How To Do DC In A Day (USA)

One of the best things in college is spring break. We go through hell from the wrath of winter and unforgiving papers and series of exams then life is generous enough to grant stressed-out caffeine junkies a taste of spring before we pull our hairs out for finals. Just a breath of fresh air and a little ray of sun from that utter darkness, when we are just about to cross the line to lala-land.
This spring break, DC was one of the places I visited. We only had 1 full day to see the city. Doing DC in a day was easier and fun than expected. Here are some tips to hit the right spots when you are in the city in a small amount of time.

(Tip 1: You do not need a car. DC's metro system is as easy as Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange and Green, literally. Get the SmartFare card instead of FareCard because it will not charge you extra for buying the card every time. Pro: Metro is clean and easy. Con: Expensive as hell.)

1st Stop: We started from the Smithsonian Museum's Natural History Museum.

If you enter from Constitution Ave, there is a booth where you can grab a map of the entire city and the museums. Drop a donation. Depending on the weather, you can walk outside to the National Mall field after you looked around the Natural History and took a photo of that replica of an Elephant on the 1st floor. You can't miss it.

Find a bench or sit on the grass and start planning the rest of your day with the map and a marker you own. Everybody in my group agreed on visiting the Castle, African Museum and Air & Space.
Stop 2: The Simthsonian Castle

Stop 3: National Museum of African Art

Stop 4: Air and Space Museum

We finished the museums around lunch time so we walked to Potbelly to grab our lunwiches.

(Tip 2: There are more good places to eat in the block of 7th st. I suggest walking up that block a little more and pay Pitango a visit, between D & E St. They have amazing ice creams that will definitely satisfy your dessert craving. The best Pistachio ice cream I had by far.)

Stops 5&6: Lunch and Pitango

Stop 7: The National Capitol

We walked back to see the Capitol and sat by the fountain to rest, recuperate and soak the structural beauty that surrounded us. We played some embarassing games (sam-yeuk-go) that cost me my dignity. One good thing about traveling is that you can just lose yourself in a place and have no care in the world because nobody knows you and the place itself does not claim you. So there we were, by the Capitol pool, in the middle of a sea of strangers. We laughed so hard tears fell from our eyes, our bellies started to ache and people's inquisitive stares started to blend with the sun and wind. We stopped noticing. After an incident that almost had me flying to the ER, we decided to rent some Capitol Bikes.
Stop 8: Nearest Capitol Bike Station

(Tip 3: Tricky things about these buggers are that 1) You only get 30 min. to dock the bike to another station and not get penalized. 2) Not all stations have enough bikes for your group. Although, they do have monitors in every station that tells you how many bikes are available in the closest station. 3) A smartphone is necessary to check where the closest bike station is in a city where every corners and turns are unfamiliar. Unless you have a photographic memory then you will do well with just looking at the station monitor. 4)If you did not return the bike after the warranted time or if you improperly dock it, they will charge $101.00 in your card.)

Other than these inconveniences, biking around DC can be a good experience.
Stop 9: Tidal Basin DC is famous for their National Cherry Blossom Festival. We were somewhat lucky enough to catch some of the Cherry Blossoms around the city and by Tidal Basin where they hold their festival every year. When you have a flexible date to visit, check when the festival is and experience it first-hand.

(Tip 4: The closest bike station we could find to Tidal Basin is the one by the Obelisk)

photo from sounthernfolly.com
Tidal Basin is a fair distance from where the Lincoln Memorial is. One of the iconic monuments in DC. Stop 10: Lincol Memorial

After your selfies with Mr Lincoln and an epic staircase photo, take a stroll along the reflection pool. Interact with friendly ducks if you must.
Stop 11: Reflecting Pool You can decide if you want to bike or walk to your next destination.

Stop 12: White House Everybody in the group agreed that this trip is not complete without a holler to the man, Mr. President. There were a couple of baracades when we were there so we only got to see it from a distance with fences in between.

Photo grabbed from pigeonforgetoday.com
Stop 13: (If you get lucky) Free Concert Our timing ended perfectly because the African Community in DC were celebrating their Emancipation Day in the Freedom Plaza. We caught Dougie Fresh live and jammed to his beats and some classic oldies.

But I mean, when you end a trip with fireworks, does that say amazing trip or what?
Around 11pm, all of us noticed how hungry we were so we walked our way to Chinatown and had one of the best ramens I had in Daikaya.

Stop 14: Chinatown

photo grabbed from mixedpics.xyz (Tip 5: Dare to walk from the Freedom Plaza to Chinatown like we did to save on Metro, see more of the city on your last hours with it and only if you have energy left in you to do more walking. Keep your guards up because you will pass a few dark alleys.)

Apparently, the only ending that can top fireworks is good food.

Killed DC in a Day

First Bite Was The Sweetest (Belgium)

To all waffle lovers out there, who have not tried the authentic Belgian Waffle yet (by authentic I mean straight from Belgium made by Belgians), I am shockingly please to announce that America's very own IHOP beats waffles by a Belgian man any day.

My first bite was a struggle. I was given a plastic fork to dig into my little waffle in a little plate with generous amount of toppings. Oh btw, I forgot to mention waffles in Belgium are considered as street foods. So there's a plus to my comfort. What broke my heart was the lack of fluff my waffle had compared to IHOP's fattening fluffy buttermilk waffle. It is quite sad to eat that healthy, skinny waffle without the accustomed rich fat.

One thing I would credit them for is their adventurous toppings that can variously consist of different types of chocolates, fruits, ice creams and whatever your sweet tooth can crave. The beauty of it all can evidently attract passersby, especially tourists (ehem!)

Nonetheless it still pleases me to declare my first Belgian meal was their Belgian waffle. :)