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Two days in Washington DC?; I'm home, update.
Topic Started: Mar 27 2010, 07:18 AM (713 Views)
buryinghill2
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I have two full days in Washington DC next weekend. Forecast is great and the cherry trees will be in full bloom.
What are the must sees with only two full days to spend?
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MayaTy02
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I think it depends on what you like and what you've seen before. I am new to the DC area and so far I've been to tour the Capitol, see Mount Vernon and the National Zoo. I loved Mount Vernon because I love history :) and the zoo was ok but they seemed a bit short on animals. The Capitol tour was underwhelming since they don't show you much of the building, but still worthwhile if you haven't been. All the DC sites are free so if you've got the time, see 'em all :) I would definitely spend a day wandering the Mall and see everything there and at least one or two of the Smithsonian Museums.
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Trialbyfire
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I agree on walking the mall and checking out the museums and of course you get to see the monuments. I would have loved a full day in the Museum of Natural History without my kids! I also agree that it matters if you've been there before. The monuments are cool once, or twice maybe, but after that it's a long walk and not much to see once you get there.
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Buryinghill1
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National Postal Museum - a wonderfully unknown gem.

Vietnam memorial (it is a work of art).

The new WWII memorial I hear is great, but I have not yet seen it.

And everything already mentioned about the mall.

Seeing the White House is cool - but you will be outside the fence.

Oh, and go look up my niece :teehee:
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gracetw22
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Go to the Smithsonian!!
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3Bays
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Having lived in DC my advice echos the posts above: top 2 places (to me) are Natural History Museum and The Smithsonian. (IF you'd have any other chance to go someplace visit the White House or Capital Building tours.)
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Ride'emCO
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The most popular Smithsonian museums are Air and Space, Natural History and American History. Not sure what their hours are.

My absolute favorite is the National Gallery of Art. IMHO, it is NOT to be missed. The West Wing holds the older, classical pieces including English, French, Italian, Flemish, and Dutch from the 13th to 19th centuries. The building is enormous and absolutely a work of art in itself - all pillars and fountains and marble; the sculpture galleries are incredible. Some of my favorites in the west wing are Rembrandt, Vermeer, Mary Cassatt, Whistler, Grant Wood, Matisse, George Bellows (Club Night is HUGE, and amazing in real life!), Titian, Raphael... They have Da Vinci's portrait of Ginevre de' Benci, and you have to see Da Vinci's work IRL to comprehend how amazing it is. The East Wing holds the modern pieces, photographs and decorative arts. Rothko, Calder, Jackson Pollock etc... The east wing is as architecturally stimulating as the west, but completely different. Very modern, lots of clean, open space and natural light.

Can you tell I love the NGA? ;) http://www.nga.gov

I've heard the Holocaust Museum is incredible. "No passes are required for entering the Museum building, special exhibitions, the interactive Wexner Center, and other Museum resources." For the permanent exhibition, tickets are available on a first-come-first-serve basis but they are free; the museum opens at 10AM. I haven't been yet because when it first opened it was hard to get tickets and I was waiting for the craze to die down, then I just never had the chance. Next time I'm home I'm definitely going. http://www.ushmm.org/

The Spy Museum is super fun, admission is $18. http://spymuseum.org/index.php

Definitely go check out the Cherry Blossoms, they're REALLY gorgeous and it won't take too long.



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bellaluna
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the botanical garden is also gorgeous-one of my favorite things I've done there
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Buryinghill1
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Ride'emCO
Mar 27 2010, 12:22 PM

The Spy Museum is super fun, admission is $18. http://spymuseum.org/index.php



Ah yes, I heard this place is fantastic fun!
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Starlight
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If the weather is nice, don't forget about the guided Segway tour around the city! I believe their name is "Segs in the City" or something like that? Even as a local, it sounds really fun. :)
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Indy
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If it's your first time in DC, I'd stick to the Mall, and do the monuments and spend some time in the Smithsonians. Doing a Capital tour is cool too if you have time. If you're walking, Jefferson Memorial is further away than it looks...the tidal basin is really quite big.

