We have been enjoying a burst of summer here in DC over the past
couple of weeks, outdoors again after the cold and wet of the past
few months. My family couldn't agree on what to do last weekend
so we ended up just going for ice cream (Dolcezza's salted
caramel is the best), browsing for books and enjoying an early dinner
on a restaurant terrace in Bethesda, a prime people watching spot. I
loved hearing different languages that people spoke as they passed
our table.
As much as we all enjoyed ourselves, I realised that we are missing
out on a lot of the great things that millions of visitors come to DC
every year to see. It's one of the side-effects of living in a
tourist city, you forget that those attractions have something to
offer locals as well. I lived in Paris for six years and only climbed
the Eiffel Tower once and, despite living next door to Edinburgh
Castle, for a year I never visited. In
March, Washingtonian magazine published The Great
Washington Bucket List: 50 Things Every Local Needs to Do.
After two years here, we have ticked off very few of them.
Click on the link to find your score.
http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/getaways/the-great-washington-bucket-list/50-things-every-local-needs-to-do.php
The full article has some great advice on how to make the most of
some very popular places and events. When we took our young son to
see the Cherry Blossoms at the tidal basin he was put off by the
crowds and more interested in what was going on on the basin itself,
so I definitely agree with the suggestion that “it's fun and
memorable to rent a paddle boat and see the blooms from the basin
itself – where you won't have to elbow anyone out of your way.”
Yesterday we managed to tick off another item. Thanks to the European
Union Open House Day we visited the British Embassy. My husband had
attended a function there earlier in the week and was warned that the
queues could be very long so we arrived just after the 10am opening.
The embassy hoped to match the 10,000 visitors they had last year and
I wouldn't be surprised if they did, given the crowds. Visitors
could take a tour of the residence and gardens and there were lots of
photo ops with volunteers promoting historic and contemporary
Britain. You could take a picture with a cardboard Will and Kate, sit
in a Union Jack covered Jaguar sports car or watch Morris dancers
(very hard to describe so have a look at this clip,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArAC2_ow2k).
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| Morris dancers performing in front of the British Ambassador's Residence |
There were Shakespearean performances and pipes and drums from the
Scots Guard Band. My son was bored by the queues but enjoyed
freebies such as sunglasses, a Scottish flag and a Welsh Dragon
bookmark. Personally, I loved the gardens and the impressive
contemporary art on display, which comes from the United Kingdom
government art collection.
There were shuttle buses to help people visit as many embassies as
they wished but we decided one was enough and left planning where
would go next year. If you can't wait until then take a trip on the
N2 bus (Friendship Heights – Farragut Square) whose route goes down
Embassy Row to admire the buildings. I am now looking for the next
item to cross off my Washington bucket list. It's arbitrary, I
suppose, but a little spur to make more out of a lazy summer weekend.
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