Washington. Apr, 2015

More than a hundred years ago, the mayor of Tokyo gifted Washington, D.C. 3,000 cherry tree saplings. Ever since, thousands of tourists have flocked to Washington each spring to admire the famous cherry blossoms.

The timing of the bloom depends on the weather conditions. During the long Easter weekend, we also headed to Washington to explore the city and its many attractions. Since spring had not yet arrived in our part of the world, the cherry blossoms in Washington were not blooming yet. But the magnolias were in full bloom!

And, of course, we had plenty of other exciting plans for Washington besides the cherry blossoms

Day 1

The drive from Toronto to Washington takes more than nine hours, so we decided to make a stop along the way and spend the night in the town of Hershey. The town’s main attraction is its chocolate factory, which not only produces delicious chocolate but is also a huge entertainment complex.

And that’s exactly where we began our journey. The entire complex covers a very large area. You can take a bus tour around Hershey and learn about the town’s history, visit the chocolate lab and create your own one-of-a-kind chocolate treat, or hop into a little car and ride through the “chocolate” corridors while watching how chocolate is made.

The little Hershey candies can be seen in the last photo

And after attending a lecture, you can even earn a “master’s degree” in chocolate tasting. Needless to say, we stocked up on plenty of chocolate!

After getting some rest, we continued our journey.

Day 2

And now we were in the capital of the United States! Naturally, our first stop was the White House. It turned out that the White House isn’t actually all that big. We walked around it and discovered that the main approach was blocked off because of the Easter celebrations. So the only relatively close photo we managed to get was one with the protester

Next, we headed out to see some of Washington’s famous monuments, most of which are located around Tidal Basin. The first and most impressive one was the Washington Monument, built in honour of the first president of the United States.

And here’s the cherry blossom, which apparently hadn’t prepared very well for our arrival

We continued toward Tidal Basin, and on the opposite shore we could see the Lincoln Memorial.

We had planned to visit several more monuments and memorials, but the kids were getting tired of walking, so we headed toward some of Washington’s most interesting attractions — its museums.

Most of the museums are located along the National Mall, the long promenade connecting the Washington Monument and the Capitol. These museums are part of the Smithsonian Institution, which operates its museums thanks to private donations and government funding.

And the best part? Admission to all of these museums is free!

First, we visited the National Air and Space Museum. It is the most visited museum in America and the largest museum of its kind in the world

Then we visited the National Museum of Natural History. The kids especially enjoyed the many animal exhibits

Day 3

The next day, we headed to the United States Capitol, home of the U.S. Congress. The Capitol dome had been under restoration for several years, as the building is more than 200 years old and the structure was in need of an update.

Not far from the Capitol is the U.S. Botanic Garden

With beautiful greenhouses... We did manage to catch a little bit of spring after all — and not only inside the greenhouses...

We headed back to the museums. First, we visited the National Gallery of Art. It’s a huge and beautiful museum with an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures, ranging from medieval masters to contemporary works

Behind the gallery building is the Sculpture Garden, a beautiful and peaceful place to relax

The kids chose our next museum — and this one wasn’t free. It was the Crime & Punishment Museum. I highly recommend visiting this museum, especially for anyone interested in history. The exhibits cover everything from Wild West outlaws and pirates to gangsters, the Mafia, and modern-day hackers. It’s a very informative and fascinating place, with lots of interactive exhibits as well

After the museums, we headed to Union Station, Washington’s main train station. The building is famous for its beautiful architecture. Many tourists also come here to browse the shops or relax in one of the cafés and restaurants

Day 4

While in Washington, you simply have to stop by the Pentagon, especially since our hotel was only five minutes away. Here it is — the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. It is one of the world’s largest office buildings. And here we are, standing in front of one of the five sides of the Pentagon.

On the way home, some of us managed to get a good nap in...

Then we stopped for some shopping in the town of Grove City, where there is a large outlet mall.

And that’s how our little getaway came to an end. We continue to wait hopefully for spring and will definitely visit the cherry blossom gardens — only this time, right here in Toronto