Weekend getaway in Washington D.C.

Every year in April when I see the Cherry Blossoms blooming, I tell my husband, Michael, that we should have made a trip to Washington D.C. This year in early March, I reminded him that we always talk about taking this trip, so we decided this would be a good year to do it. Michael visited D.C. in Junior High but this would be my first time. We started doing some research on the predicted blooms for 2019. Everyone recommended the first weekend in April, but I wanted to be sure since that was one of the main attractions, so we kept a close eye on the status of the Cherry Blossoms by following ‘cherryblossomwatch’ on Instagram for daily updates. As the time got closer, they confirmed that the peak would happen on the first few days in April so we booked our hotel for April 4th - 7th. Hotels in the city were really expensive this time of year because it’s very touristy so we found a Westin Hotel in Crystal City which is actually in Arlington, Virginia but it’s only 3 miles from the Whitehouse so it was perfect. We got into the city around 1:00 on Thursday so we parked our car, and got an Uber to go find some lunch in the city. We chose Flowerchild which is a quick, Farm to Table restaurant. I had the Flying Avocado Wrap which had smoked turkey, gouda, romaine, tomato, avocado and hummus. Michael got The Rebel which had grass-fed steak, charred onion, port salut cheese, arugula and horseradish yogurt. Both wraps were fresh and bursting with flavor. They had me at Kombucha on tap. ☺️

Lunch at Flower Child

From there we walked over to The Whitehouse. If you want to take a tour of the inside we learned that you need to apply 3 months in advance so we just took the views in from the outside. We took a short walk over to the Treasury Department building which is where all of the US paper currency is printed. From there we walked over to the National Mall to take in the famous monuments. Some of our favorites were the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. They are very picturesque.

As your walking through the National Mall you’ll see many of the spots you see on TV. After we finished walking through the National Mall area, we walked over to the National Air and Space Museum. We wrapped up the day by grabbing dinner at District Chophouse and Brewery. They have a good happy hour on food between 4-7 so we grabbed a flat bread and buffalo shrimp off of that menu and we ordered a burger. The food was good! We grabbed some gelato for dessert at Pitango right down the street. They had a mojito gelato that was tasty! All that walking and a full belly, we were ready for bed so we got an Uber and called it a night.

On Friday morning we had pictures scheduled with Janelle Jaqueline Photography at the Tidal Basin to get some pictures in front of the Cherry Blossoms and with Washington D.C. in the background. If your going to see the Cherry Blossoms the Tidal Basin is the very best spot to see them. We started pictures at 9:00 am which I would highly recommend if you ever consider taking pictures because you avoid a bunch of photo bombers. ☺️

Washington Monument

It was overcast and the forecast predicted rain so after pictures we got an Uber and went to Georgetown which is the best place for food and shopping. We grabbed brunch at

Kafè Leopold which is a modern European restaurant right on M street. The service was outstanding and the food was delicious. From there we walked over to Grace Street Coffee for a latte to eat with our Olivia’s Macarons.

Olivia’s Macarons

We shopped M Street which is packed with stores  and boutiques which is my favorite kind of shopping. We shopped up an appetite so we stopped at Sweetgreen where we split a build your own bowl. This is another Farm to Table restaurant. By now you know we’re foodies, and we both gave this spot a solid 10.

It was still raining so we went to Pinstripes which was a fun hangout spot where they had Bocce Ball and Bowling. From there we walked down to the Wharf to take in the beautiful views. Sequoia is a beautiful restaurant if your hungry and looking for some upscale dining. We were exhausted so we turned in super early and got rested for Saturday.

Saturday morning started with Coffee at Compass Coffee and brunch at Founding Farmers. If your going to grab brunch here while you visit, make sure to make a reservation. It is a super popular restaurant and usually if they are taking walk-in’s, you’ll wait for 2 hours. Your noticing a theme, we love Farm to Table restaurants. After brunch we went to Union Market which is where a lot of the locals hangout on Saturdays. It was a perfect 75° and sunny so we hung out on the patio area, did some shopping and socialized with the locals. Make sure to check out Salt and Sundry. We tried Smoked Salmon from a local food vendor that was delicious and we tried Dolcezza’s for some Thai Coconut Gelato. When your in DC, you have to try this. In fact, let me rephrase that, make a trip to DC and try this place. It was the best gelato we’ve ever had, hands down. They have a beautiful location during the summer when they open their patio doors.

After Union Market, we rented Scooters and we explored more of the city. We went to see Union Station which has gorgeous architecture. We rode up to the capital building which again is beautiful and very picturesque and much less crowded than some of the other buildings.

After we took in those sights we went down to the Wharf because the weather was perfect and they had a Cherry Blossom festival going on so they had bands playing and the patios were open. It was a perfect summer night activity. We sat on the patio of a Spanish Restaurant called Del Mar. We tried their shrimp as an appetizer to experience the culture. It was delicious, we would love to go back and try more of the food! We walked up to the National Mall to watch the sunset and to see the monuments at nighttime. It was beautiful!

Sunday morning we woke up and decided to grab one last brunch before heading home. We got an Uber over to Wydown Coffee. We had lattes and one of their breakfast sandwiches. The latte and sandwich were amazing and the location is super cute! They have a lobby area where the locals were enjoying their coffee while working and being surrounded by many live plants and comfortable furniture. The one last thing left on our list was Arlington National Cemetery so we made that stop on the way back to our hotel. This experience was very sobering but also made me so grateful for what we have as Americans. When you visit, make sure to see the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown solider.

Arlington National Cemetery

That’s a wrap on our D.C. weekend adventure. Have you been to D.C.? I would love to hear your favorite spots in the comments below.

Xoxo - Mae