A few weekends ago, we had our annual trip to Washington D.C. This turned into a tradition to celebrate KJ's birthday a few years ago, so every summer around the same time we make the two and a half hour drive there and stay for the weekend. There's always so much to see and do in DC, especially with the free admission to all museums and exhibitions associated with the Smithsonian Institute. So if you pack your own lunch, you can have a full day of free American history, art, culture, science, etc, which we have done in the past for mini daytrips. However, hotels are normally ridiculously expensive when Congress is in session and dining-out and entertainment aren't lagging far behind in price. But in the summer, when much of political DC is also on vacation, you can find some great hotel deals.
One of our fave places to visit every summer is the National Gallery of Art, where you can meander through one of many galleries and buildings. However, as with any large art museum there are the crowds to deal with. We noticed that on this particular summer weekend, it was much more crowded than past summers, most likely due to Obama now being president.
Renwick Gallery Facade
On this trip we were pleased to discover for ourselves a new fave, the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery. It's tucked a bit away from the National Mall and almost across the street from the White House. You can easily miss it as most of the attention on this street IS on the White House. The museum houses 19th century to present American art and the building itself is from and decorated inside with 19th century period furniture. One of the finest features is their Grand Salon, which gives you the feeling you're in the home of a 19th century art collector's house. I couldn't get the right picture on my digital camera that captured the grandeur and scale of this room, but the link above shows the feel a bit. I found the Salon definitely a place I could sit for hours, read a book, and relax. I don't think the museum staff would necessarily mind either, the receptionist and security were so friendly and it wasn't crowded at all! We look forward to visiting again when they finish the special exhibitions that were closed off this time :(
3 comments:
The last time I went to see all those galleries in DC, I was 11 and uninterested. All I remember was that we stayed in the Howard Johnson across Watergate, LOL! I now regret not soaking it all in, because I would LOVE to go back. I didn't realize a lot of them are free admission! Thanks for sharing that little tidbit about Renwick, will definitely include it on the itin the next time we go, which I hope is soon!
What a gorgeous building. Love the architecture. ;-) must remember to visit if I'm in the area!
isn't it grand to make little traditions! ^-^
will try to think of that for our birthday months.
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