Our first dinner in DC was somewhere which came highly recommended...and from the feedback by the girls, won't be a one-time visit... Shake Shack.
Claire & Keira loved it so much they both had seconds... With Keira going on and on about it for the last two days!
Our first full day in Washington we managed to visit a lot of the famous sites in town, as well as walking for over 9 hours and 14kms (some very sore feet and legs by the end of the day). We started the day by taking the very short stroll up the road to the Capitol, where we saw our first Squirrel (first of many, but it doesn't matter how many you see, they are all so cute).
The Capitol was nothing short of amazing... We took a tour through the building and learnt more about the US Government and history than any of us knew.
The central dome is amazing, and so much larger than we ever realised. The photo really doesn't do it justice.
Claire called these the 'Trump Stairs', as they happen to be the stairs which all Presidents since 1982 have taken towards their inauguration.
After the Capitol, we took a walk down the National Mall and were awestruck with the countless massive structures and interesting buildings. We headed to the Natural History Museum (which had featured in the Night at the Museum movie...
After which we continued our walking down the Mall towards the Washington Memorial...
And then to the White House.
After all that walking, the girls were exhausted, so we started to look for dinner, but as we were all tired and worn out, we ended up walking all the way back to our hotel and ate nearby...completing and amazing day.
We did manage to capture a very happy Keira finding K Street... and Dunkin Donuts!
Day 2 in DC, and Dad had the girls up early to head out to the National Zoo. After a quick breakfast at Union Station (another truly amazing building) we took the Metro out to the zoo...where we saw what was the largest escalator we've ever seen! (We have since found out that its the 10th longest in DC, and that the longest escalator in DC - which is twice as long as this one, is one of the longest in the world).
The Zoo was great... We had intended to see two headline acts, and the Zoo definitely delivered... But before we get onto that... some photos of the kids with the sculptures found around the zoo.
After our Squirrel experience yesterday, we were pleased to see another little critter, the Chipmunk, and once again were excited each and every time we saw one!
And now onto the stars... the Panda's... who were the main reason we were sure to visit the zoo, as the girls have been wanting to see a real Panda for years... When we got to the zoo, we couldn't find the Panda's at all, but on our second time around we were not disappointed... either by Mei Xiang who was relaxing inside...
Or by Tian Tian who was playing outside where we could enjoy him just being a panda.
We even got to witness him trying to get down from a tree, by falling on his head and rolling around in true panda style!
And next on our list... the Beaver! Once again, on the first time around, the Beaver's were in hiding, but luckily the zoo keepers had decided that the Beaver's would be the star of feeding time today... It couldn't have been better. So at feeding time, out came the three resident Beaver's Chipper, Birch and Chloe came out to strut their stuff.
We were all so happy to see our brethren up close...
We even managed a #beaverselfie with both Birch and Chloe!
The Chloe was a little upset we didn't catch her good angle!
After the zoo, we tried some good Southern seafood from "Hot n Juicy Crayfish"...
The food is served soaked in sauce, on a plastic table cloth, in a plastic bag, with plastic gloves... And its good dirty food...
After the huge day yesterday, and no less than 11km's walking today, we headed back to the hotel a little early to rest and get ready for another day of exploring tomorrow... But before we go, a couple more photos of a couple of the many public art sculpture's around DC.
Day 3 in DC and we awoke to some very tired girls... We'd enjoyed a little of Ed Sheeren (well the sounds of the cheering crowd at Verizon Centre) overnight, but were glad we hadn't booked tickets as we were all exhausted.
So to ensure we left DC happy, we decided today would be a little more relaxing, less ambitious... We started with another visit to Union Station (which we'll be visiting again for the train to New York)... It is a very cool station though!
It also served as a convenient breakfast stop...where the kids had crepe's again (hey, how many times will dad say yes to Nutella crepes for breakfast!).
Before heading out on the DConnector bus, we had a quick look around the shops, and came across Claire's...so had to stop for a photo and quick shop!
The DConnector took us around many of the key sights we visited on Tuesday, but without the massive effort of walking! We did get off the bus when we got around to the Smithsonian Castle though, as an opportunity for some photos, and a ride on the carousel.
We also spent some time learning about America's history, including the 'Star spangled banner'!
We then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing... Ate Five Guys burgers for lunch (not quite as good as Shake Shack, but still very good), did a bit of shopping for each of us...
The finished the day as we started it...with nutella crepes for dinner!
Next stop, NYC!!!
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