DC Diary: Capitol, Memorials, & Ice Skating

Yesterday was our first full day in D.C. for this little trip and we made the most of it for sure. After eating breakfast at the hotel, we headed down to the Capitol for a tour. I don’t think I’ve ever toured the Capitol before but I could be wrong. If I have it would’ve been when I was really young hence not remembering it. We had tickets for 10:50 so we just had to wait in line to go through security and then picked up our tickets and joined one of the timed groups. It was cool to see inside and learn a little more about the building and history especially since I love history. Across the street from the Capitol is the Supreme Court so I took some photos of that while waiting to enter too.

After the Capitol and taking some photos on the steps of the Supreme Court, we started the trek down the National Mall. We stopped at the National Art Gallery for lunch – we plan to actually visit the exhibits there and other museums today. Then, it was on to the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, reflection pool, and Lincoln Memorial before cabbing it back to the hotel for a quick break before ice skating.

We headed down to the rink we saw the previous night on the wharf and had a lot of fun. We skated for about an hour. When I first stepped on the ice I was thinking about how scary it felt, but then I quickly got reacquainted with the ice and wasn’t scared. I haven’t skated in years so for the first half lap I was skating right by the wall and grabbing on every few feet. But halfway around the first lap I got the hang of it again and was able to skate without needing the wall. I’ll post a short video of me skating later today on Instagram so be on the lookout!

After some hot chocolate, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for a bit before dinner. We went to Del Mar, a Spanish coastal restaurant and inadvertently ended up in a private room, and then Milk Bar for dessert. Food post to come this weekend!

Fun fact, the painting on the top of the dome in the rotunda of the Capitol, is the size of an NBA basketball court. Isn’t that insane?!

I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of my museum day today and I also head home tomorrow. I can’t believe I only have a few days left to my winter break. I need an extra week off, please!