5 Must Dos in Washington DC

So remember that time I went on this crazy adventure on my own around the North East corner of the States for 10 days? No? To be perfectly honest sometimes I even forget I did that, it seems like a lifetime ago even though it was only the summer of 2014! It feels like a dream now, or that it didn’t even happen to me. I’ve been trying to fall back in love with my blog, so I thought revisiting that adventure and writing some more posts about it would be a great way as travel writing is truly where my heart lies.

Today I’m tackling Washington DC and my 5 Must Dos while you’re there. I had a bit of a whirlwind visit with only two full days in the city, but it was more than enough to see what I wanted to and get a real feel for it. In fact at the time I was all ready to move into Georgetown, one of the suburbs. It was beautiful! My first day I walked miles and even at almost two years later I’m not sure my feet have ever fully recovered (I don’t recommend wearing gladiator sandals if you visit in the summer, so much walking!) The reason I wanted to visit Washington DC was because I’m slightly obsessed with American history, I wanted to see all the monuments of the presidents and to feel like I’d been to the home of US democracy. It was an amazing experience. Just need to see The Liberty Bell, visit Boston and Mount Rushmore now!

Walk
The public transport in Washington DC is really good, I used both the buses and the underground system with no problem, however I cannot stress enough my first must do, choose to walk. Everything that you would want to see in DC (well nearly everything) is very centralised and if you choose to walk you can see so many hidden gems like the ones photographed above that I would never have found if I hadn’t chose to walk everywhere. My feet were blistered by the end of my very first day but it was worth it. I went end of August and the weather was beautiful if not a bit of the hot and humid side and I did have to dodge a storm (hence the one time I took a bus) but DC is a very beautiful city especially in the areas that are popular with tourists. Lots of trees, beautiful buildings and plenty of places to stop for food. I saw Francis Key Scott Park (the man who wrote the lyrics to the USA national anthem), the Supreme Court, the Capitol building, everything that the National Mall had to offer, the front and back of the White House, George Washington University, the Old Stone House in Georgetown, Georgetown Cupcakes (from the TV show DC Cupcakes).. so many of these things I probably would have missed if I’d just hopped from place to place. I travelled around the city on my own and had absolutely no problems and even walking I felt completely safe.

See the White House
You can’t not go to Washington DC and not see The White House! Unfortunately the day I went there was a lot of work going on around the front so the only photo I got was using some trees to hide the big yellow crane! The back however looked beautiful and I was able to get some good photos. There are tours you can take to see the inside but they’re not the easiest to get on and you need to go through the embassy! But it was definitely something I could tick off my bucket list.

Explore Georgetown
As I mentioned above my favourite area of Washington DC is Georgetown. It’s actually one of the oldest areas of DC and you can tell from the buildings. From what I understand it’s a rather hip place to live and it’s very popular with students attending George Washington University. I woke at 4am on my first morning due to jetlag and I got up, took a shower and headed out for a walk, ending up in Georgetown. Everywhere was closed and quiet but I really did fall in love. The buildings were cute, independant and national stores (think Sephora, TJ Maxx), there was a macaron store called Olivia’s Macarons and of course the famous cupcakery DC Cupcakes which made up my breakfast (a popcorn macaron and blueberry cheesecake cupcake!) along with Starbucks. And I just walked. There you can see one of the oldest buildngs in DC, you can rent bikes and incomparison to the very touristy areas it’s rather quiet. I sat and ate breakfast in the Francis Keys Scott park and just enjoyed being back State side. If you want to shop or really just chill, you must take some time to explore Georgetown.

Visit the Museums
I’ll admit, I didn’t embrace this one as much as I’d intended as some friends came to visit from West Virginia and we spent a lot of time talking as we walked around. However I did learn a lot about American history, I got to see the orginal Star Spangle Banner and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz. The museums on the National Mall are collectively referred to as the Smithsonian and is actually made up of 19 buildings. The ones we went into waere the Museum of American History and briefly the Natural History Museum. There is also a zoo, a portrait gallery and some American history specific museums that I would love to visit should I return. And the Air & Space museum is also supposed to be amazing!

See the Monuments on the National Mall
Why was I going to Washington DC? For the National Mall of course, the home of all the monuments to the presidents, it was amazing and breath taking. At one end you have the Capitol building, at the other you have the Lincoln Memorial and in the middle the pillar that is the Washington monument. There is also the absolutely stunning World War 2 Memorial with the fountains that while I was standing there it was completely surreal and blew me away just as standing at Ground Zero had a few years prior. Of course my favourite was the Lincoln Memorial, it’s iconic and Lincoln was actually my favourite president. As I walked along the reflecting pool towards the beautiful building that reminded me of an ancient Greek temple I could feel myself getting emotional. It was a life long dream to walk up those steps and look at the statue of Lincoln. He did so much for the US and for the freedom of everyone. It was amazing. If you’re an American history lover you have have to go to DC, even if it’s just for a day to explore the National Mall, it can’t be missed. I didn’t even see it all, I didn’t have the time to walk over to the Tidal Basin and see the Jefferson Memorial. Plus it was ridiculously hot! If you want to see everything on The National Mall, there is a great website for it here. It’s without a doubt the most awe inspiring national park I’ve ever been to.

Having written this whole post out now, it feels insane that I ever went there, it was a real bucket list trip and I feel so blessed having went. If you want to read my diary entries from my two days in Washington DC they’re here & here.