Three Days in Washington DC

Three Days in Washington DC – what to see and do in the Nation’s Capitol.

Three Days in Washington DC - what to see and do in the Nation's Capitol.

At the beginning of April, we took a trip to Washington DC. We haven’t been to DC in AGES, so we were excited for the trip. We spent 4 nights in town and did our best to make the most of our time. We stopped at all the major tourist spots and even got a special behind-the-scenes tour of Congress!

Private Tour of Congress
We were lucky enough to get a private tour of the Capitol from Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi.
One of my dearest friends sister-in-law works for the Senator and hooked us up with a tour.
We met at Senator Cochran’s office and one of his interns took us on the tour.
We got to use the underground train to go from the Dirksen Senate building to the Capitol building.
SO STINKING COOL!
This is the view we had when we were walking underground to the Capitol.

I LOVE the Capitol Rotunda.

See George Washington flanked by two beautiful ladies?

We walked past the Speaker of The House office.

The National Statuary Hall is one of my favorite parts of the Capitol tour.
There is a spot in the hall where you can whisper and it can be hear perfectly from another spot.
It is CRAZY!

We stopped into The Old Senate Chamber.
It was the legislative chamber of the United States Senate from 1810 to 1859.
The chamber is today used occasionally for ceremonial functions. Special meetings between Senators or dignitaries as well as speeches have been given there.

Senator Cochran is the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
We were lucky enough to get to go inside the Appropriations room.
OMG! SO pretty!
Every Senator on the committee has their name engraved in front of their chair.
After our tour we went outside to see the Capitol.
They were holding the vote for the new Supreme Court Justice.
Vice President Pence was inside.

Remember the view of the Capitol from the underground tunnels?
Well, here it is from above ground.

We walked across the street to see The Supreme Court.
It was very quiet despite the vote across the street.
The Jefferson Building – Library of Congress
The Jefferson Building of The Library of Congress is one of the most beautiful buildings in Washington DC.
I love a beautiful ceiling and there were plenty of them in the Jefferson Building!
It is the oldest of the three United States Library of Congress buildings.
It was built between 1890 and 1897.

The art inside the building is amazing.

More than fifty American painters and sculptors produced commissioned works of art for the building.

The Main Reading Room – we couldn’t go inside the room.
There is a viewing area to see the main room.

The Pentagon Tour
We were super excited about touring The Pentagon.
You can make reservations 90 days in advance here – https://www.defense.gov/Pentagon-Tours/Request-A-Tour/
The tour takes you all around the building. 
The Pentagon is like a city inside the building. There are drug stores, jewelry stores, florists, candy shops, a food court and a state of the art gym.
We got to see where the plane hit on 9/11 and go inside the chapel.
It was a really great tour. I highly recommend it!
The Smithsonian & National Mall
On our second full day in town, we headed straight for the Smithsonian and National Mall.

We started in the American History Museum.

We saw the slippers.

Bert & Ernie with Rubber Ducky.

Smithsonian Castle

Arts & Industry Building

Jefferson Memorial
After lunch, we took an Uber over to the Jefferson Memorial.

Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial
We walked the path from the Jefferson Memorial over to the Martin Luther King Memorial.
This was the first time we’ve seen this memorial. It was great!

Lincoln Memorial
We kept walking over to the Lincoln Memorial.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Cherry Blossoms
We chose the beginning of April for our trip so we could see the Cherry Blossoms.

They did not disappoint!

The White House

LOVED this Suntrust Bank next to the White House.

U.S. Department of Treasury
The Treasury Department is right next door to the White House.

The Capitol at Night
After dinner, we walked over to the Capitol.
It was BEAUTIFUL!

FBI Building
On our third full day, we set out to see the city.
We walked past the FBI Building.
We are going to plan a tour of the FBI on our next visit.
Department of Justice
National Archives

How pretty is this Starbucks?!?!
Federal Trade Commission
The Newseum
We spent the better part of the morning at The Newseum.
It was AMAZING!

They had actual sections from The Berlin Wall.

The view from the top of the museum was fantastic!

They were having a Rock and Roll exhibit.
We saw Jimi Hendrix’s Star Spangled Banner guitar.

John Lennon’s guitar.

Bruce Springsteen’s outfit from the Born in The USA album cover. 

OJ Simpson’s suit that he was wearing when he was acquitted.
The Newseum was definitely worth the cost of admission.
We LOVED it!
National Gallery of Art
After the Newseum, we walked across the street to the National Gallery of Art.

They have an AMAZING collection of art.
Tons of Rembrandt’s.

This is a Leonardo DiVinci painting.

I am a HUGE fan of Monet.

I also love, love, love Van Gogh.

This is one of my favorite Van Gogh’s.
The White House at Night
On our last night, we walked over to the White House to see it at night.

It was the perfect ending to our trip!
We had a blast in Washington DC.
We cannot wait to go back!
We stayed at the JW Marriott. It was a few blocks away from The White House.
It was PERFECT for walking to dinner and all the attractions.
What are your favorite things to do in DC?
We need suggestions for next year!


I’ll be sharing everything we ate in Washington DC next week!

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Comments

  1. Oh pooh! I live in Northern Virginia and could have made a quick trip into DC to say howdy to you!!! Next time!!

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