DC Escape

For a couple years now...every February we have made it a tradition going to Washington, DC for a night. I think it has to do with winter weariness, lack of excitement in the winter months? The challenge is finding a nice place to stay for real cheap, in February, that ain't too hard. This year I went through Hotwire.com That's the place where you type in where you want to stay and how many stars you prefer and then it comes up with several choices. The catch is it doesn't tell you the name of the hotel, but rather the price and the general vicinity. Well with a few extra minutes of looking into the places in that area, you can guess pretty-good what your gonna get. Once you pay for the room up-front, they then send you an email with the name of the hotel where you will be staying. This years selection was The Madison Hotel ! Unfortunately, when we arrived we learned that the hotel employees were on a strike and were picketing in front of the hotel.
.....With MEGAPHONES.

From 7 am to 7 pm.

Note the large inflated rat in front.

So I don't have to get into it here, here's an article on the strike.
Nevertheless we seized the great opportunity to get even more deals!
The hotel gave Konrad this fancy drawing board!

We ate at our favorite french restaurant in Dupont Circle, Bistro Du Coin.
I think they're trying to read French?

We toured the National Building Museum, which I highly recommend. It's like a toddler's paradise. They have an adorable play room just for little ones. The architecture is beautiful; the columns are HUGE.

And then later we met some dear friends, Abhisek & Sujata in Old Town Alexandria for a late lunch. Next year, I would rather stay in Alexandria since there is so much there that we want to explore. Plus, Konrad loved watching the airplanes fly so close above us -as they were landing at National Airport nearby. We spent the late afternoon with our friends walking around town. It was nice to feed the ducks in the Potomac river with Konrad and Sujata.