Tuesday, October 18, 2011

dc trip

i'm not really sure where to begin with my adventures in dc. a trip without kids means to me....
cram it all in! no stops! go until we drop!

which is what we did the first day. we literally dropped. i think i napped on the floor. i was tie tie.

there is a lot to see and do in dc. walking. walking. walking. which is why i justified my cupcake crusade. i hit up 3 shops.

cakelove- too much icing and too rich. i ended up tossing it :(

red velvet- good.

georgetown cupcake- delish!

georgetown was definitely the best. i waited in a 30 min. line to get in the joint. thank goodness it was worth the wait. there were beautiful fresh flower arrangements on all the tables. they even had the cheapest price! $2.75 ea.

day 1
* arrive at 10:30 pm
* auntie whips up some delicious pasta for me at midnight. aglio e olio. yumm.....
* sleep

day 2
* get coffee and croissants at PAUL french bistro
* walked around penn. ave. and checked out the newseum & the front page newspapers of all the 50 states. conspiracy theory if you ask me.
* walked "the mall" a little bit & checked out the castle smithsonian which gave us an overview of all the museums.
* freer museum. asian art. kinda boring.
* hit up the american history museum. my fav exhibits were the original ruby red slippers, julia child's kitchen and the life and deaths of the presidents. so interesting.
* freedom plaza to witness occupy dc. kinda exciting but lame. jumpin' on that peace train.
we did learn the basics of protesting tho.... integrate, agitate, educate. no stripping of clothes or chaining happened tho.
* changed gears and headed to the willard for an upscale white wine kind of lunch. very fancy :)
* walked to the white house. looked for the doorbell to ring & ask if we could come in. no luck.
* took a taxi to cakelove.
* took the metro home to rest.
* got up and walked some more.
* checked out a pretty awesome corner. cupcake store, liquor store (with local beer) luke's lobster shack.... ummmm sooooooo good. and a starbucks to top it off. what else do
you need in life?
* headed back for a delicious dinner and a scrabble game.

day 3
* oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.
* mass at st. patrick's. awesome. founded in 1794. met the ambassador of spain. he had a driver.
* red velvet cupcakes and starbucks.
* the national gallery to view the presidential portraits. loved this. so cool. a must see.
* walked to the lincoln memorial. very cool.
* walked to the viet nam memorial. joined in more protesting. realizing that the protests are actually annoying.
* my aunt and uncle picked us up and we drove to see my uncle's fancy downtown dc office. very cool. they are both really smart and amazing people. they should write books.
* headed to georgetown.
* ate delicious pizza and waited in line at georgetown cupcakes.
* realized that someone swiped my aunt's phone and had a good adventure trying to track it down. but to no avail. we did have a police officer come to the apartment & filed a claim.
all very exciting.
* joined up with my cousins at an irish bar and headed back to their swanky dc apartment. sat on the rooftop and enjoyed views of the capitol and the washington monument.

day 4

* woke up to my mom staring at me.
* went over to the national archives to see the declaration of independence and the bill of rights. pennsylvania is spelled wrong. i don't know if it was just because i was hungry, but the lack of lines really annoyed me. you have to wait a long time to get in and then you have to push your way in to get a good look at each document. i'm into non-contact sports, so that part was annoying.
* headed to chinatown for some lunch.
* walked to ford theater and the peterson house to relive the assassination of lincoln. amazing. you can sit right next to where he was shot. you can go in to the house he was taken to, see the exact replica of the room. see the tiny bed where they laid his 6'4 body. so sad. but a really cool tour. also a must see.
* an anthro stop
* walked back down penn. ave. checked out taste of dc. getting hot and sweaty and irritated at this point.
* big hold up at the white house. roads blocked. grrr....
* but then the presidential helicopters flew over and it was very exciting. even tho i waved so nicely at the helicopters, i still did not get into the white house.
* checked out the folk art museum. at this point i was a little overwhelmed, trying to take in the sights. there is just so much to look at. i asked for the kids scavenger hunt to help me focus. i'm not sorry i did it. i didn't get the prize at the end tho.
* headed to old ebbitt grill. it was so cool. we got cold beer, shrimp, oysters and crab claws. it was just what we needed. it was perfect.
* made a stop to pick up ice cream and went back home for a delicious italian pasta dinner.

day 5
* wake up early to fill our last day with fun.
* walk over to capitol hill for breakfast at market lunch in the eastern market.
* walk around capitol hill neighborhoods
* take a tour of our nation's capitol building. again. a must see. very well done. loved all of it.
* walked to air and space museum.
* walked to natural science museum. i liked the exhibit on race. i also liked the big whale. i like whales. they are big. very big.
* went back to the apartment, packed up and headed to union station to catch our train back to the airport. :( saw oprah's boyfriend... steadman. he was tall and seemed nice. he was stopping to take pictures with people.
* non eventful plane ride home and so glad to see mi familia!!!!!!!!


i really missed them!!!!



6 comments:

The Richardson's said...

You failed to mention why you were even in DC??!!

Peace and Love said...

what great photos Nell! Your review references food WAAAAY more than mine. It was a great time!!

Anonymous said...

wonderful account of your trip. really enjoyed all of it. love, gram

rotner ramblings said...

you had me at "a trip without kids." it sounds like you had a great time, I loved all the food reviews.
awesome pics, as always.

susiek said...

What an exciting trip! Food is important! I don't know how you knew all the places to go - Uncle John? So glad you got to go.
A. Susie

Love, Mindy said...

i am so flippin' jealous!!!! i love it all...and all your food references. i read it like you were sitting here talking to me...miss you!