Today was a long day, but we explored many different areas of Washington D.C. and the surrounding area! Katarina's family and I left the hotel at 10am to eat breakfast. We ate at a restaurant called the "Founding Farmers" in Washington D.C.. It was a great breakfast - I had eggs sunny-side up with bacon and toast. After we ate, we decided that our second stop of the day was going to be the White House.
Once we arrived to the area outside the White House, we began to take many photos. It was difficult to pose in certain areas with the White House in the background due to the large crowd of people visiting. I did notice that there was a large fence surrounding the White House in addition to a couple of barricades surrounding the fence. Talk about a huge security precaution! I asked Katarina why this was the case, and she told me that many people have wanted to hurt the current president. And in order to prevent this, these fences and barricades were put into place to guard the White House (in addition to large amounts of security).
Katarina's parents told me that security around the White House was not always as strict. About twenty years ago, Connie and Michael said they took a tour inside the White House, before 9/11. I wish we had the opportunity to take a tour of the White House but we had to visit other monuments! Today was INCREDIBLY humid and hot, the weather made it unbearable to walk outside and admire many of the monuments. Fortunately, we did have a chance to take photos in front of the Washington Monument. After we snapped some photos, we decided to visit the National Museum of American History - thank goodness it was air-conditioned!
Once we passed through security, we visited some of the different exhibits. But it was hard to enjoy the exhibits and read the information because there were SO many people! We did get a chance to enjoy the First Ladies exhibits and admire all of their inaugural gowns. My favorite gown was Michelle Obama's. After that exhibit, we walked around the museum - it was hard to walk into any exhibit that was not filled with people.
Nikos, Katarina, and I then met up with Michael and Connie to walk to another museum. Nikos recommended that we go to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History where we could be in a butterfly room! We started to walk to the museum, luckily it was next door, but there was a HUGE line to enter! We decided to wait in the line because we were in desperate need of air-conditioning. After waiting in line for 15 minutes and passing through security (Washington D.C. has security everywhere!) we started to walk to the butterfly room.
Once we arrived to the insect exhibit, we saw that the line to enter the butterfly room was VERY long, we were told it was to be a 20 minute wait! We did not want to wait in that ridiculous line, instead we decided to explore the other exhibits. Connie suggested that we visit the Disease and Epidemic exhibit. I enjoyed reading about how diseases and epidemics are targeted and cured in many nations. After visiting, we then decided to get coffee - we needed a caffeine boost! My dad said that there was a Starbucks nearby so we decided to walk there.
When we arrived to the Starbucks, immediately we noticed that it was in TRUMP HOTEL! Katarina and her family were extremely annoyed and upset that this was the nearest Starbucks (They are all Democrats and very liberal - they do not like Trump!). We all caved in and decided to just get coffee and water in this Starbucks. After our Starbucks run, we decided to drive to visit the United States Capitol Building! It is home to Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
I was in shock over how large the Capitol building was! Connie, Nikos, Katarina, and I got out of the car to quickly snap photos while Michael waited in the car. Once we finished, we headed to the Supreme Court of the USA - that was also huge! It was interesting to see the buildings that played large roles in certain turning points in America's history. Katarina's family and I were already exhausted from walking around in the heat and humidity, and it was only 3pm! We then decided to go to a restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland to grab a bite to eat.
The restaurant and food were quite an experience! We ate crabs - but we had to crack them ourselves! It was very fun and good - but too much food for me! Katarina and her family ate so many crabs - it was wild! Once Katarina finished, the two of us decided to walk off all of the food that we ate. I loved the little town of Bethesda! It was very trendy and bright. We decided to top off our dinner with some gelato - it was the perfect treat for the hot weather.
Once Katarina and I finished walking around, we met up with Connie, Michael, and Nikos. We hopped into her family's car and decided to drive around the surrounding area. We were so tired and did not feel like walking anymore. Although as we were driving, Michael wanted to grab something to eat for dessert. He found this restaurant on Yelp called "Baked & Wired" in Georgetown and he was eager to try it! We then parked the car nearby and walked to the cupcake shop. It was packed with people!
We ordered four cupcakes - red velvet, carrot cake, dulce de leche, and vanilla. I did not want to try any, I was still full from dinner, but Katarina and Michael loved their cupcakes. Hopefully if I return to Georgetown again, I will try the cupcakes from Baked & Wired! Katarina's family and I were exhausted after buying the cupcakes, so we decided to return to our hotel.
Once we arrived, we all decided to take it easy for the rest of the night and relax. While Katarina and Michael went to the gym, I caught up on my favorite TV shows! Afterwards, Katarina and I worked on the blog for a bit. What a busy day! I look forward to see what is in store for me tomorrow.
