I spent two very busy weeks in Washington D.C. just over a year ago. Even though I didn’t do everything I wanted to, I wasn’t planning on returning so soon but this was where I had to come for my VFS (visa) appointment for Portugal.

Like most large, world class cities, there is always something to do, so I found plenty of new activities to enjoy. The AirBNB in the Eastern Market I had in April 2022 was booked unfortunately. I found another but I hated it, the pictures looked so different. It was tiny and dark but a very nice neighborhood and not that far from a metro stop. I use the metro in town to get everywhere, it’s so convenient and so much better than trying to drive in this town, or worse, PARK.

Recommendations

I visited for an hour or so between other museums last year, but wanted a longer visit, so spent most of a day in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. There are great rooms on Presidents and First Ladies to American Democracy, immigration, and a great selection of exhibits on American Entertainment, Sesame Street to M*A*S*H to the Daily Show. The room with the restored gunboat Philadelphia from the American Revolution is very interesting.

I also wanted to see the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art and Smithsonian National Museum of African Art last year but just didn’t have the time. So glad I was able to return to visit both of these wonderful museums. The Asian Art has over 1000 years of art from Korea and China to Iran and Syria. There was more “history” than I expected, from simply the history of the craft to how the art moved across the world because of early trade routes and explorers. The African Art museum had a wonderful installation on the mythical world of Drexciya as well as many other beautiful pieces.

I have not visited the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum (advance tickets required) since 1998. I was in town with my daughter on vacation and she actually wanted to see the moon lander so we visited for about an hour or two. This time, despite half the museum being closed for a major renovation, I spent 5 hours and still only visited the second floor. I purchased tickets to the two planetarium shows, Dark Universe and Worlds Beyond Earth. Both were very interesting. The new renovations will be open in 2025.

New in 2020 is a museum about language, Planet Word. I spent about 3 hours here, it’s a very interesting museum with the history of language and sound. I learned 30% of English is from the German language, 30% from French, and the rest Latin and other languages, there was a room on special sounds from other languages, such as the “click” sounds in some African languages, how the brain sees written language, dyslexia, and much more. Another excellent museum in a city with an abundance of excellent museums.

I also found two NPS sites to visit I hadn’t seen before. I thought I had visited most of the NPS sites in Washington. The Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument was home to Alva Belmont and later Alice Paul, two “militant” suffragettes and feminists. It was the headquarters of the National Women’s Party. Even after finally getting the vote in 1920, they continued fighting for women’s rights, including equality in jobs, pay, divorce and wills and more. Alice Paul organized the very first protest march marching from the US Capitol to the Treasury Building on March 3, 1913, the day before the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson. The building was acquired by the NPS in 2016.

I visited the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site; advanced tickets are required and can be booked on recreation.gov. I took the green line to Anacostia then walked over. Donated to the newly created Frederick Douglass Memorial Association by his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass in 1895, before being run by the National Association of Colored Women starting in 1916. It was deeded to the NPS in 1962.

Because it was never sold it contains all of Frederick Douglass’s items, his desk is still covered with his writings and even his pens. His man cave, or “growlery”, where he went for solitude is on the property. There is a video of his life in the visitor center.

I was walking distance from the National Zoo and spent a enjoyable few hours here, seeing the Big Cats, Great Apes, and the pandas before they left for China.

I use the DC Connector bus to get around downtown and visit the National Mall and various monuments. I’ve seen them all many times but always have to stop by to say hello to President Lincoln, our greatest president. As I walked back across the mall, I stopped to see all the war memorials, Vietnam, Korea, WWII, the Reflecting Pool, and more.

Like last time, I forgot to plan in advance to visit the US Capital. I thought about it when in town but didn’t check since I thought it was still required to book through Senators and Representatives but I could have booked a tour online. Next time!

Restaurants

• I visited Martha Dear with local friends. Great pizza and Greek food, they  have a small space and reservations required. Expensive!
• I picked up some great takeout at Beau Thai.
• There is a Federalist Pig in the neighborhood and I stopped in on the way from the Metro to my AirBNB. I had a very good pulled pork.
• I found Sami’s Hot Dog Cart on google maps, a perfect 5* rating. I walked over to the truck between museums and had a great spicy hot dog. Located by the FAA building, it’s definitely worth stopping by.
• When downtown I stopped at Capital City Brewing. They only had 2-3 of their own beers available. They did have a good selection of other beers but they were about $13-15 a pint so I stuck with trying two of their brews for a more reasonable $8.
• I also picked up some premade items from Each Peach Market in my neighborhood.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **