Month: March 2016
Location: Washington D.C.
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| 'National Mall' from the air |
Back when I was in middle school…a long long time ago, I
always had trouble with languages, especially the native ones. This meant that my poor Mom had to spend a
long time coaching me and there were long nights with her trying to get me to
appreciate the nuances and subtleties of our regional dialect. One such night we came across an essay in
my textbook, the title of which translates to “The Pink Blossom of the Cherries”.
At first I thought it was something about the fruit Cherry, and not being a big
fan of the languages in the first place, I just wanted it over with. But as she read through the essay, we
learned that this was the author's visit to Washington D.C. in the U.S. during
something known as the “National Cherry
Blossom Festival”. As my mom
described the author’s description of this unique event, where hundreds of
trees lined around a pool were covered with millions of flowers with a pinkish
hue, the essay transcended from prose into poetry, so much so that even I was
mesmerized. But the thing I remember the
most was the look on my mom’s face, which was almost a longing to visit this
place. Seasons changed and years went by
and every time I heard the words “Washington
DC” or even “Cherry” or “Blossom”, I would think of that image in my mind. I came to the U.S. and over the
years had visited D.C. on numerous occasions, but never during this
festival. When I started this journey, I
knew for sure that this would be chance to fulfill that promise. But it isn’t easy to predict when the bloom
would occur and after I had made my travel plans, the report predicted a bloom
for the week after the one that I would be there. It seemed like I would once again miss this
opportunity.
It was the long ‘Easter’
weekend and I arrived in D.C. on the morning of ‘Good Friday’. After seeking
out the train terminal to get to the city – which required some walking – I
boarded a train to downtown and it got crowded very fast. I have traveled by underground trains all
over the country, but the stations and the trains in D.C. are by far the best,
fitting for the Nation’s Capital. I
emerged from the station and was pleased to see that it was right across my
hotel…though my room wasn’t quite ready.
I left my luggage with the concierge and asked a gentleman who looked
like he knew the city intimately, where to go for some lunch. He told me to try a place called ‘Hamilton’ a few blocks away and I set
off. I found the place, which looked
elegant and the interior resembled an “old
world charm”. I sat at the bar and
the bartender was a thorough gentleman as well.
Later as I went to the washroom, I saw that this restaurant was huge and
even had a bar on the top floor that was reputed to have good cocktails.
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| "Wright Brothers" exhibit |
I left the restaurant and started making my way towards the ‘National Mall’. As I passed by the Government buildings, I
saw that this was going to be an extremely crowded weekend in D.C. I arrived at the heart of the ‘Mall’ and my destination was the one place that I always visit first when I come
to D.C., ‘National Air & Space
Museum’. As I approached the museum,
I saw that there was a huge line - I mean really long – to get in and that was for
anyone carrying a bag, which I was. It
took me over 20 minutes to get inside and it always amazes me to see all of the
historic artifacts related to aviation and space exploration. I went to the help desk and learnt that I was
just in time for a guided tour. A
gentleman was just getting started with a big group and I joined them, just as
he was about to lead everyone to the first gallery - “The Wright Brothers”. It
was fantastic to hear the story of their “first
flight” and everything else that followed in the early history of
aviation. I was asking a lot of
questions and our guide was excellent in answering those. We moved through various galleries on the “World Wars”, “Apollo Missions” and
other stories of brave men and women who were pioneers of their times. After the conclusion of the tour, I roamed through some of the
galleries – which were now crowded – and emerged outside in late afternoon,
ready for my favorite activity in D.C.
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| What I had been waiting for |
Whenever I have come here by myself I have always followed
a routine, which includes a visit to this museum and then a walk down the long
‘National Mall’, all the way to the ‘Lincoln Memorial’. I usually arrive at twilight and then there
is nothing better than sitting on those steps in the early evening air, looking
at the ‘Reflecting Pool’. I have had some incredibly peaceful moments
there in the past and I was hoping for a similar experience. As I started walking, I saw it - amidst some
construction, stood a ‘Cherry Blossom’
tree in full bloom. I was on time. I stood underneath and reached over to touch
it and it was incredible. Typically I
walk past the ‘Washington Monument’
and continue on towards the ‘World War II
Memorial’, but the best part of this festival is the trees lined up
alongside the ‘Tidal Basin’ leading
up to the ‘Jefferson Memorial’. Today that place covered with the most
amazing shade of pink and was crowded with thousands of visitors who had come
here for this exact reason.
