Over the week of Thanksgiving, my family and I went to Washington D.C and spent 5 days there. We had a great time, seeing the sights, eating great food, and celebrating the holiday! The trip flew by so fast, its almost unreal!
We saw a lot of monuments and memorials, went to several museums, and ate at a of really delicious restaurants! There were a few things we learned, that we wished we had know before hand! I want to share with you the highlights of our trip to D.C and a few of the tips we picked up along the way!
Day 1
In order to catch our flight, we had to leave the house at 3:30 am! After 2 flights we landed in Ronald Reagan airport and rode the Metro to our hotel! Our hotel was in Foggy Bottom, which turned out to be a perfect location! It was called
The River Inn and we couldn't have chosen a better hotel! Great service, great amount of space and beds, and it even had a little kitchen, which came in really handy!
The first restaurant we ate at was called
Roti and it had awesome Mediterranean food! I got the falafel rice plate, and it was to die for! The hummus was also delicious!
After we ate, we walked to a Whole Foods store and picked up a few things to have for breakfast in our hotel! There was a store not to far from our hotel, and we were told there was Trader Joes too, but we didn't stop there.
That night we walked to see the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and the WW II Memorial. It wasn't a long walk at all from our hotel, and we arrived just as it was getting dark. In my opinion, the monuments are even more impressive at night!
Lincoln Memorial
View of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.
World War II Memorial.
From there we walked to a restaurant called
GCDC which is a grilled cheese place! I ordered the Tomato Soup with a Kick, which just happens to be dairy free and vegan! My family order sandwiches, and the said they were delicious! Also, we had great service there!
Day 2
We walked by the White House, but there was security all over the place and we weren't able to get very close. From there we went to the American History Museum, which is a Smithsonian. All of the Smithsonian museums are free, which is great! My favorite thing at this museum was the Julia Child exhibit.
We ate lunch at the Stars and Stripes Café in the museum. It was good, but a little pricy!
We walked to the Natural History Museum next and went through that. We all really liked this museum, especially my little brother!
For supper that night we ate at
Teaism which is a tea shop and restaurant. I got the lentil curry soup and it was amazing! We also tried a few of their iced teas- Lavender, Green, and Mint- and they were delicious too!
On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Whole Foods for treats! I got there vegan choc chip cookie and it was really good! I guess you can't go wrong with Whole Foods!
Day 3
We walked to a coffee shop called
Bourbon Coffee. They have really good coffee and apple cider! I also love the fact that they are passionate keeping their coffee natural from crop to coffee!
From there we walked to the National Geographic Museum.
This museum is not free, but I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see some amazing photos, and a great Indiana Jones exhibit! I loved this museum because of all the stunning photos!
We ate lunch at a BBQ restaurant called
Hill Country Barbecue Market. Again, great service here too! I ordered the Market Salad, and my family ordered some BBQ. They assured me it was delicious!
After lunch we walked to the National Archives and saw documents like the Declaration of Independence, First Amendment, Bill of Rights, and so on. It was a really cool experience!
Then we went to the Ford's Theater and saw the place were Mr. Lincoln was shot. Then we went across the street to the boarding house where he died. The museum personal were really nice and informative! We grabbed coffee at
Peet's Coffee and Tea. Again, really great coffee!
From there we rode the Metro to the Kennedy Center and listened to a live band give a free concert! It was really good music and fun to listen to them! We went to the top of the Kennedy Center and saw the view after the music was over! It was really beautiful!
From there we walked to Georgetown. There was an ice skating rink set up there and some holiday decorations!
For supper that night we ate at a pizza place called
Pizzeria Paradiso and had some of the best pizza ever! I order a veggies pizza with no cheese, and we got a few other pizzas as well! Amazing food and service! I don't know what it is about the people in D.C but most of them are super friendly!
Day 4- Thanksgiving
We rode the metro to the Smithsonian Castle, which is just a information center, but a really pretty building. It reminded me of our trip to Europe a few years ago!
From there we went to the Air and Space Museum. My older brother, who is a pilot, really enjoyed it! The rest of us did too, but it is a lot of information!
For a lunch/snack we walked to the Native American Museum and ate at their café. It was authentic Native American food, but again a little pricy. But the museums are free, so if you look at it that way, the café prices aren't too bad.
We walked through the National Art Museum as well, but we didn't get to spend as much time there was we wanted! Then we walked to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and WW II Memorial because my Dad and brother hadn't seen those yet. There was an amazing sunset, which made for great pictures!
From there we walked to the Jefferson Memorial. It was a long walk, but along the way are other memorials like the MLK Junior memorial and Roosevelt Memorial. The Jefferson Memorial was pretty impressive, and worth the walk!
Then we had a long walk back to Georgetown. Mom had made reservations for Thanksgiving dinner at
Farmers Fishers Bakers and we still had to wait for our table! The food was amazing though! So delicious, and fresh! They had a set thanksgiving menu, with a few options for the main course. I order the meat 'less' loaf version, and it was amazing! We finished it off with dessert and coffee!
If you are going to D.C during the holidays, make a reservation!
Day 5
We rode the metro to the Pentagon and saw the 9/11 Memorial. It was really impressive! There is a visitor's center at the Pentagon, but you have to make reservations ahead of time. We didn't know this until we got there, so we weren't able to do that.
Then we rode the metro to Arlington Cemetery. We saw the Kennedy graves and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also saw the changing of the guard, which was very cool! They do it every half hour, so try and plan your trip to be able to see it!
We ate leftovers at the hotel for a lunch/snack. The kitchen in the hotel really came in handy several times during our trip!
Then we rode the metro to the Capital and discovered that we had to stand in line to get in. Also, they make you thow out any and all water and food! This was a little frustrating, since we had brought snacks with us! After standing in line to get in the Capital, we went on a tour, which was free, around the Capital. It was under construction to refurbish the Capital, but we still got to see a few cool
things!
Each state has two pieces of art in the Capital. We found 1 from Texas and 1 from Tennessee, which was pretty cool!
Then we rode the metro to the White House. We were able to get a little closer this time and get some pictures!
For supper that night we ate at
&Pizza. I could describe it as a Chipotle's, but instead of burritos, its pizza! Delicious pizzas with almost endless toppings and sauces! They also have homemade sodas which were delicious! It was the first time I had had a soda in a long time! We also tried the dessert pizza, which was delicious, but heavy on the ricotta cheese!
The next day we woke up early again and took a shuttle to the airport! And that was the end of our trip to Washington D.C! We had a blast, and I would totally go back again!
A few things we learned- You have to book a tour of the White House 6 months in advance.
You have to go through security and bag checks for just about everything!
See the Monuments and Memorials at night!
You have to stand in line at the Capital for a tour. and you can't have food or drinks with you.
The Pentagon's visitor's center requires a reservation.
Make dinner reservations on the weekends and holidays!
Bring good walking shoes!
I hope you enjoyed my post about our trip to Washington D.C! I know I read a lot of blogs about traveling to D.C, so I hope you find this post as helpful as I found those! If you are planning a trip to D.C, I hope you have a good time!
Please share this post and my blog with your friends and families! Spread the love of a healthy lifestyle and some tips for traveling to D.C!
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