2008 Washington DC

Two Days in Washington DC

Driving distance and time:

Expenses:

Driving to the DC: Capitol Building

Day1

1. Potomac Park Parking (Cherry Blossom Festival)

 

 

 

2. Jefferson Memorial

 

 

3. Washington Monument

 

 

4. National Gallery of Art East (Modern Arts) and West wings (Great Artists)

 

     

 

5. Sculpture Garden

-- With its evening jazz in summer, ice rink in winter, and cafe all year-round, the sculpture garden is as much an urban park as a sightseeing destination. People tend to come here just to hang out. Too bad it opens so late (10am Mon-Sat, 11am Sun) and closes so early (5pm-9pm, depending on the day and time of year).

  Regular hours are: Mon - Thurs 10am - 5pm, Friday - Sat 10am – midnight, Sunday 11am - 9 Pm, Directions: on the corner of Madison Ave, 7 th Street, and Constitution Ave..  Website: www.nga.gov

 

 

 

 

To the Motel (Days Inn at Alexandria: near Korean businesses)

 

Day2

Park at 6. the Mall: scenery to monument

7. Smithsonian Institution

7. National Air and Space Museum - Nothing attests to human ingenuity better than this vast display of machines we've created to fly through air and space. And yet, one of this museum's enduring attractions is something that puts those human accomplishments in perspective. The Albert Einstein Planetarium (you'll need a ticket to enter) coaxes you to wonder about the dimensions of the universe and where it leads.  Smithsonian Castle (Information Center) -

 

8. Natural History Museum -

9. Lunch at China Town(Chen House): Driving by White House: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 202-456-1111

 

 

10. Holocaust Museum: Child Daniel’s Story

 

11. Souvenirs?

 

 

 

 

 

To go to next

Lincoln Memorial

Natural Archives: Declaration of Independence

Library of Congress

Korean War Memorial

Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden - If you've gotten off to an early start, meaning 7:30am, you may find the Mall fairly deserted. Then again, Washington is a town of early risers, so there's just as good a chance that you'll find yourself scooting out of the way of joggers and suit-clad workers scurrying to offices. At 7:30am, the only museum site open is the Hirshhorn's Sculpture Garden, which is a sunken, green landscape displaying some 60, large-scale sculptures. Don't miss Barbara Hepworth's Figure for Landscape, striking at any time of the year.

Freer Gallery - This handsome building, with its Italian Renaissance architecture and arched courtyard is devoted to Asian art, with one major exception: its Whistler holdings. Visit the spectacular Peacock Room, so called for the golden peacock feathers that Whistler painted upon the walls of the room, which was once part of a friend's London townhouse (it's a long story). Continue through other chambers of the gallery to admire ancient jade objects, early Buddhist sculpture, Islamic art, and a wealth of Asian works.

Bistro D'Oc -- You've been on your feet since 7:30am! Treat yourself to an apperitif and a delicious taste of something French in this sunny bistro. tel. 202/393-5444 .

National Portrait Gallery & 9. American Art Museum - Before this building was even finished in 1867, it had already served as a Civil War hospital and as the site of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural ball. Upon completion, the building housed patent offices, whose clerks eventually issued patents to Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and 500,000 other inventors. The Smithsonian took over the Patent Office Building and remodeled it before opening two-museums-in-one in 1968.

International Spy Museum -- Filled to the gills with spy lore and facts -- sometimes scary, sometimes silly - the best exhibits are those at the beginning, which employ interactive games to test your skills of observation and detection. At the end, you watch videos of real-life agents talk about their experiences.

Zola - Zola, in the same building as the Spy Museum, plays upon a sleuth theme in its decor. The food's for real, though and highly recommended. tel. 202/654-0999.