41°53′36″N 12°28′58″E
ATL 
DCA
Washington, District of Columbia. My first solo trip has brought me to the nation’s capital. This is actually my third trip to the district. They say, “Third time’s the charm,” but really, every visit to Washington is special, and the itinerary is always fresh and new. There is an endless array of historical artifacts and museums to explore, and visiting the monuments never gets old.
I flew into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which is one of my favorite airports. It is right next to the National Mall. The views when flying in are spectacular. I arrived right at twilight, with the Washington Monument and the White House on full display. My only regret is that I didn’t have a window seat.
I took an Uber straight to my hotel, Phoenix Park Hotel, which was near the Capitol and absolutely beautiful. There was an Irish pub, The Dubliner, right downstairs, which I decided to try. When I tell you the food was good, I mean it—it was delicious. On my first night, I ordered fish and chips. I sat next to an older couple who had just come from a high school basketball game at one of their alma maters. We had a very nice conversation. They wanted to discuss politics, which I suppose was fitting given that we were in the nation’s capital. I typically don’t like to discuss those topics unless I’m talking with someone I know well and trust, but I politely listened. They were very nice.
On previous visits to D.C., I spent a significant amount of time at the Smithsonian museums. There were two in particular that I wanted to revisit: the Holocaust Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The atrocities that both groups endured were heartbreaking. One day could never be enough, but I made it a point to commit one full day to each museum to absorb, reflect upon, and contemplate the harshness of those times and how far both groups have come. On this visit, I wasn’t going to rush through either, so I made it a point not to visit any others.
My first stop was the Holocaust Museum, where I reviewed newspaper clippings from the era, viewed thousands of photographs of Holocaust victims, passed by trains that transported Jews to concentration camps, and saw remnants of ovens used in the mass murder of Jews. At the end of the museum, there was a video presentation featuring Holocaust survivors recounting the heartbreak of losing family members and friends. Their grief was still palpable, even after so many years. The video appeared to have been produced in the early 1990s.
After I exited the exhibit portion of the museum, I entered the lobby and noticed a man sitting at a table. There was a sign in front of him that read, “I Survived the Holocaust.” I had to do a double take. I felt myself getting a little nervous. The gravity of realizing that this man had lived through the tragedy I had just spent hours learning about was a bit sobering.
I walked over to him, and he invited me to sit down. He appeared to be around 80 to 85 years old and explained that he had been a baby during the Holocaust. His mother had a good relationship with a local Catholic priest, who forged christening papers identifying him as a Christian. His mother then entrusted him to family friends while she was sent to a concentration camp. I asked which camp, but he did not answer directly, and I did not want to press the matter any further.
By God’s grace, his mother survived the Holocaust, returned to retrieve him, and the two eventually emigrated to Philadelphia. Although he did not directly experience the daily horrors of imprisonment in a concentration camp, the pain he carried was evident when he spoke about family members who had either suffered through or been murdered during those atrocities.
I am writing this blog post two years after my trip, and I am somewhat frustrated that I can no longer remember his name. Yet his face and the details of his story remain remarkably vivid in my mind. My conversation with him is one of the moments from that trip that I will never forget.
I needed to take a mental and emotional break from the gravity of the material that I had just experienced. I ended up walking around the Washington Monument, admiring its towering height as well as the other landmarks in the distance, including the White House and the Lincoln Memorial.
I then took an Uber to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. I have always found the Kennedy family fascinating and have spent a great deal of time studying both their political legacy and family history.
On the way, we passed by the infamous Watergate Hotel, which became synonymous with the political scandal that ultimately led to Richard Nixon’s resignation.
There was a small, free exhibit highlighting President Kennedy’s and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s immense support for the arts. The exhibit emphasized the ways in which they sought to incorporate contemporary art, culture, and a spirit of modernization into the White House. Kennedy invited musicians and artists of all races to participate in his inauguration and other White House events, including Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, and Harry Belafonte, to name a few. In many ways, he was ahead of his time.
