Eastern Market

I glossed over shopping at Eastern Market in one of my first posts, but that visit had been in the winter time. Shopping at Eastern Market in the spring and summer is a completely different, and much more enjoyable experience. There are a HUGE number of vendors to choose from during these seasons. While all that's available in the winter are the indoor food vendors, spring and summer shopping include a little bit - no, a LOT - of everything. Jewelry, art, furniture, clothing, food... and sooooo much more. I'll tell you about some of my favorite things I've found at Eastern Market...

Eastern Market (well... part of it)

First, I have to talk about jewelry. You can find any and every style here, pretty much. Smaller, delicate pieces, to large, chunky, tribal-inspired pieces. It can get pretty pricey. I bought one necklace - a turquoise stone surrounded by a gold and rhinestone frame on a gold chain. It was $10, by far the cheapest thing I found there. My roommate bough a very cool, African-inspired silver necklace. We're wearing them here:

Heading to Georgetown for the day, wearing our lovely Eastern Market necklaces

Next, the art. Like with jewelry, you can find a little of everything - painting, photography, even some sculpting. One of my favorite artists built giraffes, frogs and lizards out of soda and beer cans. They were a little pricey though, so I never bought one (though I really wanted to). I did buy two paintings - one a was a painting of the national mall made to look like Van Gogh's Starry Night. The other was a painting of the Jefferson Memorial and cherry blossoms.

Eastern Market paintings

Beer can giraffes

A slightly random, but neat little innovation I found at the Market was a little old lady selling nail files made from glass. They were very pretty, worked well and, according to her, last forever. Again, too pricey for me (I was definitely doing DC on a budget...), but very cool.

Not the exact ones I saw at the Market, but similar

Last, but certainly not least, are the delicious foods the Market vendors serve up in the spring and summer. My roommate came home once with amazing smoked ribs. Another popular item are Migue's Magnificent Mini Donuts.

Migue's donuts

Eastern Market is open Tuesday - Friday, 7a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday 7a.m. - 6 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. It is closed Monday. The closest metro is the Eastern Market metro.

The Newseum - coolest museum in DC

outside the Newseum

Washington, D.C. is full of amazing museums, but the coolest one by far is the Newseum. Now, the reason I love this museum may very well have a lot to do with the fact that it is an entire museum based on the career I am pursuing - news. However, I'm pretty sure it goes beyond that. The Newseum is unique in that it host exhibits on subjects that many of us can actually remember, as opposed to ancient history that we can't really relate to. Also, almost every exhibit incorporates some sort of video or interactive feature that draws in today's audience, who's too lazy to actually stop and read.

The only downside to the Newseum is the price. Yes, there is a price. Unlike most DC museums, the Newseum is NOT free. Adults (age 19-64) pay $21.95; seniors (age 65+), military and students with a valid ID pay $17.95; youth (age 7-18) pay $12.95; and children (6 and younger) are free (though I do not see a reason to bring anyone under the age of 6 to this museum...). The tickets are good for two days though, and you'll probably need both days to thoroughly explore the whole museum. I've gone twice and have used both days both times. It's open daily, 9a.m.-5p.m.

Keep reading, and I'll tell you about my favorite exhibits...

Berlin Wall, west side

Start your visit in the basement. Here you'll find something I didn't even know still existed - a real section of the Berlin Wall. They've also somehow managed to get an actual guard tower from the east side in the museum as well. It's very striking to see the difference between the colorful, graffitied west side of the wall and the barren, desolate east side.

Also in the basement is a gallery of sports photography. Beautiful images here (especially the ones of Michael Jordan!). Just beyond the sports photos is an exhibit on the FBI. Here you'll find the actual wood cabin the unabomber lived in and the car used in the DC sniper attacks, along with exhibits on many other FBI cases, from John Dillinger to Oklahoma City.

After you've finished up with the basement, take the gigantic glass elevator all the way up to the top floor. Here, you'll find my favorite exhibit - Covering Hurricane Katrina. A long hallway depicts the chronology of events through front pages of newspapers from around the world (including one from my own Daily Herald! (see right)). Be sure to step out onto the deck outside this gallery. Some of the best views of DC can be seen here. Back inside, you'll find a very compelling video of news coverage of Katrina. It's made me cry twice. Also, you'll find lots of little things saved from the event, such as a battered camera and doll.

