On my second full day in Washington, D.C., I awoke early to start another busy day. My first stop was Founding Farmers, a farm-to-table restaurant downtown. I ordered the strawberries and cream waffle with a side of sausage and a latte to round it out. The food was delicious and fresh and the staff was really friendly. I ate every little bit of my meal, and it was the perfect amount to give me the energy to walk around for the rest of the day. I intended to head straight to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial, but I took a slight detour to the Renwick Gallery. I had passed it the day before and the line was down the block; this time there was no line so of course I couldn’t not go in. This gallery also had free admission, as it is an extension of The National Gallery.
Once inside, the woman at the information desk handed me a guide and sent me on my way. Each of the 9 featured artists had their own separate room for their installation, and I walked through them all in awe. The installations were beyond gorgeous and each had its own thought-provoking message. My favorite was “In the Midnight Garden” by Jennifer Angus, which was made mostly of insects a la 7th grade bug collection.
I also really loved Janet Echelman’s colorful piece in the main room upstairs which consisted of a colorful net strung up from the ceiling.
Once I spent a sufficient time admiring each room, I headed out into the sunny day and walked towards the U.S. Holocaust Memorial.
The Holocaust Memorial was obviously a very emotional experience. I choked up immediately upon entering the actual museum, and had to run into the bathroom to fix my face. Everyone walked through the museum in silence. There were three levels that moved seamlessly in chronological order. It took about two hours to make it through, and it was heart wrenching, but also informative. I certainly left with a different perspective and gratitude. Next, I went to the National Air and Space Museum to see the Amelia Earhart exhibit. The whole museum is very impressive.
There are airplanes and miscellaneous space ships and equipment everywhere – hanging from the ceiling, coming out of the walls, stretching from floor to ceiling. Amelia is one of my favorites and I was surprised to see her exhibit was relatively small compared to others. It was still great though. I also really liked the Time and Navigation Exhibit, which detailed compasses and GPS technology in all its stages. I wandered around the museum, peaking at things that caught my interested, like walking through the full sized Space Station and The Wright Brothers exhibit. Then I moved on to the Library of Congress. The outside of the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library is gorgeous, much like most of the other buildings in DC, but the inside is stunning.
I viewed the jealousy-inducing reading room from above and checked out Thomas Jefferson’s personal Library, as well as the Civil Rights exhibit right next to it. I couldn’t get over how beautiful the ceiling and walls were. I spent most of my time in the library looking up. By then, my stomach was telling me it was time to move on to We, The Pizza just down the street. I wanted to go there because it’s owned by Spike Mendelsohn, one of my favorite contestants on Top Chef. Sadly, he wasn’t there, but I did thoroughly enjoyed my sausage and sweet pepper pizza. The restaurant was really cute, with the pizzas all lined up in front and a large seating area upstairs.
From there, I walked the few blocks to Folger’s Shakespeare Library, where I had just missed the last tour of the day. The section that was open to the public without a tour was interesting, but small. I’d say it’s worth visiting IF
you do the tour or if you get tickets to see a play in the beautiful theater there. I took a cab back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and check into the hostel where I was staying that night. The Hosteling International DC was just a short walk away, and the lovely front desk staff checked me into my private room (shared bathroom). I noticed that the hostel offered nightly group activities, which I unfortunately had to decline but it did look like a good time! I took the bus to Georgetown, which was about thirty minutes away. I was trying to do some off-the-beaten path things in DC, but it seemed that I was stuck firmly on the path. Oh well, they’re popular for a reason. I got off the bus at M street and found myself in a very ritzy area. Shops like Banana Republic, Tory Burch and Lululemon lined the streets. Itreminded me of the Gold Coast back in Chicago. I
waltzed around a bit, stopping into Olivia Macaron to grab a latte and a champagne macaron. The macaron was delicious and the coffee kept me warm as I continued to wander. The small macaron shop was kiddie corner from Georgetown Cupcakes, a bakery made famous by TLC. I didn’t go in. I worked at a cupcake place in college and haven’t 
been able to stomach them since. The houses in Georgetown were beautiful and I had fun admiring them as I walked. I wanted to make my way to Washington Harbor so I walked down Wisconsin Street towards the water. There were some cute stores along the way that I’ve not seen back home, including Redz Trading thrift store and American/Holiday, which had cute clothes, jewelry, and housewares. As I walked towards the harbor, the sun bean to set and once I arrived at the Potomac River, the sky was a mixture of blue, orange and pink. There were restaurants and a skating rink at the harbor, but I walked along the river instead of partaking in them. I had planned on going to Right proper Brewing for Dinner, so I walked along the river and then up through the George Washington University campus to get to the metro.
