Washington D.C.

With everything going on, our Nation's Capitol has been, for lack of a better word, a hot mess. Protests around every corner, the Capitol AND the White House being blocked off, and fences being placed in preparation for the inauguration, the bustling city stays bustling. However, the monuments have become baron. In fact, it's every photographer's dreamland right now. Due to the lack of visitors, snapping a pic with absolutely no one in it is easy to do. With that being said, I think that the sheer presence of each monument is powerful in itself and the lack of tourists has made an already powerful statement even more defined. Visiting the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and WWII Memorial for the second time, I can accurately say that it had much more of an impact on me this time around. Not only because I was older and actually knew what I was looking at, but because they stood alone aside from a few people and a lot of fences. Truly a spectacle.

To start our D.C. adventure, Mike and I took the silver line to the Smithsonian stop. There are ups and downs to the metro system here. Well... more downs than ups. The only up is that there's a stop right next to our living arrangements. However, it doesn't have very many lines. If you take the metro in Chicago, or have ever taken it in Chicago, there are multiple lines that make it easy to navigate and get as close as possible to where you're going. However, in D.C., you have about five different lines to somehow make it there. The system itself just isn't the best, but it worked. Once we got there, we hit up all of the sites: WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument.

After walking through all of those, we needed some food and to make our way to the White House and Capitol (even though we assumed we wouldn't get close to any of those). Mike and I decided on a tapas place not too far away. What we didn't realize, though, was how fancy it was. We ended up looking like homeless people just stopping by for bread crumbs, but it was one of the best tapas/Spanish places I've ever been to. Everything was delectable. Taberna del Alabardero was the name of it if ya'll want to look it up. Definitely recommended if dressed appropriately. After lunch we made our way to the Capitol since the White House was blocked off for about 3 blocks in each direction. The Capitol was also fenced off and guarded by the National Guard. Turns out, we decided on a Washington trip during the second impeachment trial (who knew). Finally, it was time to head home. Overall mileage for that trip was 8 miles, so we were exhausted. 

Washington D.C. will always be an amazing expirience. Whether you live there for a short while or simply take a weekend, it's full of culture, great cuisine, and moving historical sites. I loved my trip and have since gone back to explore. Always fun and always interesting. 

As always, stay in touch, stay in mind, and stay safe out there!

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