The next exhibit contains historical newspapers, from the very first newspaper to modern day. There's also a fun little exhibit in here about "making fun of the news," which includes a video with clips of Weekend Update from Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert's "threatdown" is there too (see left)! Here, you can also find the door to the room in the Watergate Hotel that was broken into during the Watergate scandal.

Next is a giant video screen showing a reel about presidential photography. They've got some pretty cool images in there.

Next is the 9/11 exhibit. It is very simple. The broadcast antenna from the first tower to be hit sits in the center of the exhibit, preserved, but completely mangled and devastated (see right). Surrounding the tower is a timeline of AP alerts that were released throughout the day. A two-story wall displays front pages from the next day from around the wold. A video tells the story of a photographer who lost his life covering the collapse of the two towers. Then in a room off to the side is a video about covering 9/11. Nearly everyone I've seen walk out of this room has tears trickling down their cheeks. This exhibit is very emotional, moving, and well-done.

Next is Tim Russert's office (see left), relocated to the Newseum.

After that is an exhibit on the first amendment... interesting, but not my favorite in the museum.

Following is a video that is updated weekly, maybe daily... frequently, with footage making light of the news. The lighting in here is bad, so it's kind of hard to see, but it's very funny. There are usually clips of shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Conan, Jimmy Fallon and Jay Leno.

Keep going down and there is a little something for the kids. They can pretend to be broadcast reporters at a station on the second floor. Also, the Newseum shows a "4-D" movie about three important historical journalists - Isaiah Thomas, Nellie Bly and Edward R. Murrow. It's incredibly cheesy, but entertaining. The "4-D" means, in addition to wearing silly 3-D glasses, the seats rock back and forth, air is blown in your face... they try to make you actually feel like you're there.

The last thing you HAVE to see is the Pulitzer Prize-winning photography gallery. The images are outstanding.

Also, the Newseum has a great gift shop. I got a black mug that says "trust me, I'm a reporter" on it, and a wine glass painted with little pink cherry blossoms. There are a lot of good books here too. There is a cafeteria in the basement, but it's pretty expensive.

Being Touristy - the Smithsonian National Zoo

This week, my roommate and I spent an afternoon feeling like little kids again by venturing out to the Smithsonian National Zoo. It was such a fun afternoon. We were probably the only ones there without small children, but even if you don't have kids, visiting the zoo is something I'd definitely recommend to do in DC.

One nice thing about the Smithsonian National Zoo was that it was not overcrowded, like zoos often are. We weren't blocked by crowds or large groups of obnoxious school children when trying to see the animals. It was great. Granted, our visit may have been an exception. It was a weekday afternoon. Also, a teen was stabbed in a fight at the zoo the day before. Don't worry though! Stabbings aren't a frequent occurrence at the National Zoo. My visit was very pleasant and peaceful.

A visit to the National Zoo is not something you'll need to plan a whole day for. The zoo is on the smaller side. My roommate and I spent about 3 hours there and saw everything we wanted to see, which was almost the entire zoo.

The best part of the zoo, though: it's free. I would suggest bringing with you a bottle of water though. Water is $3 a bottle inside the zoo.

The National Zoo has some great exhibits that you won't find everywhere else. The most famous, of course, are the giant pandas. It took a while for us to find Mei Xiang and Tian Tian. They weren't in their large outdoor exhibit and we were very worried we wouldn't get to see the zoo's main attraction. Fortunately we found them in their indoor rooms, both fast asleep. They were snoozing away the whole time we were there, but it was still cool to see one in person.

While the giant pandas are the National Zoo's claim to fame, I found the red pandas to be much cooler. They were out and about, running around all over their exhibit. They kind of look like raccoons, but much cuter. I could've just taken one of these guys home with me as a pet! But I don't think the zoo would've liked that...

