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| Lincoln Memorial |
Here are my tips for a Washington DC trip!
A train-ride away: We didn’t stay in downtown
DC, we actually got a hotel in Alexandria. Prices were more reasonable and we
had free parking and breakfast! I was told later on that Bethesda is nicer, so
you can consider that as well. It is so convenient to take the train to downtown
DC.
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| Old Town Alexandria |
Cheaper or More Convenient depends on your
group: If you are more than 3 in your group, you may want to consider driving
into DC and getting parking for $25. However, you would have to contend with
traffic and the confusing signage. You will be driving along in a lane which
suddenly turns into the highway or be forced to take a left/right or go
straight, with no option to change lanes. If you want the convenience, taking
the Metro is a breeze. Fares are based on time/distance. Ours cost about $8
round trip so it was definitely more expensive for our group of 5. We also had
to pay for Metro station parking.
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| Washington Memorial and the reflecting pool |
Don’t forget your timed-entry tickets: some
of the more popular museums such as Air and Space and African American Museum
have timed-entry tickets. Be sure to check the main website in advance and book
your tickets. These are free.
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| US Capitol |
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| WWI memorial |
Which museums to go to? The Smithsonian
museums take anywhere from 1-3 full days to explore. We only had about 3 hours for
each museum we went to. Museums are generally open from 10am to 5pm. Here are
our picks:
- National
Air and Space Museum—undergoing a multi-year makeover, but still with lots to
see such as the Wright flyer, Apollo Lunar module and various enormous air and
spacecraft dangling from the ceiling
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| National Air and Space Museum |
- National Museum of Natural History—check out the 45 carat Hope Diamond
and their 14-ft-tall elephant
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| National Museum of Natural History |
- National Museum of African American History and Culture —the newest among
the museums. It tells a great, albeit heavy on the heart, story of slavery and
the oppression of the African American people
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| Contemplative Court @National Museum of African American History and Culture |
- National
Museum of American History—see Abraham Lincoln’s iconic top hat and various war artifacts
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| from the Vietnam war @National Museum of American History |
- While not a technically called a museum, I loved the National
Gallery of Art. They had a wonderful collection including some from my
favourite Impressionist artists, Van Gogh and Monet. The gallery is home to da
Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, his only painting for public viewing in this side of
the world.
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| National Gallery of Art in DC |
What about food in the museums?
Mitsitam Native Foods café inside the
National Museum of the American Indian is good. We got some bison chili and
bison burger for a taste of something different. Not bad at all.
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National Museum of the American Indian
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| Bison burger @National Museum of the American Indian |
I do highly
recommend Sweet Home café inside National Museum of African American History
and Culture—their Southern fried chicken with corn bread is still something we
crave long after our visit. There are many food trucks outside the museums,
though the museums with timed-entry will not allow you re-entry privileges. For
those where you can go outside (if you are willing to go through security
again, which is almost like airport security), there are many food trucks. Be
sure to walk a little bit farther from the entrance. The same half-smokes or
burgers cost $1 less for the trucks farther along the street. The ice cream and
cold drinks are pricey so hold off if you can. Grandma was so thirsty, she
ended up paying $10 for a glass of lemonade half-filled with ice.
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| Food trucks @Washington DC |
We really enjoyed DC. It did take quite some planning but the whole family enjoyed learning and exploring.
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