ktspiv4

Hello,

6 adults & 2 teenagers heading to DC first week of April. Just in time for Cherry Blossom Fest. We have our flights & our flat booked. Staying on Bates St. DC 20001. Not planning on renting a car. We already have our ticket requests in for White House & Capitol, sounds like we won't know if we get in until a few weeks before departure.

A few questions:
1. any other ideas on how to push for tickets to get into White House?
2. is there a special metrorail/bus pass we should purchase? We plan to go into see the usual sites each day.
3. any other city passes that would help cut cost? I understand many things are free, but thought I would ask anyways.

A few MORE questions:

4. We are intown April 2-9, Cherry Blossom Festival is going, is there any part/s of this festival we shouldn't miss or look into?
5. our 13 yr old son is a HUGE WWII buff, any ideas on what he would most love to see/do?
6. Us adults love a good pub/bar or two, any suggestions for a great place to see the political people of our time & get a great cocktail?
7. My 16 yr old daughter asked me to add: any great shopping places/areas you can suggest?

Last one...I promise (OK maybe not)

7. FOOD: we all love to eat & like all types of food (even the teenagers) any do not miss places to eat we should look into?

I think that covers it but I know I will have more, so I apologize in advance.
Thank you for the help!!

vjpblovesitaly

There is no pass that works on both Metrorail and Metrobus:
Metro Pass and Farecard Options
http://www.wmata.com/fares/purchase/passes.cfm

Unless there is a special exhibit regarding WWII at that time, the only WWII thing I know of is the WWII War Memorial on the National Mall.

I hope you know more about the location than this: Bates St. DC. You know about quandrant indicators, right?

sf7307

A great place to have a cocktail (honestly, the drinks aren't that great, but the place/view is wonderful) is the rooftop bar at the W hotel.

ktspiv4

vjpblovesitaly: 40 Bates St NW. Sadly I will I rely on the others in my group for mapping & safe delivery of our persons to each location. So are you familiar with this area?

sf7307: thank you for the suggestion, added to my list!

BlueSwimmer

An old-fashioned and glamorous place to have a cocktail is the Round Robin Bar at the Willard.

Nelson

My wife and I just returned from a first visit to DC. It was FABULOUS (thanks Fodorites for your help). I hope to write up a brief list of our favorites in the next few days, but here is my newbie $.02 on your questions:

2) Get the unlimited metrorail pass. Depending on where Bates St NW is you might be able to get by with the short trip pass. Absolutely worth it to not have to deal with the complicated ticket machines every time you board the train. We ordered ours online and they mailed them to our house before we left. I'd call this essential.

5) Don't miss: http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibi...ey=38&exkey=77. There is a significant WWII section.

6) Old Ebbitt Grill

1JAR

Re: thngs to do. I would suggest seeing the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial both outside and inside. (I received a Fodors book for this rec last year)

Also, if you feel your son & family can handle it, the Holocast Museum is about World War II & there are group tours of the Pentagon.

One of the best Metro accesible mall with great shopping is Pentagon City MAll. Metro station in basement w/great food court.

furledleader

There IS a card that will work for both the MetroBus and the MetroRail. It's called a SmartTrip card. It will cost $5 up front for each card, and then you can load it with up to $300 for fares on both rail and bus - you choose how much you want to load it with, dependent upon how much you think you're going to need. You can reload it if it starts to get low.

The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial is across the Potomac River in Arlington, just north of Arlington Cemetary. It's impressive at any time of day, but more so at night IMHO. Walk from the rear of the memorial around to the front and watch how your perspective of the flag changes.

There is a section of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum on the mall that houses many WWII aircraft.

The website http://washington.org/ has a wealth of information on restaurants and events.

vjpblovesitaly

I had a drink at The Capital Grille on Pennsylvania Ave NW and saw Chris Hansen

Cyanna

You might not consider going to the National Portrait Gallery, but it will surprise you -- some people and/or portrayals of them you might not expect, including WW11 era. It's not large and you don't have to tarry in front of each picture -- but skim through and be surprised.