My other favorite part of the zoo was the great cats exhibit. Here, you'll find a beautiful Sumatran tiger. He lives by himself and was out walking around, stalking his cage like he owned the place. In the exhibit next door is an entire family of African lions, including a whole bunch of cubs! I felt like I was watching the real-life lion king, except instead of being trampled by wildebeests, the dad just kinda hangs out at the top of the exhibit watching over the lionesses and their cubs. The cubs were so much fun to watch. A bunch of them were running around, playing and wrestling with each other. When they'd start to get a little rough, momma lion would come in and scold them with a little roar. Very cool exhibit unlike anything I've ever seen at a zoo before.

Last but not least, towards the zoo entrance you will find two cheetahs. I've never seen a cheetah in a zoo before. They are beautiful animals. Each has their own separate exhibit, and both simply walked back and forth along its perimeter, so much that they had carved a path in the ground. One cheetah's exhibit bordered the zebra exhibit. He seemed pretty angry he couldn't get to them on the other side of the fence.

Overall, the Smithsonian National Zoo is a great place to visit in Washington DC. It won't take up your entire day, if you have limited time, and it's free, so you don't have much of an excuse not to go. It's open every day, 10a.m.-6p.m. April-October, and 10a.m.-4:30p.m. November-March. It's located at 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW and within walking distance of the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan metro station and Cleveland Park metro station (both on the red line).

The Wonder of DC Cupcakes

There's this trend on the east coast that I was absolutely and tragically unaware of while I was living in the midwest - cupcake shops. Little stores dedicated entirely to the creation and sale of cupcakes! These cupcakes are marketed as something special. Branded as "designer" cupcakes, you buy them in boutiques and they are displayed on tiered trays. Flavors go beyond simple chocolate an vanilla, and the desserts look as adorable as they are tasty. So far, I have visited three cupcake shops in DC:

Hello Cupcake
My experience

inside Hello Cupcake

This was my first cupcake shop, and remains my favorite. Located in Dupont Circle, it is definitely the cutest of the boutiques I've visited. Pretty pink and white chandeliers hang from the ceiling and the walls are painted with little pink and white flowers. It's not overly crowded, or at least wasn't when I visited, and they serve coffee and other beverages and have some seating too. The cupcakes are amazing. Lots of flavor options ready to go, made fresh. The cupcake I had, unfortunately, appears to be a special cupcake that was only available when I went in February - a strawberry cake cupcake with cream cheese frosting and a white and milk chocolate drizzled, juicy strawberry on top. Mmm, mmm good.
The facts

• Location - 1361 Connecticut Ave., just south of the Dupont Circle metro
• Price - $3/each, $33/dozen
• Hours - Mon.-Thurs. 10am-7pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. 11am-6pm
• Menu - it changes, but traditional flavors are: 



the strawberry cupcake I ate

• originals (chocolate or vanilla cake, chocolate or vanilla buttercream frosting, colorful confetti sprinkles)
• you tart! (lemon cake, lemon cream cheese frosting, yellow sugar sprinkles)
• 24 carrot (carrot cake, cream cheese frosting)
• peanut butter blossom (chocolate cake, peanut butter frosting, chocolate kiss on top)
• Special flavors for Sunday, April 10 were:
• pink lemonade (lemon cake, strawberry buttercream frosting)
• dulce de leche (caramel cake, dulce de leche frosting)
• heart of darkness (devil's food cake, chocolate ganache-based frosting, chocolate chip sprinkles)
• princess (vanilla cake, pink strawberry buttercream frosting, pink sugar sprinkles)
• raspberry beret (chocolate cake, raspberry buttercream frosting, chocolate sprinkles)
• vanilla gorilla (banana cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting)
• Vegan and gluten-free flavors are available

Georgetown Cupcake

My experience

inside Georgetown Cupcake

This is the famous one. TLC's TV show, DC Cupcakes is filmed here. As cool as that it, is has had the unfortunate effect of making the boutique INSANELY crowded. The line to get a cupcake wraps all the way around the block. When I visited in April, I heard the wait was an hour and a half. There's a way around it though! You just need to place your cupcake order online the day before. That's what my friends and I did, and we were able to bypass the line and walk right in. Even then though, the shop is very crowded, hectic, frustrating, confusing and, while there are tables, there is no where to sit. We got our cupcakes, which were prepared for us in a cute pink box, and got  the heck out of there (but not without snapping some quick pictures of the now famous spot!). The decor is very simple - white walls with some pink boxes strewn about. The cupcakes sit neatly on tiered trays in the front, and in the back there is a window into the kitchen where you can see the cupcakes being made. The cupcakes made here are delicious though. My friends and I all went for the same one - lava fudge. It was a chocolate cupcake with rich, melty fudge in the center, vanilla frosting and a fudge star drizzled on top. It was pretty messy, we got fudge EVERYWHERE, but it was so worth it.

