washington dc day 4 & 5

Our 4th day was spent on the National Mall. First stop was the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. We started inside the building first then finished with the garden sculptures. The garden was soothing to walk while looking at the artwork. The garden tour took longer than I thought as there were 60 pieces spread around the garden.

Across the way is the National Gallery of Art which is comprised of the West and East buildings. We entered the West building and picked up a flyer that gave an itinerary for people whose time is limited. Little did we know that as we followed the itinerary, we discovered other rooms with masterpieces that were not listed but to us were must-sees. (To think we almost bypassed this museum altogether.) By the time we left, we had spent at least four hours, our legs were about to give-out and we were museumed-out.

Dinner, we went to Café Saint-Ex located in the U-Street area. Very good and affordable American-style bistro. A nice change to the previous night's meal.

Day 5, our flight wasn't leaving until 7ish, so we had the day to visit. We went to Old Town Alexandria via the Metro. Without an idea of what was here, we just walked from King Street station and stopped at places of interest (partly to cool-off from the heat). We visited the Torpedo Factory, the Lyceum, the cobbled streets, Carlyle House, and the quaint houses that lined the streets.

We got back to DC a little after 3pm and we were hungry. After a quick stop to buy a book at the National Gallery of Art East building, we looked around the L'Enfant Circle area for a restaurant. Luckily, we found 701 Pennsylvania Ave restaurant. Very elegant, almost gentleman's club feel. They were setting up for the dinner shift but they allowed us to eat at the bar. We shared the beef carpaccio, twin burgers and fried calamari. After two glasses of wine each, we were good to go.

Emmanuel decided that we were catching the bus to the airport because (1) it would be cheaper, (2) we were in no hurry, and (3) it was scenic. As luck would have it, our busride was free. What a nice day to end to our mini-vacation.

washington dc day 3

Cheesy pictures in front of the White House followed by a quick visit to the Corcoran Museum and Renwick Gallery. We sorta rushed through the museum as we had matinee tickets to see West Side Story at the Wolf Trap in Alexandria, Virginia. The production was okay but the setting was fabulous. On our way back to DC, we stopped at the historical Union Station, a Beaux-Arts style architecture. (We found a great Indian take-out for cheap in the food court.) From there, we walked to Capitol Hill and the Botanic Museum.

Wolf Trap Filene Center for the Arts

For dinner, we decided to go for a somewhat less expensive meal. Since we haven't been to Chinatown, we opted for Chinese. Jackey's Cafe was what we found that was open after 11pm. Never in my life have I ever eaten such BAD Chinese food and such awful service. Panda Express serves better food than this place and it was not cheap either. Chinatown's a little sketchy at night, too.