elevator was closed down in August of 2016 after on-going mechanical, electrical, and computer issues. Businessman David M. Rubinstein has pledged $2-3 million for the replacement of the elevator. The computer system will be replaced with one that has diagnostics, and the elevator hardware will be replaced. Rubinstein had already donated $7.5 Million to repair the monument after it was cracked in a 2011 earthquake.
My friends and I still have not been to the top so we will need to keep going back!
For the National Mall, they don’t open nor close, so you don’t have to worry about what time you visit during the day/night. The ambiance and the lights amplify the monuments against the night sky, so I think it is more preferable to visit at night. They just glow! Also, at night, it would be less crowded, so better photo options.
This then gave me more time to spend the day at places that did have limited viewing. There are scooters and bikes to rent to get around quick too. In terms of safety, I believe Washington is relatively safe, their city is I believe by far the best in the east of the States. I didn’t see many homeless around, although there a one or two at times, but they seem harmless to me.
Smithsonian Institution Castle, as it is known, is the starting place for all the Smithsonian museums. Although small, it contains an ever rotating collection of artifacts that come from the endless supply warehouses of history.
There was a collection of 4 incredible helmets worn by historic pilots who made aviation history. My brain can go on stun from the small displays.
Mr. Smithson’s funeral urn and the story behind it is on the other side of the entrance. There is a coffee shop, sandwich shop in the middle of the building. Out the back door are two gardens that can be incredible, if you are there at the right time of year.
I love to check in here and see the min, almost overview displays and let this soak in. I have often added this in at the end of the day to chill, relax, and get one more dose of wonderful.
Visited the Holocaust Museum and the United States Capitol in Washington DC. It was somewhat of a last minute decision so I was not able to get tickets in advance for the Permanent Exhibit. We arrived in the afternoon and we were able to get walk up tickets. Even if this was the only part of the museum we could see, I would have been fine with it. We decided to go to the Permanent Exhibit and it was truly amazing. The information is abundant and amazing. I highly recommend the museum. Even if you have younger kids or aren’t sure of your comfort level with all of the museums, take the time to visit Daniel’s Story. It will be worth your time!
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