The facts

• Location - 3301 M St. (Georgetown, closest metro is Foggy Bottom); there's also a location in Bethesda, MD - 4834 Bethesda Ave.
• Price - $2.75/each, $15/half dozen, $29/dozen
• Hours - Mon.-Sat. 10am-9pm, Sun. 10am-7pm
• Menu - it changes, but traditional flavors are:



lava fudge cupcake

• chocolate2 (chocolate cake, whipped chocolate frosting, fondant flower)
• chocolate3 (chocolate cake, rich chocolate ganache icing, french chocolate sprinkles)
• chocolate birthday (chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• chocolate ganache (chocolate cake, chocolate ganache icing, fondant flower)
• chocolate & vanilla (chocolate cake, chocolate cream cheese frosting, french chocolate sprinkles)
• milk chocolate birthday (yellow cake, milk chocolate buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• red velvet (vanilla cream cheese frosting)
• vanilla2 (vanilla cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant flower)
• vanilla birthday (vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow sprinkles)
• vanilla & chocolate (vanilla cake, whipped chocolate frosting, fondant heart)
• baby pink (vanilla or chocolate cake, baby pink tinted vanilla buttercream frosting, fondant flower)
• baby blue (baby blue tinted frosting)
• bubblegum pink (bubblegum pink tinted frosting)
• sunshine (yellow tinted frosting)
• gluten-free lava fudge
• Susan G. Komen (chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, fondant pink ribbon)
• Special flavors for Sunday, April 10 - 
• carrot (cinnamon apple carrot cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant carrot)
• chocolate coconut (chocolate cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, covered in shredded coconut)
• lava fudge (chocolate cake, fudge core, vanilla icing, fudge star drizzle)
• PB fudge (chocolate cake, fudge core, peanut butter frosting, fudge star drizzle)
• strawberry (vanilla cake baked with strawberries, strawberry frosting, fondant heart)
• cherry blossom (vanilla cake baked with cherries, vanilla cream cheese frosting, fondant cherry blossom)
• hummingbird (banana, pineapple & pecan cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with pecans and a blue fondant hummingbird)
• Easter cupcakes (vanilla2, chocolate2, chocolate & vanilla, or vanilla & chocolate cupcakes topped with seasonal fondant decorations, like fondant grass and bunny)

Crumbs

My experience

outside Crumbs

Crumbs is more of a chain than the others, with locations in not just DC, but New York, Chicago, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia and California. This is the most conveniently located cupcake shop for me, as there is one right by the Metro Center metro stop, where my office is. The cupcakes here are HUGE! It's not as cutesy or classy as Hello Cupcake or Georgetown Cupcake. They proudly serve their big ass cupcakes in a fun and friendly atmosphere and a variety of flavors. I went here with my friend Jaime, who ordered a green tea cupcake and loved it. I had a blackbottom cheesecake brownie cupcake. It was one of the richest, most chocolatey, delicious things I've ever eaten.

The Facts

• Location - In DC, 604 11th St. NW (Metro Center) and the train concourse at Union Station
• Price - about $4 if I recall correctly. The website said $4.50, but I remember paying $4.
• Hours - Mon.-Thur. 7am-9pm, Fri. 7am-11pm, Sat. 9am-11pm, Sun. 9am-9pm
• Menu - their website doesn't list for each specific location, but here is what's listed under "favorites," and I recall these being at the Metro Center location:



