such_heights | (no subject)

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In Boston, if you have the budget, it is possible to do a whalte watching day trip that's about $69. You spend the day out on a boat and you see whales. It's awesome!

In DC go to the National Mall. You will see the Lincoln Memorial and all the museum there, including the supercool Air & Space Museum are free. You may also want to check out Dupont Circle, which is the gay neighborhood and has good restaurants. I also highly recommend a visit to The Vietnam Wall. All are easily accessible by public transit.

Isabella Stewart Gardner museum! I think I got that name right, but google it. It's one old lady's ridiculous collection of art, exactly as she left it, and quite charming. Errr this is in Boston btw.

Yes, yes--I second this suggestion! Take the green line--it's not as far away as it seems, and it's worth it. Also make sure to stop off at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square to see the building; walk through the North End (an Italian neighborhood); and, if you have time, take the red line out to Harvard and Central Squares and walk around (for a particular kind of Boston-area urbanism as well as Harvard).

I have an e-mail of suggestions for DC I sent to melete a few years ago--I'll forward that. Have fun! M.

This this this! I ♥ this museum so much!

The ISG is also quite near the Museum of Fine Arts, which is also certainly worth a visit.

Yes yes, you will love this museum.

Ditto to this and if you are up for a walk, you can walk around the Fenway (pretty green) and then back downtown through Back Bay, Newberry Street, through the public gardens (and see the duckling statues and take a swan boat) and the Common.

If you head over to Cambridge on the red line, Harvard Square is good for people watching.

In Boston I walked the Freedom Trail and it was cool to see all the Revolutionary age type stuff although being from the UK it might not be your cup of tea ;) You can take walking breaks in between if you like, plenty of places to rest.

In DC, I'd get to all the monuments (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, etc) and there's a long strip of museums like the Smithsonian, Museum of Natural History, Holocaust Museum and some others. And the White House of course.

Yeah, in DC, the Smithsonian is along a long strip of green called the National Mall - lots and lots of huge museums, all along side each other (I think admission might be free but I can't swear). At one end of the green is the Washington Monument, and on the other end is Congress (which is open to the public for tours). The Washington Monument is bordered on the other side by a large pool - the reflecting pool - and on the other side of that is the Lincoln Memorial. So, you could spend your entire vacation just in that area without ever taking public transportation. Not that there isn't more to do - just that you could.

Edited 2010-08-28 16:43 (UTC)

Whyyyyyy do I have work all the days you're in town?

Smithsonians, which are free and you can basically just trawl the mall for a day, at any pace you want. There's also bus tours, which you pay for, but the weather has just taken a turn for the quite nice, so I suggest general outsideness.

Any museum you have to pay for isn't worth going to.

I do totally want to meet up with you at least one of the evenings. Time I get off varies, and on Tuesday I'm not even sure what time that'll be -- I'm running a maintenance call with only one helper, so I don't know how long it'll take.

Washington DC:

See:
The Mall, with all the Smithsonians is a must see. I also always really enjoy walking around Georgetown, which is sort of pretty and quaint looking. The Lincoln memorial is pretty gorgeous. Actually this is a pretty good list: http://washington.org/visiting/browse-dc/attractions/100-free-things-to-do and I used to have a grant to study at the Folger Shakespeare Library and found it really cool: http://www.folger.edu/whatson.cfm

Eat:
I like Afterwords a lot... not because of the food so much as that it is a restaurant in a bookstore. http://www.kramers.com/index.cfm
Ethiopian food is amazing in DC (pretty much anyplace)
and this is one of the best falafel places I know: http://www.falafelshop.com/
And I love this Thai restaurant. http://www.ricerestaurant.com/

I have not been, but I have heard that the food court at the Native American museum in DC is amazing, so that might be worth checking out if you're wandering around the Mall and want to grab something to eat that isn't far away.

NMAI is indeed amazing. I second this!

Because today's weather is so awesome, going outdoors and visiting things is a fine idea, I think. There's a lot to see and do in Boston, so it's hard to narrow things down to a day's worth of activity, or even two days.