The ride was quick and the brewery was close to the train stop, however, when I arrived I realized it was closed for a private event. I was pretty bummed because I was looking forward to trying a local brewery, but I moved on anyways. Shaw’s Tavern was one block away, so that is where I ended up. The restaurant featured upscale bar food and a lively atmosphere. I ordered a DC Brau Public Ale and the Shaw’s Burger.
It turned out to be trivia night there, so I stayed and listened to the questions. The beer and burger were so perfect and the bar crowd was full of good vibes. I decided to walk home from there, which was a bit of an unnerving experience. However, I did arrive safely, albeit very sore and tired from walking all day. I showered in the public girl’s bathroom, which was clean enough, with thin curtains separating the showers from each other. When I finally lay down on the bed to read, I realized that it squawked every time I moved even a tiny bit. This set the tone for the rest of the evening; I didn’t get very much sleep, especially because I very stupidly got to thinking about the movie the Babadook (have you seen it? Don’t watch it, it’s scary). Anyways, the next morning I opted out of the complimentary hostel continental breakfast and walked over to Astro Doughnuts.
It was rainy and cold, but luckily it was a short walk. I got a maple bacon doughnut and a coffee and sat under the awning to enjoy it. The doughnut was a perfect combination of sweet and salty. It was so good. The rest of the morning was a chain of unsuccessful attempts to see one more thing before leaving. Everything was closed, not reopening until it was time for me to head to the airport or under construction until 2017 (thanks a lot Trump). So I wound up at Momfuku Milk Bar for some of their famous crack pie and yet more coffee. The pie was aptly named and so delicious. It was sweet and caramel-y and almost too rich to finish, not that I didn’t.
Soon it was time to check out from the hostel and take the blue line to DCA. It took only 30 minutes to make the trip, only to be delayed for three hours. By the time we finally boarded, there were only twenty people who waited it out. On the other side of the flight, I took a different blue line back home, happy to be home but grateful for a fantastic trip.
Thank you, DC, for a wonderful time!
Have you been to Washington, D.C.? Where was your favorite place there?
live reptiles and interactive croc facts. The last was ocean related and included photography and videos from numerous deep sea exhibitions. The museum was very visually appealing, but I wish there was a little more to see. The exhibits were beautiful and informative though, and there was a great gift shop. From the museum, I walked back over to Dupont Circle to check out Kramerbooks & Café. They had a great selection and unique layout (plus a lot of travel books which you know I loved!). I ended up getting an Anthony Bourdain book because I couldn’t help myself. Though I could have browsed for a few more hours at least, my stomach was telling me it was time for dinner, so I headed down the brown stone lined Q Street towards Le Diplomate. This French restaurant was everything I wanted it to be.
felt the best way to remedy this was a bubble bath and to make big plans for the next day. I started early, leaving the hotel at 8:30am and hopped on the blue line towards the Eastern Market. When I arrived, the market wasn’t quite bustling enough yet, so I grabbed an iced latte from Pelegrine Coffee and walked around the neighborhood. Fortunately, I ran into the Capitol Hill location of Ted’s Bulletin, a restaurant I really wanted to try. One may be a loneliest number, but it is certainly a convenient one when trying to be sat at a popular breakfast restaurant on a Sunday Morning. At my tiny table for one, I ordered coffee, bacon, hash browns and a salted caramel (homemade) pop tart, on the waiter’s recommendation. The “Ted Tarts” are what drew me to the restaurant in the first place, so I was very excited to try it. The bacon and hash browns were pretty run of the mill, but the ted tart was amazing. The outside was flakey and delicious and the filling was rich and caramel-y. It went with the coffee perfectly and I relished every bit.
I made my way through, stopping to take in each sculpture. Once I came to the end, I walked down the street to the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of American History. One of the benefits of free museum admissions is that you can pick and choose which exhibits you see without feeling like you have to see every single one because you didn’t pay for them. At the Museum of Natural History, I very much enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit and the “Wilderness Forever” photography exhibit that showed many of the National Parks. At the American History Museum, many of the exhibits were closed for renovations unfortunately. However, I did love the First Lady exhibition, which featured fashions and facts about the nation’s great women. The National Mall is just beyond the Smithsonian Museums, so I kept walking towards the Washington Monument.
half priced beer, wine, sojutinis and mandu dumplings. I ordered an assortment of the dumplings, 2 each of pork, shrimp and vegetable. They were pan-fried and so scrumptious. My entrée was chap chae, potato noodles with vegetables and beef. It came with a mound of something interesting on top, and when I asked the waiter, he confirmed my worst fears: eggs. I calmly scraped them to the side and dug into the delicious noodle dish, which was served with traditional Korean condiments. It was a pretty cheap dinner, thanks to the happy hour, so I decided to take myself out to a jazz bar I spotted back in Adams Morgan, called Columbia Station. At first, the bar was a little empty. The band, The Peter Edelman Trio, was on a break, but the bartender assured me they’d be playing until 1am.
I’ll start from the beginning:
When I arrived at the hotel, I was hungry from a day full of travel, so I hunkered down in the hotel room and ordered room service for dinner. I got coconut shrimp and fries, which I enjoyed in my PJs from the comfort of the queen-sized bed in my room. When I finished the food, I was instructed to place the tray outside the door, where it would be picked up. I took the tray outside, while the door to my room abruptly closed behind me, locking me out. I had to walk to the front desk for a new key in my teeny tiny pajama shorts and tank top, my face flushed with embarrassment. The front desk staff were nice enough to act like it happened all the time, but I scurried back to my room with my head down. Once I was in, I decided to call it a night.
The next day, I woke up early and enjoyed a cup of coffee out on the pool deck. It was shaping up to be a beautiful day, and I was quick to get into my swimsuit and sit out on the beach. What I was most wanting from this vacation was to lay out in the sun, read, and sip cocktails. I certainly accomplished that, but not much else. Also on the first day in Miami, I did indeed take the bus to Miami Beach, where I walked around aimlessly for a couple of hours.
and salsa that were on the table. Right off the bat, I started coughing in full force due to swallowing a large bit of chip whole. My eyes were watering, my hands had the table in a death grip, and I could see the waiter in my peripheral, deciding whether or not I needed the Heimlich. Once I got myself under control, my eyes continued to water as I ate my meal. I desperately hoped that no one around me thought I was some sad girl eating dinner by herself, but could sense some pity coming at me. Needless to say, I paid my bill and got out of there as soon as I finished eating (food first, always). I went off in search of a bar to prove to the Miami citizens that I knew how to behave properly in public.
In any case, the next day I did not meet up with my new casual acquaintance. I did, however, get drunk on the beach, on Sex on The Beaches no less. In the afternoon, I attempted to find a paddle board rental joint that I had 
heard about from the concierge. I didn’t find it, in fact, I got a little lost and wound up just going back to the hotel instead of asking for help or hailing a cab. My misadventure and the fact that my big solo vacation was shaping up to be a little uneventful caused me to have a little pity party in my hotel room.
I got it together eventually, and decided to treat myself to a lobster dinner in the hotel restaurant, Kitchen 305. As I was sat at my table for one, the waitress came over to take my drink and promptly said “aww, honey is it just you tonight?” Umm, yes, yes it is, and if your goal was to make me order three more drinks than I was going to, mission accomplished. I ordered my lobster dinner, which also came with a salad and bread and perhaps a side dish.
When the lobster arrived, I stared at it dumbfounded. It was a whole lobster, which I had never experience before. Lobster tail, yes. Lobster roll, yes. A whole lobster…what the heck do you do with it? I took a picture of it and sent it to my dad, an avid seafood lover, with this message “HELP! I don’t know what to do with this! Which part am I supposed to eat?” I cut into the top of the lobster and green goo flowed out. I turned my plate around and cut into the tail. I ate what little meat I could scavenge from the little guy and then filled up on bread. I left a big tip and walked out of the restaurant feeling a little bit defeated. It was my last night in Miami, and I spent the rest of it drinking PBR and brooding by myself on the pool deck.
The next morning, I woke up early to catch the sunrise. I walked along the beach, taking pictures, and I noticed what seemed to be ocean wildlife washed up all along the shore. The majority of the creatures looked like clear, blue empanadas with tentacles. One of the men cleaning up the shore line in front of the hotel told me not to touch them, they were Portuguese Man of War. They were closing the beaches to swimmers that day due to an overabundance of these little death empanadas. That was my queue to head back to Chicago. I took another airport shuttle back to Miami International Airport, where I was delayed for three hours before finally making it back home.
I was a little bit ashamed of this trip for a while afterwards. I felt like I should have made more out of this trip, should have explored more, should have ventured out more fearlessly. Retelling the story now, I see that a big part of the problem was attitude. I was too easily overcome by any obstacle that I faced. Now I know better. But, I still feel a little bit of a pull back to Miami, to redeem myself for my previous lackluster visit.
rebeccawanderlusting 