24 Hours in Washington D.C.

So as you know I'm aways looking for new adventures so why not add another to the list. This time we head to our Nations Capital. It seems lot of people I talk to about D.C. have either never been, have only driven through it or visited as apart of a school trip. So if those descriptions fit your experience then I would encourage you to give D.C. another chance. I hope the little tips and tidbits of information might help you also enjoy this wonderful city one day.

Getting there...

It is a bit of a drive but it's not too bad, about 5 and half hours from where I live in Northern Dutchess County, so even shorter for you folks further South. Now one big thing to mention if you drive (verses plane or train) parking is crazy expensive in D.C. usually $50 a day at the hotels, a little less for public garages. So be prepared to spend some $$$ just on housing your car.  That's why it's important to save where you can...i.e. the hotel.

Accommodations...

I've told you before, Im a bargain hunter but I also like nice accommodations so research is key. Lucky for you I've already done some for you. The internet is out there of course, you can use a site called Trivago to check out all the major sites at once, there's also my favorite app called Hotels Tonight if you're looking last minute but in this case I got my great deal at my local travel agent. Yes, they still exist. Believe it or not online doesn't always have the best prices.

The hotel I booked was in the Dupont area and was just under a mile from the main attractions. Being in an area like this is a great way to save, some hotels that are within walking distance to the White House and National Mall are several hundreds per-night. By being just a metro stop or two away I saved a ton (had too, did I mention how expensive parking was).

What to do...

Another way to save is by taking advantage of what D.C. has to offer, a ton of free stuff! A lot of people have no idea that the Smithsonian Museums are FREE! Yeah thats right I said free. There are over a dozen museums, art galleries and even a zoo that make up the Smithsonian Institute and almost everything is free...including the zoo!

I only had 24 hours in D.C. so really not enough time but one way to help manage the time you have is to split things up. Mostly everything is in the same area, what they call the National Mall. So what we did was spent our first day walking around to all the Monuments. You'll be able to see everything in one day...if you start early enough. You know me and my butt was not up at the crack of dawn...so needless to say we did not make it to Arlington National Cemetery, but next time.

The next day we used for the Museums we wanted to check out. This is where your personal interests come into play. There are sooo many museums and eight hours is just not enough time to see even a fourth of what is there so we had to narrow it down. We opted for the Natural History Museum and the Museum of American History. We also wanted to get to the Air & Space Museum too but did I mention there's never enough time!

Food & Booze...

Even if you are tight on time remember to slow down and enjoy some meals and a cocktail or two. A great place for Brunch was Sette Osteria. They have two locations so odds are it's convenient to your hotel and they offer some great options and not too pricy. Sunday they do bottomless mimosas and bellinis for like $15. Score! They also have a great lunch menu as well if you're not a breakfast person...or hey maybe your hotel has a free breakfast. Remember save where you can!

As for dinner there are so many options. Normally I use the Zomato App but I found this time that is was missing a lot of places we were seeing on the street. So we used a new feature on our iPhone that helped us find a place a couple blocks from our hotel called Scion and it was absolutely amazing. Cool space, relaxed yet refined and as I mentioned the food was very yummy. As for a great drink spot we found a place called FireFly which was next door to a Kimpton hotel. Ps if you can ever grab a Kimpton in a major city for under $150 a night, do it. There awesome and so was FireFly. The drinks were a bit pricy but they're craft cocktails and let me tell you...they do the trick and they're delicious. So check it out and ask for my man Brendon. Best bartender in D.C.!

So there you have it, 24 hours in D.C.. Make sure you plan your trip accordingly and it's probably best if you give your self more than 24 hours...even 48 would be tough so lets say 72....this way you can see the zoo! I have some pictures below of our adventure, including my first attempt to catch a Pokemon. The adult beverages I mentioned before may or may not have been a contributing factor in my first attempt to catch said "Pokemon". You'll understand more when you see the pictures!

Enjoy!