It's time to sightsee, DC
On Monday after my crazy Sunday night, I had to get up early to get to a tour at the Capitol! Of course I was running late, but I showed up and barely joined the tour that one of our company members had set up for us. There were nine of us, and we were led around by an intern from one of the Senator's offices. It was a great tour, and the Capitol was just as beautiful as I remembered. We actually got to watch part of Congress in session, and it was fascinating. A woman was proposing a bill to give harsher punishments for hate crimes, and she was so passionate! After spending a few hours in this amazing building, watching government at work, I was so impressed! It really made me have faith in the country, especially looking back at the work of the people who had to put in so much effort to get our system of government started. Fascinating!
Afterwards, Janice and Carli and I headed across the mall to have lunch in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery. We walked and walked and walked in the heat, past some of the amazing museums, and ended up in the wrong Sculpture Garden at first. By the time we trekked through the National Gallery and finally saw the oasis around a beautiful fountain, we were dying of hunger and thirst. We had a delicious lunch and then went our separate ways. I headed to the Archives to check out some of the most amazing documents in our country, and then home to get a nap in!
A few hours later Sean picked me up, and he and Emily and I had dinner at... The Cheesecake Factory! Sometimes you're just craving it, and we were. We stuffed ourselves silly and had a yummy time, until I had to head back and meet my besty Flann! Flann is my best friend from college, and he was coming into town to visit for a few days! I picked him up at the subway, and we spent the night eating leftover cheesecake, catching up, and chilling out. The only bad thing about having him visit is that he's an early riser - the opposite of me! On Tuesday he woke up early to go running, and I got my requisite 8 hours of sleep. Eventually I had to get up, because I had more friends coming to visit! My besties Matt and Sarah (also from college) had hopped on a bus for the day! They met us off the subway to drop off their stuff at my place, and then we all hit the town to do a bit of sightseeing.
We started off the subway and saw a bunch of the sights, including the Albert Einstein monument. A photo shoot ensued of us on his knee, and then we moved on to the biggies. We saw the Lincoln Monument, and then headed off around the reflecting pool to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. We got caught in a flash thunderstorm, but we stuck it out and giggled through it all. Eventually we made our way to the Washington Monument, and I impressed everybody with my knowledge. We kept walking towards the mall, by by this time we were beat! We crashed on some picnic benches and tried to battle the humidity. It was also time for me to head to the theatre, so I went to get ready for the show. The three of them saw the sow on Tuesday night, and they were the best audience ever! It's lovely to have your theatrical peers in the audience (Flann's an opera singer, Matt's an actor, and Sarah plays the oboe) because they know just what to say. They gushed appropriately, and then we headed to Georgetown for some French cuisine that's open late.
Unfortunately Sarah and Matt had to head home Wednesday morning, but we made sure to stay up late Tuesday night giggling and having fun. On Wednesday I woke up to say goodbye, send them out the door and then go back to sleep. But it was so much fun to see them! After I woke up a few hours later, Flann and I met up to do some more sightseeing. That was the plan, but he used to live in DC and has seen everything, and I need some low-key days in my week, so instead we saw a movie! Everything we wanted to see was not playing or sold out, so we ended up at A Mighty Heart. The movie is very well done, but also very sad. Angelina Jolie does an excellent job, but left me a little cold. We decided to warm up by getting ice cream and sitting in Lafayette Square and people watching. It was tons of fun. The time came where I ditched him to go to the show, but we met up afterwards!
We decided to hit up Old Ebbitt Grill, a famous restaurant near the White House. We had the best crab cakes ever, and when Flann bragged to the waiter that I was in Phantom, we got free desserts! It was amazing. On Thursday Flann was leaving, so we decided to pick one last thing to do, so we hit up the National Cathedral. It is such a beautiful sight! It was lovely to just be able to walk around and take in the grandeur of the place. We rode the elevator to the top and found an amazing view of all of DC, from my apartment in Arlington to the Kennedy Center and beyond. It left us very much at peace. Unfortunately, then it was time for Flann to catch his train. We caught Johnny Rockets at the train station, and then said goodbye. Tired, I went to do Thursday's show, and found my voice sounding pretty yuck.
I don't get sick often, but occasionally I'm plagued by the once or twice yearly sinus infections. After Flann left I could see how tired I was, and I knew that I was going to get sick. So on Friday I called in sick to the show, and spent the day on the couch, drinking liquids and overdosing on vitamin C. It payed off, because by Saturday's show I was feeling a lot better. More to come!