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| The avenue of Pink |
I entered the place and made my way through a mass of
humanity to a walkway which had trees on either side and with the full bloom;
it had form an arched avenue of pink. It
was a surreal feeling to go through that path and despite the crowd; it was the
most peaceful setting. I approached the ‘Jefferson Memorial’ and stood on the
top of the stairs taking in the outstanding sight. I started back on the other side and walked
past ‘Martin Luther King Memorial’
and back on the path towards my earlier destination. I walked up the stairs of the ‘Lincoln Memorial’ and though it was
crowded, found a spot to settle in and look upon the ‘Reflecting Pool’. I had
bought with me a book to read and it was perfect for that setting. The evening had started to settle in and
while I didn’t wait till it was dark, I stayed for enough time to have made
this journey worthwhile.
I set about in the cool evening breeze towards my dinner
destination, though dinner was still hours away. I walked through the streets and past some
very pretty neighborhoods, even stopping at an occasional fountain to “make a wish”, which with this
enchanting evening, had as much of a chance of coming true as any other day. Around the popular ‘DuPont Circle’ neighborhood, I came across a cocktail lounge
called ‘Dirty Martini’. I went inside and it was just the right place
to relax for an hour or so and that’s what I did prior to proceeding to my
dinner destination, a place called ‘Komi’
which was a perfect end to the day.
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| Yes, I made a wish |
I had planned a unique activity for my 2nd day in
D.C., something that I never do, especially for a place that I have been to
several times – a guided walking tour of the city. It was going to take up most of the day, and so prior to that I sought out a nice location for brunch. I saw that I could easily walk there in about
20 minutes and so set off from my hotel, realizing after a mile or so that as
is mostly the case, I was headed in the wrong direction. Since I was pressed for time, it looked
likely that I may have to skip brunch, but fortunately I found a cab and it
took me to the restaurant called ‘Firefly’,
which is as charming as it comes for brunch.
Also, it was near the meeting place for the start of the tour, so after
brunch I set off with what I perceived as time to spare. Alas, it wasn’t so.
We were supposed to meet at a certain spot near ‘DuPont Circle’, but the problem with a
circle is that it’s not a grid, meaning intersections are difficult to
spot. Also, even though the streets are
named in successive letters of the alphabets, all bets were off over here. After making several passes and failing to
locate my group, I made a couple of calls to the agency, both of which reached
a voicemail. Fortunately, my tour guide
called me back and asked me to wait at a certain location. She came to fetch me and took me to a spot
just around the corner where everyone was waiting – the one spot I had not
checked out! It was a decent sized group
and our guide Becca gathered all of us and we started with the history of
Washington D.C., including some of the sordid past which led to the city being
established. We then started walking
down the ‘Embassy Row’, stopping
frequently at several buildings, where Becca told us about some of the unique
characteristics or history associated with them.
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| Our tour took us back to 'The Mall' |
It was a nice day for a walk and Becca was an excellent
guide. We walked through the ‘Georgetown’ neighborhood which has had
some famous residents and up to the ‘Waterfront’,
with all of its restaurants and the nightlife.
This was the half-way point of the tour and a family left the group at
this stage. The rest of us continued and
stopped at a food-court for lunch. Post
lunch Becca took us outside the infamous ‘Watergate
Hotel’ and then for the next 30 minutes or so, she told us about the scandal
that took down a “Presidency”. We then walked through ‘Foggy Bottom’ neighborhood and arrived at the ‘Lincoln Memorial’, which was more crowded than I had ever
seen. Even though I have been here
several times, I learned a lot more from Becca.
We then walked past the crowded ‘Mall’
to the ‘Vietnam War Memorial’ which
is a fascinating design, and not without its own controversy. After a visit to the ‘World War II’ memorial, and ‘Washington
Monument’, we concluded our tour outside the ‘White House’. Becca had
been outstanding and I couldn’t help but admire her stamina and enthusiasm that
she had maintained for the past 6.5 hours.
