Washington, D.C

Washington D.C was part of the Cities of the Great East tour my sister and I took with Cosmos. A great way to explore four major cities in East America, Washington D.C, Philadelphia, Boston and New York.

Now when it comes to tours I not a big fan of the spoon fed tours, where you see the world through the tour managers eyes. I’m also someone who likes eating local food, so the tours offering 'desi khana' are not my cup of tea. And that’s the reason I decided on https://www.cosmosvacations.in/ , a multi-cultural tour with lots of ‘me time’ and local experiences.

Day 1- since everyone on the tour was arriving in Washington on their own, we were told to meet our tour manger in the hotel lobby any time after 3 p.m. I was flying from Detroit to Washington. Here’s a tip if your flying domestic in USA – most of the major airlines allow only cabin baggage and charge for checked in baggage. Make sure to check your airlines baggage policy to avoid any disappointments.

I arrived at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport at 12 pm. After that I took the metro from the National Airport Metro Station to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station. My hotel was a 5-minute walk from the station. The typical Holiday Inn you find in America, unlike the fancy Holiday Inn’s we are used to in India. I was staying in Alexandria 7 miles south of downtown Washington, D.C. As the entire evening was free our tour manager recommended a visit to king’s street, a 1 mile street in Old Alexandria. But before that I had a good Thai lunch at a nearby restaurant.

A beautiful cobbled stoned street with boutiques, restaurants, souvenir shops and museums. A person like me can spend an entire day here. I witnessed a band performance outside the Alexandria City hall and then spent some time at the King Street Park having a yummy Ben&Jerry ice cream. A free trolley takes you up and down King's Street, if your feet start hurting then this is a good option. Take away from Subway and Day 1 is done.

Trying to figure out the metro route.

Kings Street.

King Street park.

Alexandria City Hall.

Ben & Jerry Ice Cream

Thai food for lunch.

Day 2- after a hearty American breakfast, I met my fellow travelers and we headed for a guided tour of Washington. My sister and I were the only Indians (that was expected) on the tour mostly dominated by Brits, Australians, New Zealanders and to my surprise a few Americans.

The list of attraction in Washington, D.C is long. The White house is on everyone’s list and that was our first stop. The official residence of the President of the USA. The white house several wings that are accessible from a certain distance and are a perfect photo background. A free tour takes you inside the White house but for that you need to submit your names 21 days prior to your visit. So that was certainly not on my agenda.

The White House.

Outside the White House.

Washington being a capital city is the home to many Memorials, a few of them include The Lincoln Memorial, The Arlington National cemetery, National Mall, U.S Navy Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial to name a few. By afternoon I was done seeing the above mentioned Memorials, the sun was shining bright and I could feel my feet burning. After that we had ample of free time to catch up on a few Smithsonian Institution Museums. It’s just impossible to see all the museums in one day, as there are 19 museums and galleries to explore in Washington, D.C. But before Museum time it was lunch time at a food truck. And then I went on see the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. These museums are huge and you need loads of stamina to see the entire museums. My Zumba classes helped me a lot in walking for 10-12 kilometres daily.