If you don't like crowds, avoid downtown Boston and hit the museums (less likely to be mobbed on a lovely day like this). Boston is blessed with lots of museums. The Museum of Science, the Children's Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, etc. And in Cambridge there's all of Harvard University's museums to explore.

If you don't mind crowds and you enjoy history, the Freedom Trail (self-guided, just follow the red line on the pavement) through downtown Boston and into Charlestown is a great way to spend the day. Faneuil Hall is touristy as hell but kind of fun, with lots of shops and an awesome food court. The North End is full of amazing food and awesome little cafes. Sometimes there are street festivals there in the summer in honor of various Catholic saints, and those are great fun. Chinatown is also nifty, and full of delicious foods. Beacon Hill is gorgeous and has lovely buildings and hidden gardens, but requires walking (and much of it uphill). The Esplanade (along the Boston bank of the Charles River) is lovely, and nice to wander along.

Duck Tours are kind of expensive ($30/person, IIRC), but they're also rather awesome. You get to ride around Boston for a guided tour in a WWII amphibious vehicle, and they go into the water for even more fun and coolness. There are also boats out to the Boston Harbor islands, where it's nice to take a picnic and wander about, but if you're on your own that's less fun than with a friend or three.

You could make a quick trip to the city of Alexandria, which is near to DC.

http://visitalexandriava.com/

Mount Vernon is way cool too: http://www.mountvernon.org/

I recommend seeing what other's have mention (Lincoln memorial, Washington Monument, museums) as well as the Jefferson memorial, the Libray of Congress, etc.

OK, I realize I am a nerd, but...visit the Boston Public Library in Copley Square. It's beautiful, historic, my home away from home, and has a lot of random fascinating things on display like the ashes of Sacco and Venzetti. And an absolutely gorgeous open-air courtyard.

Re museums, the Museum of Fine Arts has really excellent Egyptian/Nubian, Impressionist, and Japanese collections, and some of Sargent's best paintings (like the Daughters of Edward Darley Boit). The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is also worth a visit; the courtyard is gorgeous and it has a lot of quirky charm. (Admission free if your name is Isabella.) The MIT Museum is high-tech and funky. The Museum of Science is fabulous for kids or anyone with a disability (really good disability-conscious exhibit design).

The Harvard University Art Museums (there are 4, but you only need one admission) are also worth a visit, though I think one or two is under construction and I can't remember which.

Visiting Harvard Square & walking through the Yard is a classic tourist thing to do. I would say stop in Memorial Hall and at least look at Sanders Theatre, which is a gorgeous wooden octagonal theatre. It's beautiful. And the Harvard Book Store on the corner of Mass Ave and Plympton (NOT the Harvard Coop, which is just another Barnes & Noble) is the best bookstore in the country (was literally voted so a few years ago) and worth visiting.

I also recommend Brookline Booksmith in Coolidge Corner, Pandemonium (a sf/fantasy bookstore in Central Square), and any of the New England Comics stores (very different selections at each).

Other Boston activities I recommend:
--eat Italian in the North End
--go see a movie at the Coolidge Theatre or at least hang out in Coolidge Corner
--walk down Marlborough Street in the Back Bay just for the pretty
--get lost at least once
--go inside Trinity Church (across from the BPL) and understand why they invented opalescent stained glass
--walk the African-American History Tour
--walk through Beacon Hill, including Louisburg Square (traditionally the most exclusive Boston Brahmin residence) and try to guess which house is John Kerry's
--listen to really good Irish music
--Visit either of the two 19th-century garden park cemeteries (Mount Auburn or my personal favorite, Forest Hills)
--visit the Public Gardens (right next to the Boston Common)

There's also the Freedom Trail, obviously, which is classic and will take you through much of the heart of the city.

Really I think the best thing to do in Boston is to walk--it is a very walkable city, full of short distances, green space, and interesting things to see. (It is a terrible city to drive in. Worse than you think. Just say no, and take the T.)