Blackbottom cheesecake brownie

• Artie Large (vanilla cupcake filled with chocolate cream cheese frosting, vanilla cream cheese frosting dipped in chocolate fondant, edged with chocolate and vanilla sprinkles)
• Baba Booey (chocolate cake filled with peanut butter frosting, peanut butter and chocolate cream cheese frosting, rimmed with peanut butter chips)
• Blackout (chocolate cake filled with fudge mixed with vanilla custard, chocolate cream cheese frosting topped with chocolate crumbs and drizzled with chocolate)
• Brownie (chocolate cake filled and frosted with fudge, topped with chocolate drizzle and walnut brownie bites)
• Carrot cake (carrot cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, edged with crushed walnuts, topped with a frosting carrot)
• Cookie dough (vanilla cake filled with fudge, vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with soft chocolate chip cookie pieces, topped with a chocolate chip cookie)
• Cookies and cream (chocolate cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting mixed with crushed oreos, with two oreos on top)
• Devil's food (chocolate cake filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate chips)
• Peanut butter cup (chocolate cake filled and frosted with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, topped with peanut butter cup wedges and edged with crushed peanuts and chocolate chips)
• Red velvet (red velvet cake, vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with red velvet crumbs and edged with white sprinkles)
• Squiggle (chocolate cake filled with vanilla buttercream frosting, topped with chocolate ganache icing and a white icing squiggle)
• You can also "create you own 6-pack"
• They do sell smaller cupcakes, but the big ones are their signature

Overall, America, you need to catch on to this DC/east coast trend. It's delicious.

Best Starbucks in D.C.?

I've been a Starbucks addict since high school. My obsession is so well-known even that every member of my family on my Dad's side decided to get me a Starbucks gift card for Christmas this past year. And I am definitely NOT complaining. So you can imagine my overwhelming joy when my roommate informed me that there was a Starbucks just three blocks from our Capitol Hill apartment. I would have been pleased with just any Starbucks, anywhere to get my grande, non-fat, no whip mocha fix. But this particular Starbucks may just be the best Starbucks I have ever been to.

237 Penn Ave. Starbucks

It's located at 237 Pennsylvania Ave., at the corner of Penn Ave. and 3rd St. SE., just blocks from the Capitol.

My drinks have been made perfectly here nearly every single time (with the exception of one recent trip when there was much to much foam in my mocha, but no one's perfect every time). They also have a wide selection of food and snacks, particularly petite sweets. I'm a big fan of the new rocky road Cake Pops.

The best part of this Starbucks though, is the shop itself. Too often Starbucks are too small and lack that corner coffee house feel. This particular location doesn't have that problem. There is additional seating in a room set off from the cashier, with tall windows and bearable music playing. Even better, there is an upstairs. This is my favorite part of the shop. There is plenty of seating, including big, squishy chairs and couches. Also, a fireplace, wifi and plenty of outlets to plug in your laptop. This is typically a great place to get work done (unless a hoard of loud children has invaded, which happened once).

Rocky Road Cake Pops

Outside, on the first level, there's a fenced-in patio. Flanked by flower boxes, and there are umbrellas if you need them. This is where I'm sitting today, on a gorgeous 77 degree spring day, drinking a bright pink venti sweetened passion tea lemonade.

So, in conclusion, if you're looking for a good coffee drink, a good mini dessert, a good place to study, work, read or just relax, go to this Starbucks.

Being Touristy - the Lincoln Memorial

My dad and me at the Lincoln Memorial

On day two of the family DC visit, we made a stop at the Lincoln Memorial. This monument, as with all the DC monuments, takes much longer to walk to than you would think. It's about a mile west of the Washington Monument. The good thing about the walk to the Lincoln Memorial, however, is that you pass a lot of other memorials on your way.

WWII Memorial

First up is the World War II Memorial. It's located at the east end of the reflecting pool and, for being a memorial to such a bloody war, is very pretty. It's centered around a really pretty fountain.

Nasty reflecting pool

Then you have the reflecting pool itself, which based on movies and TV you'd think is very pretty. It's not. Or at least it's not at this time of year. It had been drained as was surrounded by a fence. Pretty gross actually.

Korean War Memorial

Then at the northwest and southwest corners of the pool, respectively are the Vietnam veterans memorial and the Korean War veterans memorial. Unfortunately we didn't know they were there when we visited the Lincoln memorial, so we missed them.

Vietnam War Memorial

Then there's the Lincoln memorial. First off, it's giant. Much bigger than I expected it to be. We seem to have a thing for making stuff huge in this country... Once you walk up lots and lots of steps to get inside, Lincoln himself is pretty huge too. The walls contain inscriptions of Lincoln's Gettysburg address and second inaugural address. There's a tiny gift shop tucked away in the northeast corner of the memorial. Contains mostly books.

