What to do in DC?

[Ravenclaw]

Any suggestions for things to do in DC this weekend??

[DCJenn]

Thousands of ideas-

Where are you staying, what do you like to do and how much do you want to spend. I can come up with everything from FREE to ritzy. and in-between.

and who are you with? Alone, a group? Lemme know!

Jenn

[Ravenclaw]

We're actually staying with my sister and her hubby in Herndon, VA. So it will be the 4 of us - me, DH, sis and BIL.
Ritzy is definitely out....
Any cheap to free ideas?
OHH also, my sister is almost 8 months pregnant so we can't do anything too strenuous. I was thinking maybe going to one of the Smithsonian buildings...there should be places for her to sit if she gets tired. We're only there a day and a half really, because we're leaving early Sat. morning and won't get there until noonish.

[DCJenn]

Free and relaxing-

OK- start off at the new American Indian Museum- in fact, do lunch there. It's got five different specialty areas of native cuisines. Fantastic. Nikolai and I used to go there for lunch every once in a while.

From there, walk across the mall to the East Building of the National Gallery (also free) take in whatever exhibit happens to be there and then reward yourselfs by having a gelato at the coffee bar in the basement.

I'd recommend spending money on the Tourmobile (I think it's 20 bucks a person) but you will be driven around in air-conditioned comfort to all of the Icons. and you can get on and off at your leisure all day. For less money and fewer Icons, you can catch the Connector bus and for one dollar it goes around the Mall. Again, you have the opportunity to get on and off at will.

If you decide to stay in town for dinner, catch the Connector at the corner of 7th and Indepdendence and to the Waterfront area and either go to Cantina Marina or Phillips or Jennys for the views of the water. If you want, you could also catch the Connector and go north on 7th St. to the new happening part of town. On 7th St. there are about a billion possibilities- China town is always a good option, there's Jaleo which is good for a crowd because it's tapas and there's something for everyone. RFD is great if anyone is a beer hound- they have 40 beers on tap and 200ish bottles available. Fado is Irish and the food isn't bad. There's few great Thai places right there as well.

Another option is to head back gto Herndon for dinner but before you do, cab over to the Mandarin Oriental for one (expensively divine) cocktail and enough bar munchies to fill you up. Their bar over looks the water and you can see Hain's Point and national Airport. (but not HEAR the airport) If you can manage to be there at sunset, the view is phenomenal.

The next day, I'd do brunch. There are lots of places to do brunch but we used to always go to Pied au Cochon in Georgetown or head back to the 7th St. area for brunch at Cafe Atlantico. http://www.cafeatlantico.com
Any hotel in town will also have a decent brunch, but some like the Four Seasons are amazing AND expensive.

I'd do Georgetown for some or all of the morning. If you SIL can swing the walk, head up Wisconsin to Piccolo Piggies which has the most fantastic kids clothes EVER. If she doesn't think she can manage Georgetown, then Metro over to the Eastern Market. Wander amongst the vendors of fresh foods, meats, cheeses and check out the fantastic open market around and across the street.

Another fun and different neighborhood that they may not have done yet is Barracks Row (8th St., SE between PA Ave and Maine Ave.) In additon to the lovely young Marines walking around (I'm a fan) you can get brunch at Finn MacCools or there's a Belgian place that's supposed to be awesome. There's some really cool funky arty shops that are new and if you're a pet person there are some pet boutiques that have fun stuff too.

The area around the zoo is fun, Adams Morgan and Dupont Circle are guaranteed fun for people watching and you can spend as much or as little as you want on food.

Any of the Smithsonian museums are free as is the zoo. Metro is definitely the way to get into town if you SIL can be comfortable walking some. The good news is that DC is no fashion mecca and you can feel pretty dressed up in shorts or a skirt, a shirt and decent sandals. Avoid flip-flops (your feet will thank you). I would make sure the guys had shirts with collars if possible, just in case you decide to grab a beer at a swanky hotel bar. (the cheap way to do swanky)

Have fun!

Jenn[/i]

[Ravenclaw]

Wow - you are too awesome Jenn!!
Thanks for all the great suggestions!!
My sis and BIL *just* moved there this summer so they haven't really been sightseeing. The tourmobile sounds just perfect for our group. And the gelato will be great after walking around.
I'll let you know how much stuff we end up fitting in our schedule.

[rainbabies]

Ohhh, Leyla...have fun. Jenn is a wealth of knowledge! I wish we would have done stuff in DC when we lived in Baltimore. :|

[migirl]

there's Jaleo which is good for a crowd because it's tapas and there's something for everyone.

Ohhhhhh, I *SO* miss Jaleo... We were in DC last October for a long weekend during the AAP conference, and we hit all of our favorite restaurants (Jaleo included!). It was like a greatest hits of food.

[Ravenclaw]

Thanks for the tips Jenn. We had lots of fun in DC but the trip was too short! We didn't get to do a lot of the things we were planning b/c my sis just got too pooped...we did go to the Smithsonian - we got to see the Freer and Sackler galleries, and the Natural and American history museums. My poor sis - being almost in her 9th month needed to use the ladies room at each museum almost! We did get to eat gelato; didn't get to eat at the American Indian museum because we had brunch at a hotel where some friends of ours were staying.
We wanted to go into Georgetown but again sis was just toooo tired from the walking and heat. I'll be visiting a lot though so hopefully we can get to do more. There is just so much to do there!!