Spring Break in Washington, DC

Washington, DC has never looked more beautiful, and I never felt so proud to be an American as I did when spending time in this wonderfully cosmopolitan, cultural and international city. It’s a great place to take your kids, especially in their teens when they have a grasp of history and politics and can appreciate all there is to learn here.

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Melrose Hotel in Foggy Bottom, just two blocks from the Metro, a short walk from Georgetown and right on the Circulator and MetroBus routes. The Melrose is a not very large, older but nicely renovated hotel that is well-run by a small, attentive and friendly staff who became familiar faces to us during our 3 night stay. Most importantly for me, it was reasonably priced ($140 a night on Hotwire.com, with wireless an additional $10 and valet parking $35 a day), and had room windows that open (I hate being trapped in a room with no fresh air). The nearby Aroma Cafe, a small coffee shop with excellent croissants, sandwiches and coffee, was our daily breakfast stop.

What we did

• The International Spy Museum– Loved it! Great for teens and adults alike. You need at least 3 hours to do it justice, and don’t get so waylaid by the early exhibits that you miss the cold-war stories at the end. The Spy Experience, a timed pre-ticketed small group adventure, was really fun, though not essential to enjoying this marvelous museum.

• The Smithsonian American Art Museum – We came to this museum to see the exhibit 1934: A New Deal for Artists, a collection of paintings commissioned by Roosevelt’s PWA program. Timely, beautiful, evocative, and in my opinion, alone worth a special trip to DC. (See the slide show here).

We also saw the controversial Obama “Hope” collage – the original has beautiful graphic detail that the mass-produced poster does not capture.

The museum’s central enclosed atrium reminds me of the one at the the Chicago Museum of Art, and is a wonderful spot for an afternoon tea or coffee break. Located right across the street from the Spy Museum, so you could combine the two museums with lunch at one of several local restaurants, the Spy Cafe or in nearby Chinatown.

• The White House – If you want to see the White House from the inside, you need to book a tour months in advance through your Senator or Representative. Since I am not a good advance planner, we had to be content with paying our respects from outside the fence. I was amazed at how close we were able to approach, even putting our cameras through the rails to get a close shot. I’m guessing the Obamas were out for the day…

• The Holocaust Museum – The dreary, cold and rainy day seemed an appropriate backdrop. My mother-in-law was with us, and her stories of relatives who were lost and friends who had survived the Holocaust made the experience even more real for us. The kids did not want to leave without seeing and listening to everything, so we actually spent the entire day here, with lunch in the cafe. This was my second visit, but I still learned so much about this important and terrible time in the world’s history.

• The Renwick Gallery – The Renwick is located just across the street from the White House, making for a nice combo visit. We went specifically to see the fabulous exhibit on the arts and crafts of the Greene brothers, but I was taken in even more by the Indian Gallery, a collection of 19th century paintings by artist George Caitlin.

• Georgetown – Great food and shopping for teens and adults alike. Take the 30 series buses or the circulator, or walk as we did, from Foggy Bottom.

• Bike tour of the monuments – This was top of my wish list, but bad weather precluded it. Next time…
• Flight of the Conchords Concert at DAR Hall – Sold out (damn!), and I just could not bring myself to pay over $100 to the resellers for what was originally a $35 ticket.

Where We Ate

• Ethiopian at Meskerem in Adams Morgan was disappointing. Not so the company – friend and blogger Linda drove in from Fredricksburg, and seeing our daughters reconnect their friendship was a highlight of our trip. Thanks, Linda and Paige, for schlepping in – it was great to see you both !

• Clyde’s in Georgetown. My best meal, to my surprise, since I tend not to favor American traditional joints for anything other than a burger. Softshells had just come into season, and were served very lightly breaded and perfectly cooked on a large crisp potato pancake with a zucchini and carrot salad atop. (I’m still thinking about that softshell 5 days later…) The fireplace on a damp rainy night gets extra points.

More Americans visit Disneyworld each year than Washington DC. I encourage you to reverse that statistic and visit this wonderful city. I certainly plan to head back again soon. There’s so much we did not do.

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Great site for finding hotels near the Metro