When You’re The Tour Guide
Living near Washington DC, you will probably, at least once, be called upon to host friends or family who want to see the sights in the Nation’s Capitol.
With so much to choose from, where do you start?
I currently have visitors from Canada with whom we became acquainted during our family’s year of travel. They are another traveling family also named the Jameses and, since they had headed out for their world adventures ahead of us, we called on them with many queries. We encouraged them to visit us here and, being traveling kind of folks, they actually took us up on it. Now, we have the pleasure of answering their queries about our town and showing them around a bit.
We warned them about the awful heat wave (they are from the Arctic Circle---imagine the weather shock!) and let them sleep in. No use hauling exhausted guests through the thick Washington air.
Take your time and see a few things a day or you’ll be overwhelmed and weary. Choose a single goal and embellish with asides and cleverly planned walking routes that add in some treats. Our guests’ son was keen to see the Museum of Natural History due to his fondness for “Night at the Museum 2,” so we’d made that our mission.
Here’s a suggested itinerary to get your guests oriented and in the DC tourist spirit:
• An orientation on the Metro and multi-day “short-trip” passes for each family member purchased from the automated machines at each station.
• A trip to Gallery Place: no train change if you’re on the Red Line and a lovely exit at the Portrait Gallery & American Art Museum.
• A quick walk through the art galleries (which are joined by the Kogod Courtyard). Since entrance to the Smithsonian Museums is free, you can do a sampler stroll through several, pointing out highlights, including some modern pieces that seem especially appealing to kids.
Then you can allow your guests to decide whether they’d like to linger or return another time.
• Grab a quick lunch at one of the many surrounding eateries or in the Kogod Courtyard (an architectural marvel).
For a restaurant experience in this neighborhood, I love Ping Pong Dim Sum at 7th and “I” Streets which gives you the added opportunity to enjoy the Chinatown gate at 7th and H as you stroll.
Or try Ella's Pizza for even more mass appeal. Zaytinya, across from the Gallery is another favorite, but slightly more upscale. They offer "small plates" with a Middle Eastern flair.
• After some food, walk back down 7th making sure the lettered streets you cross are going from bigger to smaller (as in, crossing G, walk toward F).
• (There’s a charming cupcake shop on the way in exactly the spot where you might like a tiny treat.)
• Once you cross Pennsylvania Avenue, there you are at all of the Mall’s wonders. You can point out the Capitol to the left and the Washington Monument to the right. The Capitol is the city’s geographical center and has no address. But everything else is numbered and sectioned into quadrants from that point.
• We strolled through the whimsical sculpture garden across from the Archives and the kids dipped their feet in the huge fountain there. (Doubling, in more Canadian-esque months, as an ice rink.) You can sit on the edge, but do not stand in the fountain: you’ll get a shrill whistle-blow and an admonishment, “SIT DOWN!” (Seems like it could have all been handled in a friendlier way.)
• As we approached the NMNH, we noticed a butterfly garden which, though devoid of butterflies for the season, offered some lovely color: Black-Eyed Susans and dark pink Crape Myrtle.
• A walk through the Museum revealed some of the movie’s “characters” and also piqued interest in other curiosities there. Don’t miss the Mammal Hall and the Great Oceans exhibit.
And, in the Gems and Minerals room, people get excited to see the Hope Diamond (though it’s always smaller than they expect.) My 15-year-old, Caroline said, “I’m pretty sure the Hope Diamond is one of the most over-rated tourist attractions ever."
• Take the Smithsonian Metro back to the suburbs and plan for the next day’s adventure over dinner (and a glass of wine!) at home.
“Congenial Spirits” at the Phillips Collection
As we wandered through the Phillips last week, my friend Gail found a painting that inspired her to linger, sat on a nearby bench and said with a sigh, “I wish I had been friends with Duncan Phillips.” I understood completely. I think we both almost felt we did know him after spending an afternoon roaming through the opulent rooms of his old mansion at 21st and Q Streets in Washington D.C. looking at his collection of art.
Duncan Phillips founded the museum in 1921 as a way to pay tribute to his father and brother who died in 1917 and 1918 respectively. His brother had shared an avid interest in modern art and, together, with an allowance from their parents for the purpose, they had accumulated a stunning collection of works. After Duncan married, he and his wife Marjorie continued acquiring pieces that inspired them. In 1923, Phillips purchased Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, only one of the many masterpieces gracing the walls today in the permanent exhibit.
Around every corner is a treasure: Matisse, de Kooning, Rothko, O’Keeffe, van Gogh, or the small room filled with The Migration Series by Jacob Lawrence.
The spaces are enchanting: lovely fireplaces, gorgeous banisters, and the grand and sumptuously paneled mahogany drawing room---the piece de resistance of the original house.
We strolled further, enjoying the equally pleasant, yet sleeker and modern, Goh Annex, which, together with another building added in 2006, doubled the size of the original exhibit area.
This excerpt from their website explains the appeal of this engaging museum:
At the Phillips, works of art are hung in diverse groupings, which are meant to suggest visual "conversations" among the works in the viewer's eye and mind. "My arrangements are for the purpose of contrast and analogy," Duncan Phillips once explained. "I bring together congenial spirits among the artists from different parts of the world and from different periods of time."
As in any gathering, the conversational groups shift over time, with regular changes in the choice of works on display and their placement within the museum. Since galleries at the Phillips are not organized by categories or time periods, there is no specified order in which to see them. Instead, visitors wander freely, savoring the contrasts and correspondences among the "congenial spirits" in each room.
The spirit of the place, the feeling of getting (or wanting) to know Duncan Phillips, and the dialogue between the paintings all play a part in the intimacy of this exquisite gallery---America's first museum of modern art.
A Room of One’s Own
A family friend invited me to lunch yesterday. We met at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on New York Avenue in Washington, DC. I had been planning on visiting interesting spots in my area since returning from our world travels, but had spent most (ok, all) of the summer venturing no further than Downtown Silver Spring. An outing requiring the use of Metro and a map seemed just the thing to inaugurate my new resolution.
The NMWA is a grand building just two blocks north of the 13th Street exit from Metro Center. A helpful red-vest-wearing DC guide was waiting near the top of the Metro escalator to help lost or lost-looking visitors. I always look a bit lost, so he stopped me to offer directions.
After a pleasant 5 minute walk under my fuschia umbrella, I found the entrance and my waiting friend. The interior is lavishly appointed with chandeliers, symmetrical sweeping staircases, an ornate ceiling, and rose-colored marble floors conjuring up images of Cinderella’s ball.