Afterwards, Janice and Carli and I headed across the mall to have lunch in the Sculpture Garden at the National Gallery. We walked and walked and walked in the heat, past some of the amazing museums, and ended up in the wrong Sculpture Garden at first. By the time we trekked through the National Gallery and finally saw the oasis around a beautiful fountain, we were dying of hunger and thirst. We had a delicious lunch and then went our separate ways. I headed to the Archives to check out some of the most amazing documents in our country, and then home to get a nap in!
A few hours later Sean picked me up, and he and Emily and I had dinner at... The Cheesecake Factory! Sometimes you're just craving it, and we were. We stuffed ourselves silly and had a yummy time, until I had to head back and meet my besty Flann! Flann is my best friend from college, and he was coming into town to visit for a few days! I picked him up at the subway, and we spent the night eating leftover cheesecake, catching up, and chilling out. The only bad thing about having him visit is that he's an early riser - the opposite of me! On Tuesday he woke up early to go running, and I got my requisite 8 hours of sleep. Eventually I had to get up, because I had more friends coming to visit! My besties Matt and Sarah (also from college) had hopped on a bus for the day! They met us off the subway to drop off their stuff at my place, and then we all hit the town to do a bit of sightseeing.
We started off the subway and saw a bunch of the sights, including the Albert Einstein monument. A photo shoot ensued of us on his knee, and then we moved on to the biggies. We saw the Lincoln Monument, and then headed off around the reflecting pool to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. We got caught in a flash thunderstorm, but we stuck it out and giggled through it all. Eventually we made our way to the Washington Monument, and I impressed everybody with my knowledge. We kept walking towards the mall, by by this time we were beat! We crashed on some picnic benches and tried to battle the humidity. It was also time for me to head to the theatre, so I went to get ready for the show. The three of them saw the sow on Tuesday night, and they were the best audience ever! It's lovely to have your theatrical peers in the audience (Flann's an opera singer, Matt's an actor, and Sarah plays the oboe) because they know just what to say. They gushed appropriately, and then we headed to Georgetown for some French cuisine that's open late.
Unfortunately Sarah and Matt had to head home Wednesday morning, but we made sure to stay up late Tuesday night giggling and having fun. On Wednesday I woke up to say goodbye, send them out the door and then go back to sleep. But it was so much fun to see them! After I woke up a few hours later, Flann and I met up to do some more sightseeing. That was the plan, but he used to live in DC and has seen everything, and I need some low-key days in my week, so instead we saw a movie! Everything we wanted to see was not playing or sold out, so we ended up at A Mighty Heart. The movie is very well done, but also very sad. Angelina Jolie does an excellent job, but left me a little cold. We decided to warm up by getting ice cream and sitting in Lafayette Square and people watching. It was tons of fun. The time came where I ditched him to go to the show, but we met up afterwards!
We decided to hit up Old Ebbitt Grill, a famous restaurant near the White House. We had the best crab cakes ever, and when Flann bragged to the waiter that I was in Phantom, we got free desserts! It was amazing. On Thursday Flann was leaving, so we decided to pick one last thing to do, so we hit up the National Cathedral. It is such a beautiful sight! It was lovely to just be able to walk around and take in the grandeur of the place. We rode the elevator to the top and found an amazing view of all of DC, from my apartment in Arlington to the Kennedy Center and beyond. It left us very much at peace. Unfortunately, then it was time for Flann to catch his train. We caught Johnny Rockets at the train station, and then said goodbye. Tired, I went to do Thursday's show, and found my voice sounding pretty yuck.
I don't get sick often, but occasionally I'm plagued by the once or twice yearly sinus infections. After Flann left I could see how tired I was, and I knew that I was going to get sick. So on Friday I called in sick to the show, and spent the day on the couch, drinking liquids and overdosing on vitamin C. It payed off, because by Saturday's show I was feeling a lot better. More to come!
posted by Beth at 12:04 PM
1 Comments:
Beth - I hope you are feeling better! When we were in Charlevoix, I had something nasty ... Bird Flu, or SARS, or Black Lung, or Monkeypox ... whatever it was, it was no fun. I'm glad I didn't have to use my voice for a living then! :-) DLADK
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