Some interesting facts about the Lincoln Memorial:

Amanda and Abe

• It's designed after the temples of ancient Greece.
• The first bill commissioning a monument in honor of Lincoln was passed in 1867, but it took Congress until 1914 to take any action on actually building a memorial. It was completed in 1922.
• The Greek temple design was criticized as too ostentatious for a man of Lincoln's humble character. Opponents suggested a simple log cabin memorial instead. 
• The memorial cost $300,000 to build.
• The memorial includes 36 columns, one for each state in the Union at the time of Lincoln's death. The names of those states and the dates they entered the Union are inscribed above the columns, and at the top of the memorial are the names of the 48 states in the Union at the time of the memorial's dedication.
• There was an error in the engraving of Lincoln's second inaugural address. In the line, "With high hope for the future," the "F" of the word "future" was originally carved as an "E." To cover the mistake, the bottom line of the "E" is not painted in.
• Some have claimed that the face of General Robert E. Lee was carved onto the back of Lincoln's head and looks back across the Potomac towards his former home, Arlington House.
• Over 3.6 million people visit the memorial annually.

Being Touristy - the Jefferson Memorial

I spent much of this week doing a lot of the touristy activities that I've neglected to do for the past two months that I've been living in DC. My dad and step-mom came to visit with my little brother and sister for their spring break Saturday. The first stop on our tour de DC - the Jefferson Memorial.

View from the northeast side of the Tidal Basin

This memorial might be my favorite of all that I've seen so far. It's very beautiful, and I know will be even more beautiful now that the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom. There's one problem though - it's far far away. From the Washington Monument, which is near the center of the National Mall, it is about a mile walk. Seeing it from afar is possibly prettier than up close, but it is definitely worth the walk.

Approaching the memorial from the southwest Virginia side

To get to the memorial, you need to cross a bridge over the Tidal Basin. After crossing the bridge, a path takes you to the side of the memorial facing Virginia. My family and I entered the memorial through the lower level where you'll find small exhibits telling you stories of Jefferson's history and, of course, a gift shop. Then we took an elevator up to the portico, where you'll find a 19-foot-tall, 5 ton bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson. On the interior walls are are five quotations taken from Jefferson's writings, including the Declaration of Independence: 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."

When you leave the portico, you go down a whole bunch of stairs to a plaza, looking out onto DC and the Washington Monument.

Some facts about the Jefferson memorial:

• It was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome.
• Construction started in 1939 and was completed in 1943.
• The statue was added in 1947. It was not finished in time for the 1943 dedication due to material shortages during WWII, so a plaster cast painted to look like bronze was temporarily used instead.
• It's ranked 4th on the List of America's Favorite Architecture (coming in behind the Empire State Building, White House and Washington National Cathedral)
• The site of the memorial used to be a popular beach for DC locals
• Building the memorial required the removal of cherry blossom trees, which caused a lot of public controversy.

Being Touristy - The Washington Monument

Since I moved to DC, I haven't really done many touristy things. I work, grocery shop, occasionally go out to restaurants and bars, but I haven't done many museums, monuments, anything like that. Sunday, however, I went up inside the Washington Monument.

With my roommate Kate (left) and my sorority sister Jessica (right)

One of my sorority sisters and a friend of hers visited me and my roommate for the weekend, and as a thank you for letting them crash in our apartment, they got us tickets to go inside the Washington Monument.

There are two ways to get tickets. You can book in advance online. These tickets, however, sell out VERY early. When I checked today, the earliest available tickets were for Monday, June 20. When you book online, you also have to pay a $1.50 service charge for each ticket.

The second option is to get same-day tickets. These are free, but you have to get out of bed early to get them. You get the tickets at the Washington Monument Lodge, a little building just outside the monument, located along 15th Street. The Lodge opens at 8:30 a.m., but lines start to form as early as 7:00 a.m. One person can get as many as six tickets and reserve them at any time tours are available that day. Tours run from 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. (or to 9:45 p.m. from May 31 - Sept. 6).

