Hey y’all! I’m catching up on my travel guides, starting with my three-day DC trip in May. What better time to share this post than after our nation’s birthday! I had been wanting to go to DC for as long as I could remember, and we finally went in May! It was everything I had hoped it to be and more. We did everything from a Capitol tour, several of the Smithsonian museums, a sunset monument tour, dinner and a night spent with our friends in Arlington, and finally a tour of the White House! Can’t wait to tell y’all all about it!
~Stay~
We stayed at The George, a Kimpton hotel in downtown Washington, DC. With only being a block away from the Capitol and a short walk from several of the Smithsonian museums, it could not have been in a better location. Also, parking was quite the challenge, but with the valet service and again, the perfect location, we never needed to access our car until it was time to head to Arlington. The service was excellent throughout our stay and our room was so nice! The restaurant connected to the hotel, Bistro Bis was delicious, but super fancy! If you are coming to DC to do all of the touristy activities, I would definitely recommend staying at The George!
~Restaurants~
Old Ebbitt Grill (click HERE to go to their website!) – Our favorite restaurant BY FAR, was Old Ebbitt Grill. We ate there twice in three days! Founded in 1856, it’s a DC classic that you have to go to! They serve a wide variety of foods, but are best known for their crab cakes. I am not a huge seafood person but I tried them and they were so yummy! The salads and bowls looked delicious as well. I ordered the grilled chicken salad the first night and I would highly recommend! It was the perfect size paired with an appetizer and dessert. I could not have been more satisfied. We loved the classic hummus as our starter and the peanut butter pie and strawberry shortcake were to die for! Not only is the food fabulous, the decor is a priceless collection of antiques and memorabilia. I loved just walking around the restaurant to check it all out! Such a cool place!
Bistro Bis (click HERE to read more) – As I mentioned above, this restaurant is located in The George Hotel. I loved the atmosphere and the food, and I loved having the choice to stay in at the hotel, but still enjoying a nice meal. That said, it was super fancy and definitely not the first place I would bring young kids to.
We packed a lot into each day leaving little time to enjoy a sit-down meal at lunch. Luckily, there are many grab-and-go food options right around the Smithsonian museums. Just a warning, not all of the food trucks are completely reliable, so make sure you are looking for the right places!
~Activities~
We wore ourselves out with the amount of tourist attractions and museums we went to, but it was so worth it!
Georgetown – Our very first stop in DC was Georgetown! My mom and I are making it a priority to drive through or tour every nearby college when traveling. It’s an easy way to get to know different campuses, what I like and dislike in a school, and learn more about all of my options! Georgetown is a BEAUTIFUL campus! The architecture of the buildings is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! I also love a big city, and with Georgetown’s locations, it’s perfect!
Capitol Tour – We began our first morning in DC with a tour of the Capitol. This was one of my favorite things we did! It was around a two and a half hour tour, including a video, and a guided walk through the entire building. It was so cool to see the government in action and learn with my own eyes how all the pieces work together. Also, the amount of history in the Capitol is unbelievable. Every room, every piece of artwork, every painting had a story. It was like experiencing a timeline of the United States all the way from the beginning up until now. This is a tour everyone should do at least once in their lifetime! Thank you so much to Senator Richard Burr’s office for making this happen.
National Museum of African American History and Culture (click HERE to go to the website) – This was the first of the Smithsonian Museums we went to, mainly because it still requires reservations while many of the others do not. I loved everything about it! To start, the architecture of the building is incredible! It’s completely different from the majority of the other museums which makes it stand out. You can’t miss it! We viewed all of the exhibits with my favorites being the sports exhibit and the entertainment exhibit. They did an incredible job capturing American history through the eyes of African Americans. I learned so much!
National Museum of American History (click HERE to go to the website) – Our next stop was the Museum of American History. We did not spend a whole lot of time here, we just went to the exhibits we really wanted to see. My favorite was the First Lady exhibit! With my passion for fashion, I loved seeing the gowns many of them wore and reading about their different preferences of style. We also saw the china they picked out during their stay at the White House. Again, there was so much variety in color, pattern, print, and size. My other favorite exhibit was the Wizard of Oz exhibit. We saw the original pair of ruby slippers Judy Garland wore during the film!
3-Hour Washington DC “Monuments By Night” Guided Night-Time Sightseeing Bus Tour – This was by far the best thing we did on our trip! My mom and I hopped on a tour bus at 7pm and spent three hours getting to see all of the national monuments in DC. I LOVED that we took the evening tour because seeing all of the monuments lit up at night was incredible. There was a tour guide that spoke throughout the entire trip about each monument and told stories about the city. It was so entertaining! We were able to get off the bus at each stop to take pictures of the monuments and to walk around and explore. It was much easier to see all the monuments on the tour rather than trying to do them all on our own. a bonus, we didn’t have to worry about parking! I highly recommend you purchase tickets for this tour on your next trip to DC!
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (click HERE to go to the website) – This was definitely not the most fun museum my family went to, but it was incredibly powerful. As hard as it was to read about and see with my own eyes the horrific events that occurred during the Holocaust, it opened my eyes in so many ways. I can’t even fathom the fear, pain, and devastation the Jewish population faced, let alone understand how anyone could hate a group of people that much. There were two sections in the museum I found the most compelling; a wall naming all of the individuals that sacrificed themselves to save lives and their stories, and the notable pile of victims’ shoes found at a concentration camp.
National Museum of Natural History (click HERE to go to the website) – We weren’t here for long, but we all really enjoyed it! Our favorite exhibit was the Gem exhibit, as well at the Bone Hall, and the Shark exhibit! It’s a great place to bring younger kids, they will have a blast seeing all the fossils, the animals, the dinosaurs, and the insects!
National Archives Museum (click HERE to go to the website) – Next, we went to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We had the best time trying to read all of the names that signed each document!
Library of Congress (click HERE to go to the website) – Our last stop in DC was the Library of Congress. That building is STUNNING. I can’t wait to show y’all all of the pictures! Again, we walked through all of the exhibits, but we also just sat and enjoyed the architecture. It’s so pretty!
We spent our final night in Arlington with some family friends. It was so fun! They have three girls around my sister’s and my age, and we had the best time with them! They took us to the cutest store called South Moon Under and I think I’m now obsessed. Shout out to the Viv girls!
Washington Monument Elevator Tour – The following morning we got to go to the top of the Washington Monument! This stop is a MUST on your next trip to DC. The tickets are very hard to get, but they are so worth it! We took an elevator straight to the top, watched a video about the history behind the monument, and enjoyed the views of the city from above! I have several pictures to share!
The White House – Last but most certainly not least, we toured the White House! It was so special! I loved learning all the history behind every room, every piece of artwork, and hearing stories about the presidents. I feel like we tend to forget they are human and imperfect, and like to do normal things like the rest of us. I do have to say after learning about life in the White House and even just touring it, it made me realize I would never want people touring my house every weekend, haha! I like my privacy. This tour was the perfect way to end our tour of DC!
Again, I can’t think of a more perfect time to post this! Happy birthday, USA! (one day late!) I loved our visit to DC and can’t wait to go back again soon!
xoxo, Joanna