Tuesday morning the plan was to be up around 7:30 and go eat waffles at Lincoln's Waffle Shop before heading to the Museum of the Bible but I woke up not feeling great and so we opted for a little extra sleep and a grab and go breakfast instead.
We ubered from our hotel over to the Museum of the Bible and then walked across the block to an Atrium Cafe where grabbed something quick (honestly, the ham and egg croissant was SO GOOD and the bagel was okay).
I bought Museum of the Bible tickets before we arrived in DC and you buy a ticket that covers the whole day - so you can show up whenever works for you and re-enter o the same day as well.
The museum was STUNNING!!! The museum itself is beautiful and the exhibits were in depth but accessible.
We started on the top floor and worked our way down and spent FOREVER in "The People of the Land" exhibit which featured the history and archaeology of ancient Israel.
I know that a lot of my "visuals" of the Bible come from art, my imagination, children's bibles (hahaha) so it was so awesome to got to see these artifacts and get a more accurate (and real life!) idea of what things would have looked like in ancient Israel.
Other exhibits walked through the Bible and how it has gone from ancient times to modern life...
There was a whole "life of Jesus" exhibit where you walked through what Jerusalem may have felt like...
... and then another exhibit walked through the influence of the Bible on politics, fashion, pop culture, education, etc., etc. etc.
We got there pretty much right when it opened at 10:00 a.m. and left around 1:00 p.m. and we definitely felt like we were rushing at the end. There was so much to see and learn and if we were going back I'd definitely plan on being there in the morning, grabbing lunch and then going back.
Since we were trying to see other things on this day we grabbed pizza around the corner from the museum (PS -it's next to the McDonalds on C street not inside some really big building where your maps may try to take you - hahahaha)
The pizza was surprisingly good (if there's a chicken pesto I'm ALWAYS going to try it) and so we pretty much inhaled a few slices and then set off on a walk to the Capitol.
We walked through some of the outdoor portion of the US Botanic Gardens...
... and if we were going back I'd probably grab the pizza and walk over here to eat it because there were so many pretty tables and chairs and benches and all of that which would have bene way nicer than the tiny counter we ate our pizza at ;)
We made it to the Capitol and then trekked up the hill to the visitor's center...
So here's the deal. I booked a tour for 2:20 that afternoon but realized earlier in the morning that I had only booked it for one instead of two. Awesome.
When we got there we went downstairs where the tours meet and there's a whole line for people who don't have tickets. We were able to walk directly to the front of the line and get into the 1:50 tour without waiting at all. So, this one time, my mistake paid off! hahaha
The tour was CROWDED but our guide was great and the tour is really the only way to see most of what you'd want to see. It starts in a huge theater with a really great video outlining the beginnings and history of the building which, for us, added to some of the "awe" as we walked around and got to experience it for ourselves.
If I had planned this trip earlier (or with more time in between our stops) I would have LOVED to have reached out to our representatives and scheduled a time for us to get to watch a session (click HERE to find out who you'd contact).
After our tour we walked through the tunnel to the Library of Congress (you have to have timed entry passes that you can find HERE)....
... where we got to see the Gutenberg Bible...
... and view the reading room from an observation area (it closed right before we got there which was kind of a bummer but still so cool to see from above).
We didn't do a tour but there were several docents around (they were wearing vests that said ask me questions about the library) and so we asked a sweet gentleman what we should see and he pointed out the highlights for us including this world map from 1507.
There was a photography exhibit happening as well which I loved...
We headed out of the Library around 4:00...
... and made a pitstop at the steps of the Supreme Court.
I don't think I mentioned this in my first post but I was BLOWN AWAY by how gorgeous DC was. I visited several times in middle school (when I lived in NC) and then chaperoned a senior trip here probably 18 years ago but don't remember it being THIS pretty and clean.
Since we were a bit ahead of schedule we decided to head over to the National Archives and see if we could get in. Lucky timing (around 4:30) because we walked right in.
We got to see the Magna Carta (SO COOL!!!)...
... North Atlantic Treaty...
... Declaration of Independence...
... Constitution...
... and Bill of Rights.
Everything about this experience was incredible. It was CROWDED but well worth the wait. Such a surreal experience to get to see these in person.
We left the archives around 5:20 (it closed at 5:30)...
... got caught in our 3rd or 4th little rain shower of the day...
... and landed at Carmine's for dinner. Touristy? YES. Delicious? Also yes. Luke LOVES pasta and so I knew that this would be a highlight for him ;). We ate at Carmines on Broadway in NYC a couple of years ago and he still talks about that meal so to say he was thrilled about this stop is an understatement. I also loved that I was able to make a reservation ahead of time so I knew we wouldn't be stuck waiting somewhere.
... and Luke set about ordering for us ;) It's family style and the portions feed something like 4 people so we ordered one dish to share and I let him pick.
HE WAS SO HAPPY!!!
After stuffing ourselves at Carmine's Luke informed me that he still had some room for dessert so we walked over to Insomnia Cookies to grab a few to bring with us on our memorials and monuments tour.
We walked over to the US Navy Memorial Plaza and met up with our tour guide for our bus tour.
We used this company and upgraded to the "glass top/panoramic roof" tour which ended up being SO NICE because you could see a TON and our group was 12 people vs the huge charter bus tours. Our guide was super knowledgeable and pointed out all kinds of noteworthy sights (like Ford's Theater) in between our stops.
First up was The Capitol...
... and then The White House...
There was a demonstration happening so he had us hang back a bit in the President's Park.
... and then we stopped at Blair House...
... before hopping back on the bus and heading to the WWII Memorial.
This is not the best pic BUT is the only one that shows what our bus looked like so I'm posting it. There were two seats on one side and 1 on the other and the whole roof rolled down which was so fun,
We headed over to the Jefferson Memorial...
... and as we were standing out here talking about it with our guide there was a HUGE clap of thunder so we decided to book it up the stairs to check it out before the rain hit.
As we were inside the skies literally opened up and it started POURING.
There was a ton of screaming (hahaha) and running....
... and we got absolutely SOAKED!
Back on the bus with the roof on....
... and then we visited the MLK memorial...
... Marine Corps War Memorial...
... and Vietnam War Memorial.
Next up was the Lincoln Memorial...
... and then the Korean War Memorial.
The tour was about 3 hours long and was a highlight for both me and Luke. There is something special about seeing all of the memorials lit up at night that makes them extra special.
The tour ended back where it started and since we were soaked and exhausted we decided to grab an uber instead of walking back to the hotel.
This was a FULLLLLLL day and I know that if we had had our entire crew with us there's no way we would have been able to cover as much ground as we did. I think Luke and I did about 20k steps this day!
I'm so excited for my son to see all this next week with is graduating 8th grade class! I wish I was going again (went in high school) but I know he will have such a great time. Love the memorial pictures!
ReplyDeleteThat bus tour looks incredible! You really did pack a lot into one day.
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