Saturday DC walk.

Good morning!

I live in the DC metropolitan area, in Northern Virginia, in a green and leafy suburb that I love so very much.

This very burb is located 22 miles (35 kilometers) northwest of our nation's capital.

So, how often do I venture in to DC? Not often enough. This chick is way too suburbanized … But, nowadays you do not even have to drive downtown. No, since 2014 we have metro service from Reston to DC and beyond (and with that I mean suburban Maryland). 

It takes about 30 minutes to drive downtown from our house, all depending on traffic volume. The metro ride takes about 40 minutes.

So, Saturday morning Peter and I decided to head downtown. And sure enough, we decided to metro in from the Wiehle Avenue station (our nearest metro stop) that would be a way to get a good city walk in. This was our best option since we wanted to start at one place and end at a totally different place in town. So metro was the given choice of transportation this very Saturday …

We started our walk on the National Mall, at the classic metro stop Smithsonian. We decided to head down toward Lincoln Memorial. And then to the West End, Georgetown and we would end our walk in Rosslyn, VA.

The weather was totally fine. The Mall is known for either being very cold (it can be gruesome when the winter winds rule the place) or (in the summer) extremely hot.

The past Saturday it was perfect weather conditions, around 48 F (8C) and no wind. 

But, let me take you along thru a classic photo dump.

All aboard! Peter and I are waiting for the metro train to depart Wiehle Avenue in Reston.

And, approximately 40 minutes later we were stranding here, on The National Mall.

You can see the Washington Monument from almost anywhere in DC.  It is the highest structure within the borders of Washington DC.  If you feel like it you can take the elevator all the way up in the monument. But I have not done so since I was an au-pair 33 years ago.  Holy HELL, 33 years ...

Surrounding the monuments there are flags representing all the states-and territories-in The US.  Oh sure, you can see the Capital Building in this picture as well.

Now we have left The Monument and are on our way to Lincoln Memorial.

But there is something so alluring with The Monument.  I shot this pic from the World War II Memorial.

Why not, here's another one ...

The reflection pool and Lincoln Memorial.  The pool had a thin layer of ice.

Here's a map in case you need it ...

The reflection pool again.

Korean War Memorial. 

And surrounding the Korean War Memorial you'll find a wall with the names of all the soldiers who died in said war.
Here we are on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial.

There are always a lot of people here.

We have left the mall and are heading for the West Side.  Yes, there are a lot of homeless people in DC and some of them live in tents.

Walking toward George Washington Unversity along the brownstones. 

On the GWU campus.

Campus buildings at GWU.

A pub on campus.  Peter and I always have lunch at Paul's, a French cafe on campus.  This pub is located in the same area.

And now we are on our way to Georgetown.

THIS is The Infamous Watergate building.  You all know what happened here in the 70's and what it lead up to,  Bye President Nixon.

The Watergate again, the building consists of condominium apartments and it is also the home of  The Watergate Hotel.
In Georgetown!  This is the Swedish Embassy and The House of Sweden.  Yes, I have been there many, many times when re-newing passports and other things.  Iceland has their embassy within the building as well.

The iceskating rink by the Georgetown waterfront.

The waterfront, you can see The Watergate and The Kennedy Center (our opera house) in this picture.

Remains from the pandemic ... Some people still want to dine outside and if so, you can sit inside a plastic igloo. No, I am not at all afraid of eating inside a restaurant.  And I am so very happy that things are back to normal again.  IF people still want to dine outside it is up to them, but I would never do it.  Nowadays I think it is a bit of overkill.

We are still in Georgetown.

BUT now we have ventured over to the Virginia side, and we are in Rosslyn in Arlington, VA.  AND, Peter and I are now experiencing the very new view point in DC, The View of DC.  It is free and it is AWESOME!!  You are on the top level of a 31 story building and you have views in all directions.  People really do not know that this place exists so there were zero lines getting in.  On the other side of the Potomac River you'll see Georgetown University and in the distance, Bethesda, Maryland.

Washington DC, the big island in the foreground is Roosevelt Island where you can walk around nature. Behind it you'll see The Kennedy Center, The Watergate, downtown DC, The Mall and the Monument and so much more that is DC.

Bridges connection DC to Northern Virginia, Roosevelt Bridge, Arlington Memorial Bridge and 14th Street Bridge.

The view over the close in suburbs of Arlington. The close in burbs are as urban as DC.

The tall buildings in the distance is Bailey's Crossroads in Falls Church, Virginia.

IF you are afraid of heights, as I am, you might have a slight problem here ...  Peter is never scared of heights.

Rosslyn, Court House and Clarendon.

And you'll find it all on the top floors of this building.

Thanks for tagging along with us in DC and Rosslyn, Virginia.

Have a very good Tuesday.