Going on this tour had been one of the best decisions that I had made.
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| Yep, that's the dessert |
After changing at Hotel, I left for my dinner destination at
‘Jose Andreas Minibar’ – a
reservation that I had made months ago.
Once again, I was lost and arrived there after a few detours. I was led to a waiting area where I sat on
what can only be described as a throne made of upholstery that looked like
marble. I was joined by another diner
and we were presented with couple of the courses of our “tasting experience”, before being led into the kitchen table. For the next hour and more we were treated to
some splendid tastings and I enjoyed my conversations with my fellow diner who
was visiting from Boston and we exchanged stories on our various dining
adventures. For our dessert tastings we
were taken to yet another area, which was a more casual bar and I mentioned
that never before in my dining experience had I been moved around various rooms
for different courses, which was fantastic.
The explanation was that the Chef wanted all guests to feel as if they
were visiting his home and this is how he would welcome them, in various
rooms. In the bar, I got to know some of
our other fellow diners, a delightful young man named Newton and his
friends. We ordered some cocktails and
the next thing we knew, it was midnight.
Well, there was nothing left to do but for all of us to go to the
neighboring ‘Shake Shack’ for some
fries! After bidding Newton and his crew
farewell, I stopped for a nightcap at the bar above the ‘Hamilton’ and the party was just getting started when I called it
a night.
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| Recreating a "Masterpiece" |
The next day was ‘Easter’
and the roads were deserted as I made my way to the ‘National Gallery of Art’ for a “Museum
Hack” adventure. This was a 2 hour
tour of the museum, but not in a traditional way. It would mostly comprise of the guide telling
us the more scandalous stories behind the artifacts - and that’s precisely what happened since our
tour guide Hannah, had us in splits.
Besides me there was one lady and a family of 3 with a 16 year old boy
and we enjoyed every minute of it. She
pointed out the only ‘Da Vinci’ in
the museum and told us, not only the story of its procurement, but also the
story of the young woman in the picture.
Apparently her name was Ginevra and she just had the most terrible luck
with men. So Hannah gave us a challenge,
saying that we had till the end of the tour to take a picture in the museum of someone who could be Ginevra’s boyfriend. We
continued through the museum, enjoying Hannah’s stories and at one stage even
posed to recreate a famous painting – apparently an "after dinner" activity in the old days. At
the end, we were asked to pose as someone in the ‘Rodin’ gallery and I chose to be the ‘Thinker’…what with the ‘Kiss’
being unavailable! Finally, it was time
to discuss the winner of Ginevra’s hand and there were some creative answers,
including a modern take with a female companion. I went last and said that since Ginevra was
16 years old in the picture; I chose the boy in our group and said that he
would treat her right. Everyone loved
that answer and I won a prize, which was a refrigerator magnet with Ginevra’s
face on it.
I left the museum and got something to eat before going to
my next stop, which was the ‘National
Museum of Natural History’. After
walking about a bit, I still had time to spare and so visited the extremely
dark room of the ‘National Archives’,
where they keep the ‘Declaration of
Independence’ and the ‘National
Museum of American History’, where they keep the flag that inspired the ‘National Anthem’. I left in the late afternoon and after
collecting my baggage took a train to the airport – only to be delayed by over
3 hours because of mechanical issues. It
was just a minor glitch in an otherwise memorable trip.
Alan Sheppard was the first American in space and was widely
expected to be the first man to walk on the moon…until a medical issue grounded
him. Told that he would never fly again,
Sheppard refused to give up and on February 5, 1971, he became the 5th
man to walk on the moon. While not as
memorable as Neil Armstrong’s first words; at that moment Sheppard said, “It’s been a long way, but we’re here”. That distant night in our tiny apartment my
mom and I shared a silent, unsaid dream.
It seems like a different lifetime, but on the banks of the ‘Tidal Basin’ this weekend, as I stood
under the blanket of the most gorgeous pink that I will ever see, Alan
Sheppard’s words came to me. We were
finally here.