My friends woke up at 6:00 a.m. to get to the Monument and were able to get us 6 tickets for a 1:00 p.m. tour that day. We arrived at the Monument just before 1 and waited in a line that had already formed. Security guards take small groups, maybe of about 10, into a security checkpoint, and then into the Monument. Once inside, you go through a hallway to an elevator, which takes you to the top of the Monument. Warning: you're ears might pop! The viewing area is small and sparse, not decorated at all. You can look out of 8 small, dirty  windows, 2 on each of the Monument's 4 sides. Maps above the viewing area and below the window tell you what you're looking at. It's a great view of DC! You can really see everything. The biggest disappointment for me, though, was the reflecting pool. It was drained and looked disgusting. The view is worth the free ticket though. Here are my pictures of each of the views:

North view: The White House

East view: The Capitol

South view: The Jefferson Memorial

West view: WWII Memorial, non-reflecting non-pool, Lincoln Memorial

Historical display

You're allowed to stay up in the top of the Monument as long as you'd like. When you're done, you walk down one flight of stairs to the floor below the viewing area. There are little displays, telling you the history of the Monument and George Washington.

New York keystone

When you're done here, you take an elevator back to the bottom of the Monument. On the 2 and a half minute ride down, a park ranger slows the elevator at certain points and unfogs the elevator windows to show you specially designed keystones in the Monument. There are different stones for the states. New York has the biggest and fanciest one.

Overall, I'd recommend going. It's free, quick and offers great views and since it's such an important monument, is just something cool to say you've done. The best part, for me at least, was being outside the Monument on the ground. It's giant, completely towers over the mall. And with the openness of the mall, just looks very cool. Definitely something to at least see while you're in DC.

FYI - it's closed on Christmas and the 4th of July.

Miss Thompson goes to New York too

Since most everyone in Washington DC seems to be employed by the government, the city practically shuts down on government holidays. Since this past Monday was President's Day, I took a weekend trip with some friends from my building to visit New York City.

On the Subway with Rachel and Abby

We had a great trip! I have a newfound appreciation for DC's metro system. New York's subway was incredibly complicated! Thank God for the iPhone subway map app. Without it we would have been completely lost. DC's metro is clean, whereas New York's smells like pee. DC also has these convenient little signs that say when the next train is arriving, and you usually don't have to wait too long. In New York, they don't have these signs and you often have to wait FOREVER!



We got into the city on Friday night after a very long ride on the Megabus. I would not recommend the Megabus to anyone. It is cheap, but it is terribly disorganized. Also, they tell you you'll get to ride nice, double-deck buses with nice seats and WiFi, but both on the ride there and back, we ended up on standard coach buses with tiny, uncomfortable seats, no leg room and no WiFi.

Times Square with Abby and Garrett

When we finally reached New York, we got to our hostel in South Harlem. Sketchy neighborhood for sure, but inside it was very nice, especially for the $20/night price! Address was 242 W 116th St.

After a slightly scary trip to Mama's Fried Chicken down the street from our Harlem hostel, we hit up Time's Square. We found one of my favorite Belgian beers, Hoegaarden at an Irish pub there, and a wide variety of massive margaritas at Chevy's.

Saturday, day 2, we visited Chinatown and Little Italy. The good purse shops on Canal Street were unfortunately shut down, so I didn't make off with any cheap "Chanel" handbags. We ate brick oven pizza and drank wine at a restaurant in Little Italy. We headed up to Times Square again, where we visited Toys R Us and the M&M's store. That night we hung out around Columbia and some bars there. We missed 25 cent wings at the Lion's Head by minutes, but we did get to make a quick stop at Tom's Restaurant, you know, that restaurant they're always at in Seinfeld :)

Day 3 was a busy one. We hit up the Staten Island ferry, which gave us incredible views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. We walked to the financial district where we all grabbed the bull by the balls. Then headed to ground zero, which, nearly 10 years later, is still core shaking to see. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's in Times Square, which was not cheap like your typical Ruby Tuesday's... this was fancy shmancy Ruby Tuesday's. There I achieved by goal of drinking a cosmopolitan in New York City :) 

Our final day we spent in Central Park. It had snowed the night before, so it was absolutely beautiful. Overall, it was an incredible trip.