It was our last full day in Washington DC, and we spent most of it like the other days: walking a lot!
It took us about 40 minutes to walk from the hotel to Georgetown, this cute and historic neighbourhood.
It took us about 40 minutes to walk from the hotel to Georgetown, this cute and historic neighbourhood.
Cats for Kamala!
PS. I think it's safe to say that people here are with Kamala Harris.
PS. I think it's safe to say that people here are with Kamala Harris.
I haven't seen any Trump supporter.
I love the row houses and their details.
The black metal stairs are popular here historically.
FROM: https://www.urbanaironworks.com/
Wrought iron is a remarkable substance. During the 17th century, it enjoyed a heyday, when blacksmiths were using iron to create furniture, gates, beds, spiral stairs, and monuments. Iron was everywhere due to a few qualities that made it the material of course in that era. First, wrought iron is malleable — which means it’s easily shaped while hot, and has just a little bit give (i.e. won’t shatter) even in the coldest winter. Second, it easily withstands extreme conditions and extreme condition changes, so it is an ideal material for places like the District of Columbia that have fairly hot summers and fairly cold winters. Finally, it corrodes very slowly and is easy to care for, and will last for several generations — every piece of wrought iron in your family is a potential heirloom.
Adorable door detail!
It was nice to walk by so much urban green.
Bridges and highways kind of set neighbourhoods boundaries.
GEORGETOWN
We got there!
The famous and hip Georgetown.
First thing we did was breakfast, and luckily we found our favourite bakery Tatte.
My favourite order:
GF Smoked Salmon, Avocado, & Egg Sandwich
Smoked salmon, avocado, red onion, capers, alfalfa sprouts, and creamy scrambled eggs served on gluten-free bread with green herbed dressing.
FROM https://washington.org/dc-neighborhoods/georgetown
Georgetown is home to some of the city’s top shops, tastiest restaurants and most luxurious hotels, and it's a favorite of tourists and locals alike. And it’s easy to see why: Though M Street may be best known for a wide-ranging retail scene that includes such mainstream crowd-pleasers as Anthropologie and H&M and exclusive high-end designers like Billy Reid and Rag & Bone, the neighborhood is also home to a solid selection of upscale home design stores, independent small businesses and many of the city’s best fine art galleries.
If shopping’s not your thing, there are plenty of other things to do, too. History buffs can tour stunning historic 18th and 19th-century mansions or see the one-time homes of JFK and Julia Child. Foodies will find locally-owned gems that appeal for a quick bite alongside world-class restaurants perfect for a leisurely dining experience. Outdoor and waterfront enthusiasts flock to Georgetown Waterfront Park for some of the most picturesque kayaking, jogging and cycling backdrops the city has to offer.
It took us a little bit of time to find the Chasepeake & Ohio Canal (known as C&O) because it was dry, but we still enjoyed the picturesque view.
Georgetown was originally established as a tobacco port town in Maryland, and housed a lumber yard, cement works, and the Washington Flour Mill. More than two centuries later, in 1967, Georgetown was designated a National Historic Landmark. It’s included in the inventory of Historic Places, as well as the National Register of Historic Places.
What a beautiful garden in such a small space!
My favourite tourist. :)
GEORGETOWN WATERFRONT - POTOMAC RIVER
This is the Georgetown's Waterfront, where we can see the Potomac River.
I am not sure that this weird looking building is, but I found those metal walls interesting.
I assume they protect the property from the rise of the river, which is crazy to imagine that it happens.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potomac_River
The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States. More than 6 million people live within its watershed.
The river forms part of the borders between Maryland and Washington, D.C., on the left descending bank, and West Virginia and Virginia on the right descending bank. Except for a small portion of its headwaters in West Virginia, the North Branch Potomac River is considered part of Maryland to the low-water mark on the opposite bank. The South Branch Potomac River lies completely within the state of West Virginia except for its headwaters, which lie in Virginia. All navigable parts of the river were designated as a National Recreation Trail in 2006.
This was the only real shopping area we walked by in our trip so far - which turned out to be a good option to hide from the occasional rain outside.
UNION STATION
Mike left me in the mid afternoon to go back to Toronto for work, and I stayed solo for another day in Washington.
Since I have done most of what I came here for, I decided to go for an adventure to the Union Station, downtown.
The place was a bit rough, still beautiful inside.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Union_Station
Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.
At the height of its traffic, during World War II, as many as 200,000 passengers passed through the station in a single day. In 1988, a headhouse wing was added and the original station renovated for use as a shopping mall. As of 2014, Union Station was one of the busiest rail facilities and shopping destinations in the United States, visited by over 40 million people a year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors caused a sharp decline in retail and dining; by late 2022, more than half its commercial space was vacant, but Amtrak is attempting to regain control of the station and plans a major renovation and expansion.
The place is really beautiful, but it needs some love.
It feels a bit decadent in here, although we can imagine how glamorous this train station used to be once it was built.
It feels a bit decadent in here, although we can imagine how glamorous this train station used to be once it was built.
Check out those stairs railings!
I can picture long dresses ladies with their fancy hats and men wearing 19 century trench coats.
The food court could also go through a renovation, although it has some character now.
ÇHINATOWN
My next stop was Chinatown, not too far from the Union Station.
FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Washington,_D.C.
Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown is a small, historic area of Downtown Washington, D.C. along H and I Streets between 5th and 8th Streets, Northwest. The area was once home to thousands of Chinese immigrants, but fewer than 300 remained in 2017. The current neighborhood was the second in Washington to be called “Chinatown” since 1931. Originally, the first Chinatown was built in the Federal Triangle on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue some time after 1851, but was moved to the H Street area when a new federal building was built there. In 1986, a Chinese gate was built over H Street at 7th Street. By 1997, prominent landmarks such as the Capital One Arena, a sports and entertainment arena, occupied the area. The neighborhood is served by the Gallery Place station of the Washington Metro.
I have never been to China, but I thought this building represented my idea of some mid 20th century places in Beijing.
It was already late in the day and I decided to have my late lunch/early dinner here at the Full Kee restaurant.
I read about this place:
"During the pandemic, Full Kee became one of those if you-know-you-know spots, and that’s because their dumpling soup kept people sane. Back then, people took their order to go, but now it’s best to dine in and eat your meal right away. That way, you can enjoy the plump shrimp dumplings when they’re warm and slurp noodles that have been tenderized by the broth. The restaurant itself is bigger than it looks, with downstairs seating that’ll accommodate large groups of people around geometric wooden tables. The floors here are sticky and so are the menus, both signs that the food is worthwhile."
As the article suggests, it's not the greatest atmosphere inside but the food was good.
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