Over the past 6 months or so I had the opportunity to visit Washington DC twice.  I really haven’t spent much time on the east coast at all.  Sure I’ve spent a few days in New York but that was hardly enough time to for me to get to experience the city.  After visiting DC twice for a week each time, I feel like I can say I’ve been to and experienced DC.  No, I haven’t seen everything but I’ve seen a fair amount.  I have a few things to say about Washington DC.

The metro system in Washington DC is great and if you don’t mind doing a little bit of walking you can usually get to many places by train.  Of course, you also have the option of taking a cab.  I know several people living in DC and none of them own a car there, if anything you can always grab a zip car to run errands if you need to.

There is a good amount of entertainment in DC.  I like that all the museums are free to go to and there are certainly plenty of them to visit.  If you’re looking to go to a bar or a club DC also has it’s fair share of those as well, the only complaint I have here is that they seem to close a bit earlier than most bars/clubs that I’m used to going to (around 1-2 am).  On my last trip to DC a friend of mine found a little gem called HR-57; a jazz club with great quality music that allows you to bring in your own alcohol.  There’s a cover charge but for the quality of music you are getting (if you like jazz) it’s well worth it.  I also had the opportunity to eat at some pretty good restaurants in DC, but remember, I’m a bit spoiled with food in San Francisco as there is a place to eat on every corner.

(pic of Capitol Hill)

The landscape of DC is relatively flat which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you ask.  San Francisco is riddled with hills so it was quite a change for me to not see any.  You also won’t find any really tall buildings in DC so you don’t get that big city feel.  The good thing though is that there are some great monuments and things to see outside such as the White House, Reflecting Pool, and the Lincoln Memorial.

(pic of Lincoln Memorial)

Both times I have visited DC the weather was chilly.  During my most recent visit the temperature got to below 30 F and there was snow on the ground, not that bad though but again quite a change from San Francisco weather which usually hovers around the 60 F range.  I haven’t been to DC during the summer but I hear it’s very unpleasant due to the heat and high level of humidity.  Imagine going into a sauna in a suit (ok fine, not quite as hot) and that’s probably what it feels like during the summer.

(pic of the Reflecting Pool and the Washington Monument)

The people in DC are pretty friendly and I’ve made a few random friends with folks during my visits.  Most of the people in DC have a government job (shocker right?) so you’re definitely going to see a lot of suits walking around.

Overall I enjoyed my time in DC.  I wouldn’t live there but it’s a great place to visit a few times a year, especially since it so close to cities such as New York.  Have you been to Washington DC, what do you think?  You can see the rest of my pictures from DC on flickr.