Playing Hostess in DC

As you might have discerned from my enthusiastic post about visiting the White House, I don’t spend a substantial amount of time showing out-of-town guests around the tourist sights of the city.  When I play hostess in DC, I spend an hour or so perusing the Washington Post’s weekend section of the paper (delivered on Friday mornings) circling a dozen new gallery showings, movie listings, and restaurant reviews that will give my guest an entirely unique experience.  I make an effort to explore new places in my own backyard, and in doing so, never get bored or frustrated showing a guest around DC.

Here are my picks for April (and how I spent the past Easter weekend with M).

1.   Start the morning at the Corcoran Gallery at 500 17th St. in NW DC.  In the same vicinity you can find the Renwick Gallery and the Art Museum of the Americas.  Although I personally adore art museums, I don't recommend spending more than two hours in one place.  The Corcoran Gallery is perfectly sized so that you can get through most of the museum in that short period of time and they are constantly changing their exhibits.

2.  Leave the gallery in the late morning and walk around.  If your guest wishes to see one or two tourist spots the White House and Washington Monument are the closest to the Corcoran.  I personally like to skip these monuments, but  do not dare skip the April cherry blossoms.  Year after year, I never get sick of the beautiful pink harbingers of spring that line the Tidal Basin (also close to the Corcoran).  Peak bloom for 2013 has been pushed back to April 6-10 because of unseasonable chilly weather, but I find the cherry blossoms to be particularly gorgeous when they fall and create a soft, pastel carpet over top of the sidewalks and streets.

3.  Next, flag a taxi and take a short ride to Georgetown for a late lunch.  A neighborhood favorite is Pizza Paradiso on M Street.  This popular restaurant does not take reservations, but put you can put your name on their list, get an approximate seating time, and go discover some amazing shopping on M Street while you wait!

4.  After pizza, walk down to K Street and spend some time in the sun at the Georgetown Waterfront Park.  When the weather gets warming rent a kayak for an hour from Jack's Boathouse and get some exercise on the Potomac.

5.  Finally, finish the day with a cupcake from Baked and Wired (don't forget water!) and have a picnic on Georgetown University's Healy Lawn.  I personally enjoy Baked and Wired over Georgetown Cupcakes, particularly because it doesn't have a line that's two blocks long.

And there you have it.  I'll write up my tourist picks for May when N comes down from Philly to visit me.

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