What to see in DC ...?

Mar 7, 2018
4 min read

After arriving after a very long flight and only getting 24h in Washington I wanted to get the most out of the Capital of the USA. I got changed and headed straight out with the crew and we shared an uber to the White House. We got dropped off in a random square and had absolute no idea where to go. If you've been to America you may know that asking for directions can sometimes be quite difficult. I've often had weird responses, been guided the wrong way or they're just too busy. In this case, the business suits hurrying through the city were just too busy to help me find the White House.

After a few attempts of getting directions we found ourselves relying on my past girl guide skills to find our way there with the help of a local map. Thank goodness for the pictures on it. We passed a solo anti-Trump protester but still couldn't find the Trump family's new residency. After looking rather confused as we thought we should be in the right place, a passer-by briskly said to our group of confused faces, "it's there" and pointed across the road. I was so shocked we'd been searching for a while for the White House and the whole time we'd been stood opposite it! Don't get me wrong the White House is lovely, and very architecturally aesthetic. But it really is a house. A white house that I didn't spot straight away when I was stood on the same street as it. I don't know if I was expecting something bigger or whiter but I won't lie it wasn't exactly what I expected. In my defence it is slightly hidden behind trees and shrubbery and I think it didn't help that there was no grand driveway or lead up to it like I thought I'd seen in films but instead it was kind of just there. For a house though, it really is big and pretty, I'll give it that. And white. I certainly wouldn’t say no to living in it. It was a shame that when I was visiting the police tape stopped us from getting too close. We had a walk round the back and it did actually look much grander and you got a feel for the size of the house. It's hard to remember as well, at the end of the day it is someone's home!

A little walk across a huge stretch of grass and we could see a tall object in the distance so went towards it. It turns out that it was actually the Washington Monument aka the Pencil. An obelisk made of stone to commemorate the first president of the United States, George Washington. We soon discovered that the area we were in was called the National Mall and home to some of the greatest and most well-known memorials and monuments! We easily found our way around as everything is in walking distance of each other but you can also cycle if that's what you prefer, you know...if you're a little lazier.

l loved exploring this area, it seemed that every turn you take has something new to see. After seeing the Washington Monument we noticed a lake towards the right so walked over. I knew it was familiar and I'd definitely seen it before. Then I remember Jenny running to Forrest Gump through the Reflection Pool in her long flowing hippy dress shouting 'Forrest, Forrest'.

On one side of the Reflection Pool is the World War II Memorial. This was such a nice tribute to remember the lives lost in WWII. It was full of fountains, statues and plaques of famous quotes. It had a slight eery feel to it, but also a sense of pride and stature. We spent some time here, looking round at the different plaques, and remembering the lives that were lost fighting in the American Armed Forces for America.

We had a nice stroll down the side of the Reflection Pool and ended up at the Lincoln Memorial. This is a really grand building, with pillars and fine architecture. Inside you can see the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States and to America a symbol of unity, strength, and wisdom. As we said bye to Lincoln and walked out, we noticed on the top of the Memorial's steps was the Martin Luther King Jr quote ‘I have a dream’. This was where Martin Luther King Jr stood in 1963 and gave one of the most famous speeches in history, asking for an end to racism in the US. He asked that everyone be treat equally no matter their skin colour and called for civil and economic rights.

Our feet were starting to hurt and our bellies starting to rumble so we went off in search for food. The one thing that sucked a little was the lack of food near any of the pretty things to see. We went back past the pool, past the obelisk and came to a big open park. The smell of hotdogs and chips smelt like the most amazing thing my nose had found and pretty quickly I found myself in hand with a giant hotdog, chips and a pint. Just like the classy Yorkshire gal I am. We sat down in the park and had our classy picnic. It was sweet, there were families playing ball games and friends hanging out. There was even a merry-go-round that I was dying to get on but the crew reminded me I was 24 and to resist the urge. I unfortunately decided to not embarrass them.

After a long flight, and a long day of exploring we were knackered. As crew, you reach this level of tiredness where you start to go a bit doolally. You can say the silliest things and forget what you were doing or similar quite often. As we noticed this started to sink in, we figured it was time to head back to the city centre to find a cab and drive back. On the way, we found the US Capitol which we knew straight away as we’d seen it in so many films. This was a huge, domed building and almost what I expected the White House to be a bit more like. It's the centre of business in Washington, made up out of a network of buildings, offices and meeting rooms. You can even book a tour here and have a look round. We spent our last energy on snapping a few more pics then headed off to find a cab.

This was such a brief day in Washington but if you have longer than 24h there’s so much more to check out. There are tonnes of museums and art galleries which are really cool dotted around the city. Places you can go and invest some time in. I’ve been super thoughtful and kind and made a list of things you can do and see while you stay here. Aw how good of me. Enjoy!