I have been stuck in D.C. for the past two weeks living out of a hotel with very little money and no vehicle. In the past two weeks i've visited nearly every free museum, and the Museum of Natural History was definitely the coolest so far.
Museum of Natural History is my favorite too I really liked the section with the insects.
Don't put them near credit cards, magnets, CAC cards, cell phones, etc. I've had more than one die on me because it was near something a little too long.
And another +1 to Matchbox. Great pizza, bit of a wait but there is a bar right there so we just had a drink while we waited.
I'm definitily thinking about visiting Matchbox. Unfortunately I don't like chili so the chili spot is out.
Anymore good places to eat? Mostly non-fancy sit-downy types if possible, I don't want to have to drop $30 on a meal, I'd like some interesting eats or good places that have eat-out spots or eat outside spots.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
MONEY! I forgot to say that DC is pricey pretty much everywhere (Water $3, etc) so be prepared. $30 on a meal for two is kinda par for the course especially if you grab a drink.
If it was my first time to DC I would probably skip the zoo, its nice but its not much different than other zoos in other cities, unless you really really want to see Pandas.
It's nice enough, but they're doing construction inside so the elephants for example are hard to see. If you do go, across the street is Zoo Bar - nice little dive, good food cheap, and tables outdoors. Can get crowded during the day.
- Library of Congress - This place is great, check it out.
- National Archives - If your time is limited, just check out the major documents (Constitution, etc) and leave. There's some cool stuff in the rest of the place, but it's not any more interesting than stuff you can see in other museums (IMO).
- Arlington Cemetery - If your time is limited, plan your trip beforehand. You can wander around for a long time here. Highlights are the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Kennedy Memorial, and the Arlington House.
- Mount Vernon - Not free, and not directly on the rail system, but I understand there's a bus that goes there from the Huntington station. Why you want to go there is that it's part museum, part historical reenactment, and part monument. I really like it, personally.
MONEY! I forgot to say that DC is pricey pretty much everywhere (Water $3, etc) so be prepared. $30 on a meal for two is kinda par for the course especially if you grab a drink.
If it was my first time to DC I would probably skip the zoo, its nice but its not much different than other zoos in other cities, unless you really really want to see Pandas.
It's nice enough, but they're doing construction inside so the elephants for example are hard to see. If you do go, across the street is Zoo Bar - nice little dive, good food cheap, and tables outdoors. Can get crowded during the day.
Yeah I had expected a little pricey, but going into a restaurant or food joint I'd not expect to be paying the same price for a bottle of water that I'd do at a vending machine in the middle of DC. But oh well, that's no biggy.
bowen on
not a doctor, not a lawyer, examples I use may not be fully researched so don't take out of context plz, don't @ me
My thoughts on DC. Avoid the spy museum. I went, it just wasn't 20/person cool to me. There are much better sights to see and it's Very crowded on weekends. We waited close to an hour to get in.
Food: Ave H and I think 6th avenue is a part of chinatown. Down from this corner is an old chinese dude hand pulling noodles(!). This fascinates me and the food is Cheap/Good. I think for an order of dumplings and a large bowl of fresh noodle soup, it was 9 dollars. The noodles are a bit like udon and hell, they don't get much fresher than pulled and cut 10 minutes ago.
UncleChet on
I'm sometimes grumpy and random, feel free to overlook the strange man in the corner.
I hope I'm not too late, but go to the Newseum. If you want one pricey meal, go to Bistro du Coin in Dupont. Kramer's Books is also a great place to eat, it's pretty well known as a cafe/bookstore with some DC flair. I would recommend eating at Ray's Hellburger, but I don't think you'll ever be near it and it's not worth going out of your way. Same goes for Lost Dog pizza.
Posts
Museum of Natural History is my favorite too
The WWII and Vietnam Veterans Memorial are located in the mall. Between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
Don't put them near credit cards, magnets, CAC cards, cell phones, etc. I've had more than one die on me because it was near something a little too long.
And another +1 to Matchbox. Great pizza, bit of a wait but there is a bar right there so we just had a drink while we waited.
Anymore good places to eat? Mostly non-fancy sit-downy types if possible, I don't want to have to drop $30 on a meal, I'd like some interesting eats or good places that have eat-out spots or eat outside spots.
It's nice enough, but they're doing construction inside so the elephants for example are hard to see. If you do go, across the street is Zoo Bar - nice little dive, good food cheap, and tables outdoors. Can get crowded during the day.
- Library of Congress - This place is great, check it out.
- National Archives - If your time is limited, just check out the major documents (Constitution, etc) and leave. There's some cool stuff in the rest of the place, but it's not any more interesting than stuff you can see in other museums (IMO).
- Arlington Cemetery - If your time is limited, plan your trip beforehand. You can wander around for a long time here. Highlights are the Tomb of the Unknowns, the Kennedy Memorial, and the Arlington House.
- Mount Vernon - Not free, and not directly on the rail system, but I understand there's a bus that goes there from the Huntington station. Why you want to go there is that it's part museum, part historical reenactment, and part monument. I really like it, personally.
Yeah I had expected a little pricey, but going into a restaurant or food joint I'd not expect to be paying the same price for a bottle of water that I'd do at a vending machine in the middle of DC. But oh well, that's no biggy.
Julia's Empanadas in DuPont is cheap, but the empanadas suck, so..
http://www.elpatiointernational.com/
Cheap, delicious, out-door patio dining.
Food: Ave H and I think 6th avenue is a part of chinatown. Down from this corner is an old chinese dude hand pulling noodles(!). This fascinates me and the food is Cheap/Good. I think for an order of dumplings and a large bowl of fresh noodle soup, it was 9 dollars. The noodles are a bit like udon and hell, they don't get much fresher than pulled and cut 10 minutes ago.
It was fun all, thanks everyone.
Yeah, IE never visit DC in August.
Thats pretty much how it is all through August here. It fairly miserable right now though. Stupid swamp land.
Walking 100 or so yards than having to stop and sit was pretty terrible during midday.
We had like 5 beautiful days of spring weather this year, so you can't really complain. Now on to summer.
Glad you enjoyed it, Bowen. :^:
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
I'm happy to say the metro was really easy to navigate.
And also, nice and cool, the complete opposite of the outside.