My favorite Smithsonians are Natural History (I can spend all day in the gems & minerals exhibit) and Air & Space. American History was recently renovated and I've heard good things about it (like it's not so horribly organized anymore and it no longer smells like pizza) but I haven't personally been since it reopened. Holocaust museum is a fantastic museum, but certainly not an easy stop emotionally...I've been twice and I can't make myself go again so I always send my company there when I'm at work if they want to go. Like Ride'em said, the National Galleries are really amazing. I love their Degas collection, it's amazing

Word of warning about the Smithsonians (not sure about the National Galleries) is that they close really early, like 5 or 5:30. So be sure to hit those during the day - if it's hot out, they're a great place to be during the heat of the afternoon. And the food at the Natural History museum is really good for lunch (a bit expensive, but food on the Mall is few and far between and it beats the insanely priced McDonalds at Air & Space). It's staying light out later and later so you can see some of the monuments after the museums close. DC at night is amazingly beautiful.

The Spy Museum is really, really cool. It's a "pay" museum and the admission prices are fairly steep. But if you've got the time and are willing to pay the admission, I recommend going. I've heard good things about the Newseum but haven't been myself yet. It's also a pay museum.

If you come back, then you can hit what I refer to as the "Round 2 Sites" - Mt. Vernon, Old Town, the Zoo, Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, and some of the other pay museums. They're all good places to go, but further away from the main sites so they can be harder to fit into a short trip.
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BABYGREENTB
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Ride'emCO
Mar 27 2010, 12:22 PM


My absolute favorite is the National Gallery of Art. IMHO, it is NOT to be missed. The West Wing holds the older, classical pieces including English, French, Italian, Flemish, and Dutch from the 13th to 19th centuries. The building is enormous and absolutely a work of art in itself - all pillars and fountains and marble; the sculpture galleries are incredible. Some of my favorites in the west wing are Rembrandt, Vermeer, Mary Cassatt, Whistler, Grant Wood, Matisse, George Bellows (Club Night is HUGE, and amazing in real life!), Titian, Raphael... They have Da Vinci's portrait of Ginevre de' Benci, and you have to see Da Vinci's work IRL to comprehend how amazing it is. The East Wing holds the modern pieces, photographs and decorative arts. Rothko, Calder, Jackson Pollock etc... The east wing is as architecturally stimulating as the west, but completely different. Very modern, lots of clean, open space and natural light.

Can you tell I love the NGA? ;) http://www.nga.gov




Totally agree with Ride 'Em. Nat'l Gallery is absolutely incredible and by far my favorite museum in the area.
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Ride'emCO
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Indy
Mar 27 2010, 08:00 PM
I love their Degas collection, it's amazing
HOW could I have forgotten to mention Degas?!?

My VERY favorite: http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=110292 LOVE his use of all the different materials; muslin, hair, ribbon, linen...and she looks so calm and confident! I wish I could be like that just before entering the show ring (minus the tutu, of course ;) ).

The horse community's very own late JP Mellon and his wife donated 1067 works to the NGA :o , including several Degas'. Such as http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=94910 and http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=66580. They also donated my favorite Mary Cassatt http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=61368, many George Bellows' and many, MANY Cezanne's.

RE: Food on the Mall!

For YEARS the food at the Smithsonian Museums was overpriced and no better than public school food. FINALLY, in the last few years, they have made some changes and now it's overpriced but at least edible. In fact, some of the food is quite good. That said, do not pass go, do not collect $200, head thee straight to the National Museum of the American Indian and eat there. It is BY FAR the best food on the Mall (unless something else has changed in the 6 months since I've been in CO). They serve REAL food (well-prepared meat, starches like wild rice, and good veggies - not hotdogs and pizza) and a lot of it is actually based on what Native American Cultures ate/eat. I love that the museum incorporates the culture of its subject in it's food. :yes:

And, of course, they even sell a cook book! http://www.nmai.si.edu/subpage.cfm?subpage=shop&second=books&third=FoodsAmericas The foods in the description are a good example of what you'd find in their cafeteria, in fact the venison and fritters were both served last time I was there!
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Indy
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Ride'emCO
Mar 28 2010, 09:23 AM
Indy
Mar 27 2010, 08:00 PM
I love their Degas collection, it's amazing
HOW could I have forgotten to mention Degas?!?

My VERY favorite: http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=110292 LOVE his use of all the different materials; muslin, hair, ribbon, linen...and she looks so calm and confident! I wish I could be like that just before entering the show ring (minus the tutu, of course ;) ).


She's my favorite too!!!! She has been my favorite work of art since I was a very little girl. I didn't realize that she was at the NGA until a few years ago, when my mom came to town and we decided to walk into the particular door of the Galleries that is near the Degas exhibit. And there she was! I almost cried (I'm lame like that) I was so in awe of finally getting to see her in person. I've gone back a few times just to say hi.
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Buryinghill1
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With all of this to do BH2 will never see any of her relatives :rofl:
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