And in the interest of mercy, check out this list of T rides NOT to take, because it's faster to walk them.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/18/10_boston_subway_rides_you_should_consider_skipping/

And the Smithsonians are FREE. :) I'm a big fan of free. When we went, the Museum of Natural History was quite crowded, but the Museum of American History (which has things like Julia Child's kitchen and a collection of dresses worn by the First Ladies, as well as a lot of film stuff) was pretty uncrowded. (It may have also been a function of the time of day, but hey.) The Air and Space Museum is also pretty awesome, and the landmarks/government buildings are really worth seeing, if not touring. The Holocaust Museum in DC is haunting, as well- especially the children's exhibit.

DC and Boston are two of my favorite towns- enjoy!!!!

In DC, I really enjoyed the National Portait Galery. It's not a fine art gallery so much as a museum of portraits of notable people. So there is a wide variety of styles, and women and minorities are better represented both on the walls, and as artists, than in most museums.

Even if you don't do the whole museum, I strongly rec that you go see Shepard Fairey's Obama Portrait -- it's huge, and seeing it in person makes the mixed-media (remix!) aspect much more apparent.

The "Must Do" list I give to any of my friends visiting DC:

Take a walk along embassy row. The buildings are beautiful.

Visit the Lincoln Memorial at Sunrise. There's usually no one there (other than the guards), and the view is amazing.

Take the ferry from Old Town Alexandria to National Harbor.

Eat Jumbo Slice in Adams Morgan.

Eat a Chili Dog at Ben's Chili Bowl.

Find the World War One memorial. It's very secluded, and I'm always really moved when I'm there.

Find a nice tree to park under on the Mall, and just sit. Read. People watch. Then enjoy the museums.

Yes! the Freedom Trail in Boston. And the art museum. And the Holocaust memorial.

DC: the foyer of the botanic gardens, because they had bamboo models of the Library of Congress (great building to do into) and the Capitol Building. You can catch the $1 bus to Georgetown, where there are places that are open later than in the business district. (I stayed in the HI, which was in the business district.) Count the number of Starbuckses, they're everywhere. Also, there's a shopping centre type area on O street, iirc, and there's a little private gallery that was interesting, and a theatre. Also a nice park. Somewhere there's a bead museum that has a timeline. Also! the Vietnam Memorial!

Yay! I go to uni in DC!

Okay, of course museums and all but in DC you should also check out whether or not there will be any interesting shows at the 9:30 Club or Black Cat. There are a lot of places to eat in Georgetown (mostly shopping imo. There is a really cool vintage store in the Georgetown area, on M street, called Annie Creamcheese, which has a lot of cool vintage clothes) but the Adam's Morgan area has a lot more of a funky, young vibe. Yelp restaurants in that neighborhood and see what sounds good!

My favorite pizza place in the city is Pete's, which is on the corner of 14th and Irving. You gotta go there at some point.

If you want to know anything else just PM me or hit me up on an IM service! :D

the memorials are pretty cool as well.

If you still haven't filled your Sunday in Boston, and want a bit of nature in your day, taking the ferry out to the Boston Harbor Islands can be great. They're not usually very busy (though it depends on the weather). I preferred going out to Georges Island and walking around to the back side of the fort, where you can sit facing Boston Harbor Light.

There are of course all the monuments in DC along the mall. Our Zoo is very nice, it has pandas! Dupont circle is a great place to walk around for shopping or just window shopping. Plus there's some nice gay book stores and the HRC shop.

The art museum is fabulous as is the natural history museum and since they are all Smithsonians they are free! My personal fav is the American History museum but I am a history nerd. There is also the SPY Museum though that costs. It's a great one though! The Holocaust museum may be the very best museum I have ever been to. SKIP the Crime and Punishment museum, it's only fair.

I would say no to Georgetown but that's because I'm a DC person and there is stigma but it is pretty, has lots of shopping, and you can see the waterfront there. Oh! And of course there is my work at NGS. We have an exhibit up on energy right now in the one half of the museum and the other side has a thing on the inventions of Da Vinci.

And of course there is me to hang out with!

I don't know how much longer you're in DC and I work 8-5, but if you're looking for company of an evening or weekend, ping me! Would love to say hi again after VVC.

I am flying out tomorrow morning! Sadface!