Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. 

My brother-in-law got married this month, and he and his fiancee live in D.C. We were there for 4 days for sight-seeing and wedding festivities, and we had such an amazing time. I'm not very well traveled, but its one of my goals in life to be.

The Highlights:

• The incredible public transportation. New Orleans is known for its unreliable, sketchy, and generally shitty public transport. If you have similar problems where you're from, don't be afraid to take the Metro if you're ever in D.C. or Virginia. It's cheap and reliable and very clean. My brother-in-law doesn't own a car at all and I wish I could live that way. 
• The Guided Tours. We managed to snag a guided tour of The Capitol and we saw so much more than we would have if we had just wandered around by ourselves. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and we got to take a private tour of offices and meeting rooms. 
• Ford's Theater. We went in a bunch of Museums during our stay and while they were incredible, they were massive and I felt overwhelmed in them. The Theater was set up in such a way that it was easy to navigate and see everything. The museum included a small exhibit of Lincoln's life, a sit-down lecture detailing the night of the shooting in the actual theater, and a tour of the house he died in across the street. Easily my favorite thing we saw while in D.C. 
• The wedding of course! The wedding was located in the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. The pictures on the top right and bottom left were taken there and I was very surprised by how beautiful the flowers were, not only here but all throughout the area. 
• THE FOOD. I'm from New Orleans as you know, and I generally believe I can't be impressed by food. Sure, I can enjoy it, but will it blow my mind? I'm inclined to think not. However, two stand-out places were the American Indian Museum, where I had fry-bread for the first time and it was phenomenal, and a little french restaurant called Bistro D'oc. The restaurant was located near Ford's Theater and we wandered in knowing nothing about it. Every. Single. Thing. I had was amazing. I had some of the best salmon I've ever had here. 

Some things to note:

• If you want to really see museums, leave entire days open for them. I'm serious. We only had three days to sight-see (with wedding obligations in the evenings) and it wasn't nearly enough time. We went to the National Air and Space Museum, the American Indian Museum, Ford's Theater, and the National Spy Museum, as well as the Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and several other monuments. Out of all of those, we got to see Ford's Theater and The Capitol in their entirety, and it's because we spent about 4-5 hours in them. The rest we only spent about 2 hours in, and we didn't even scratch the surface. 
• The weather was so unpredictable, and we were told that's typical for this time of year. The bride planned for a Spring wedding and it snowed on her wedding day! Watch the weather and prepare accordingly. 
• Be prepared to walk everywhere. Take the Metro and just explore. I was shocked by how beautifully kept the entire city was, from the flowers lining the streets to the parks to the general cleanliness of it all. New Orleans is known for being a little dirty, so I was surprised by how simply clean everything was. 

Have you been to D.C.? What your favorite thing you did? 

I'm trying to build up my travel destinations in the US, so please leave suggestions of places to go!