Hello Darling!
This year Hunter and I decided to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary in Washington, DC. This trip was truly one of the most memorable, incredible trips either of us have taken. From seeing our Nation’s Capitol, checking off bucket list items, to a surprise snow storm that extended our trip, it was the best! We are so excited to give you a glimpse into our one week stay in DC, as well share our top sites to see, places to eat, and things to do while visiting.
One Week In Washington, DC
We planned this trip to fall on our wedding anniversary so that we could spend our actual anniversary in Washington, DC. We were so excited to find out that this week was supposed to be during the peak bloom of the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, the unexpected winter storm blew in and changed that up a bit. Although the blooms were not all there, we still had the most wonderful time exploring this gorgeous city.
Neither Hunter or I had ever been to DC before, so we can’t even begin to express our excitement. This is a trip both of us had dreamed about for years. After doing much research, we decided we would love to stay near the Georgetown area. So, we chose Kimpton Glover Park as our hotel. We loved it here! From the clean, crisp rooms, to the gorgeous location, it is exactly what we had hoped for! It is right next to Georgetown, as well as Embassy Row. Some of our favorite attractions near by were the National Cathedral and the Smithsonian Zoo.
After arriving on Friday, we were surprised with a celebratory bottle of champagne and fruit. This was just the start to the wonderful customer service we received. We then rested up for a bit and headed out for our first meal in the city at Founding Farmers. This was a restaurant we were told we had to go to, and I am so glad we did! Amazing cocktails and food! Definitely order the fresh crap and spinach dip. (AMAZING!)
Our first full day in the city started out in Georgetown shooting our Anniversary photos with Jen. After that we grabbed a quick brunch at Kramers. The cutest bookstore and cafe located in Dupont Circle. Hunter and I loved it so much that we ate here several times during out stay. We then headed out to explore. We did so much that day but our favorite thing we did would have to be the National Archives Museum where were saw the Declaration Of Independence, Bill Of Rights, and the Constitution. I wish I would have captured the joy on Hunters face during this visit. He was so happy. We definitely recommend buying tickets for a “timed entrance” so that you can skip the crowds and walk right in. We also took a walk through the monuments that day, which was absolutely incredible! That evening we grabbed pre-dinner drinks at Bar Dupont and celebrated our anniversary at the Floriana. The perfect romantic, Italian meal we needed after a long day of walking.
Our favorite day in DC by far was the day we spent at Arlington National Cemetery. We started the day by grabbing a quick pastry and coffee at Baked and Wired, then ordered an Uber and headed to Arlington. We bought our tickets ahead of time which allowed us to skip the lines and head straight to the bus to begin the tour. The great thing about the bus is that you can stay on it throughout the entire time or you can opt to get off at each stop and explore yourself. Hunter and I opted to get off at the first stop and ended up just walking the rest of the time. It was such a humbling experience. We truly could write an entire blog post solely based on our time at Arlington, but here are a few things we would recommend not to miss during your visit:
Things Not To Miss While Visiting Arlington Cemetery
The JFK Eternal Flame– This is the memorial and gravesite of John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
Arlington House -The Custis, Washington, and Lee families all lived here at one point in time.
Changing Of The Guards/ Tomb Of The Unknown – When we visited the changing of the guards happened every hour but there are some months in the year that they change every 3o mins.
Section 60 – This was not an easy visit, but it was a very humbling one . This section is the final resting place for the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice during Americas most recent wars. Hunter and spent time walking through to show our gratitude for their sacrifice and praying for all of their loved ones. A moment we will never forget.
After spending a whole day at Arlington, we were in need of snack and cocktail before dinner. So we decided to take an Uber and head to Old Ebbit. This happens to be the oldest saloon in the US and a place where many former Presidents have come to enjoy a drink or two. Hunter loved it because it had several of Teddy Roosevelt’s trophies hanging above the bar. Right next door is the White House and, with it being such a gorgeous sunny day, we decided to walk by before heading back to the hotel for dinner. Dinner that evening was in Georgetown at Martins Tavern. This was one of my FAVORITE restaurants we ate at during our stay. The service was amazing, the drinks were incredible, and the food was delicious. We loved the history behind it as well. When making your reservations request to sit at either the proposal booth where JFK proposed to Jackie or the inaugural booth where he wrote his inaugural speech.
On what was supposed to be our last full day, we spent most of our time around Capitol Hill. We toured the Capitol and went to the Library Of Congress and the Senate Building. These were super easy to tour because they are all connected by tunnels you can walk through. You can walk through the Library Of Congress and Senate Building by simply walking in, but to tour the Capitol Building you need to contact your State representative to set up a tour, which we highly recommend doing. Close to these buildings are also several Smithsonians as well as the Botanical Garden. We loved walking through the Botanical Garden!
That evening even was packed full of even more fun activities. For dinner, we went to the famous Rose’s Luxury. This is a restaurant I had been looking forward to all week. They do not take reservations and we were advised to show up a few minutes before opening to hop into line. We arrived 20 minutes before opening and, to our surprise, the line was not as long as we had been told it could have been and we were able to be seated at a table fairly fast. The menu includes tapas style/shared plates with incredible fresh flavors. We loved it! After that we headed to the GORGEOUS Trump Hotel (which looks like a castle) for an after dinner drink and then to the W Hotel to the rooftop bar to see some of the best views of the city. We then walked out of the W hotel to find city bikes where we were able to rent and ride through all of the monuments. This was one of the most incredible experiences we had during our trip. The monuments at night are breathtaking!
We were all set to leave on Tuesday but little did we know, winter storm Toby would hit. It was honestly so much fun. We just ran with the punches and enjoyed our extra three in days in DC. Having to find another hotel was a little difficult, but we could not have done it without the help of Kimpton. They were able to find us a room at the Kimpton Palamor in Dupont Circle, which was absolutely amazing. Hunter and I were so blown away by Kimpton’s sweet customer service that Hunter has now vowed to only stay at Kimpton Hotels 😉
We spent the extra few days visiting Fords Theater, the Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, the American History Museum and simply just walking or riding bikes around the city. One of our official last days we stopped into Buttercream Bake Shop for a sweet treat and fell in love. It is so adorable and we loved sharing a slice of their fresh cotton candy buttercream and confetti cake. 
Our last evening was spent enjoying dinner at Farmers, Fishers, and Bakers. It is located right on the Potomac and we recommend getting there early enough to watch the sun go down. It truly was the perfect end to our first anniversary trip.
This trip ended up being more than we had ever hoped for and was truly a week we will never forget! We can’t wait to go back again soon.
YOU ARE SO LOVED!
XOXO,Tay
SHOP THE POST
Before World War II, Arlington House was a private finishing school for women. It was top of the line for the day, and often was home to several of the politicians daughters. During World War II, Arlington House was converted from a finishing school to a war campus, where a lot of the codebreaking at the time was taking place. Most of the people breaking codes were women, who were called “G-girls”. They even built temporary living spaces on the grounds to house all the women that were coming to serve the war effort.