One of the coolest features of the exhibit was an interactive display that allowed visitors to stand in front of a screen while it created a sketched portrait. My result is in the carousel below—pretty incredible!
The food in Washington, D.C. is phenomenal. There is a tremendous amount of diversity in the city’s culinary scene, along with an emphasis on fresh, high-quality ingredients. It often seems that the farther north you travel in the United States, the cleaner and higher-quality the ingredients become.
For dinner, I ventured to the Georgetown neighborhood of D.C., a historic neighborhood situated along the Potomac River and home to Georgetown University. I ate at the Italian restaurant, il Canale. Pizza, meatballs, Caesar salad, and tiramisu were on my menu, and every dish was delicious.
After I finished eating, I took a walk to the famous (at least in D.C.) Baked & Wired bakery to grab a cupcake. The line stretched down the sidewalk, but the wait was well worth it.
I know I promised not to visit any other museums on this trip, but I made one exception: a quick visit to the U.S. Postal Museum, which was located directly across from my hotel.
Later that evening, I returned to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to catch a performance of Clue: The Musical. It was hilarious and fast-paced, with no intermission, and was performed exquisitely by an elite cast. Bravo!
The next morning, Sunday, I attended Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, the site of John F. Kennedy’s funeral. It is a beautiful and peaceful church, and its stunning architecture provided a fitting setting for reflection and prayer.
After Mass, I headed straight to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Some of the most prominent artifacts on display included the Emancipation Proclamation, portions of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage, and the dress that Rosa Parks wore during the infamous bus incident.
Part of the museum was designed to resemble a segregated lunch counter, similar to one that protesters would have sat in during “sit-in” demonstrations. Civil rights “sit-ins” were a series of nonviolent protests in which African Americans and their allies occupied segregated establishments, primarily lunch counters. By refusing to leave when denied service, protesters disrupted business operations, challenged Jim Crow laws, and brought national attention to the fight for racial equality.
It was time for my second bike tour! I was so excited about this one, as there is so much to see. As we rode through the city, catching glimpses of the Potomac River, we stopped for photos at the Capitol and the White House, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln, Jefferson, and World War II Memorials. It was a great tour, and I met a few fellow riders from London who were learning about American history.
Visit the E-Bike Tours post to view more photos from my bike tour.
The final day was a workday for me. During my lunch hour, I took a tour of the U.S. Capitol. The tour started with a 13-minute video about U.S. history and how we arrived at present day. The main attraction, the famous Rotunda, came towards the end of the tour. No senators or representatives happened to be walking through at the time.
In the lobby of the Capitol Visitor Center was a statue of Captain Jack Swigert, who was elected to the House of Representatives from the state of Colorado. He was part of the Apollo 13 mission, often described as a “successful failure.” He won his congressional race, but unfortunately passed away from cancer before he could assume office. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies, so I was pleasantly surprised to see him prominently displayed at the Visitor Center. His legacy continues to live on today.
I had not planned on visiting the Supreme Court, but it was right across the way. I had only intended to sit outside and admire the building itself, but I saw people going in and out and decided to venture inside. I was welcomed in and informed that there would be a lecture by one of the curators inside the courtroom itself. I quickly got in line and was able to sit inside the court where so many monumental cases in our nation’s history have been decided—and this continues today.
What a great trip. It truly was. Washington, D.C. never disappoints, and each visit feels like the first, given the sheer number of activities, restaurants, and artifacts to see. The next time I am in town, I plan to visit my local representative’s office and obtain passes to sit in on the House of Representatives and Senate sessions, which I had not previously realized were open to the public. I also plan to attend opening and/or closing Supreme Court arguments, which are likewise open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
Who knew we had access to all of this? Turns out, we are, in fact, the people! “We the People.” We say it often, but do we really understand this? By God-given right, in addition to deciding who represents us, we are entitled to direct access to witness what our lawmakers are discussing and deciding on OUR behalf in OUR country.
As always, well done, Washington, D.C. I will see you next time.
All the best,
Jennelle