Cherry Blossom Festival is capricious -- they've finally set dates that are wide-enough apart that the blooms SHOULD arrive somewhere in there. They used to wait until close to the time before setting the dates. Check their official website and expect significant congestion in specific areas on days when there's an actual event. Mostly, it's a matter of being able to walk around the Tidal Basin and take photos -- avoid weekend days and try to go early or late in the day. If there's a full moon, it'll be pretty but a madhouse. Sic.

Georgetown for shopping but be prepared for location-related prices - and it's a lot of walking.

Cyanna

Sign up for the get-on-get-off trolley - based at Union Station (another shopping venue, a little weird, but....) for your first non-jetlagged day. Great way to get oriented and quick overview of stuff.

Re: WW2 - think there's an exhibit at Air and Space that is from that era - not sure.

artsbabe

That is not a good location, I must say. Can you switch it? For other locals, it is right near the intersection of Florida and North Cap....

fourfortravel

Good suggestions above. I'll add:

Spy Museum. Lots of WWII intrigue your 13 year-old would love. Buy tickets in advance, as entry is timed. Don't eat at the Spy City Cafe.

Skip Georgetown. Too many chain stores, not worth the effort to get there or the DC sales tax. M Street is not even that charming any more.

The Newseum can be worth the ticket price if you're into it; plus, the tickets are good for two consecutive days if you become overloaded.

As artsbabe said, your lodging isn't in a very central location, and not close to Metro. If you can change, I would do so.

furledleader

Although not specifically dedicated to WWII, Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place of several prominent WWII figures, including:

1st Lt Audie Murphy
Adm William Halsey
Adm William Leahy
Col "Pappy" Boyington
Gen Omar Bradley
Lt John F. Kennedy

and 3 of the Iwo Jima flag raisers,
Cpl Rene Gagnon
Sgt Michael Strank
PFC Ira Hayes

If your son doesn't already know about "Kilroy was here", have him goggle it, and then when visiting the WWII Memorial on the mall, look for the 2 intentionally etched pieces of Kilroy graffiti hidden there.

Cyanna

fourfortravel, re: Georgetown: agree that it's lost much of its cache, and if I still lived in the area, I'd never go there. But for first-time visitors from out-of-town, there are some small gems along the canal and below M Street, as well as some of the places possibly familiar to New Yorkers or East-Coast urbanites but new to West-Coasters, like Dean and Deluca, the cupcake place (sorry, don't know name), etc.

And depending on how much time they have, it's worth getting the flavor of residential Georgetown north of M street, for history if nothing else. I love the Dunbarton Oaks area but didn't mention it because I don't think it's something this group would consider a priority. But then, perhaps the WW2 fan would be very interested in the site of the Dunbarton Oaks conference.

kayd

If you cannot switch to a more central location, I think you'll want to get Metro's SmarTrip cards because you'll likely need both buses and Metro to get anywhere. To offset at least some of the $5/card purchase price, you get 25 cents off the standard fare on every ride. Even if it might not save much in dollars and sense, the convenience of just swiping that card and not having to find exact fare on buses must be of some value.

bardo1

Bates St. NW is not a typical area for tourists visiting DC.

There are no restaurants in the area I would eat at and don't walk in that area by yourself - especially at night.

It's not the worst neighborhood, but common street sense is called for. The area is what I would suggest is in the very inception of gentrification - still 100% African American and no nice stores, cafes, pubs, or restaurants.

It IS, however, convenient to downtown and the Mall via Metrobus. I would catch the bus at the intersection of North Capitol & Florida Ave. - there are many buses that run up and down North Capitol street.

Bates St. is about a 1/2 mile walk to three different Metro stations: Mt. Vernon Sq, Shaw/Howard Univ. & New York Ave. However, I don't suggest the walk from any of these 3 station to your rental - take a bus or taxi instead.

ktspiv4

Bardo1: I am not sure we will be able to find another rental space as many on VRBO seem to be booking up along with the difficulty of finding a space for 8 people. But I will try looking. I am totally lost on areas we should be searching to stay in. Suggestions?

czk

DC Food Institution: Ben's Chili Bowl.

Lots of cupcake places have been popping up, the most popular being Georgetown Cupcake, but I think Hello Cupcake is better. It is in Dupont Circle, which can be fun to walk around.

For Top Chef Fans - Spike has 2 restaurants, our favorite being Good Stuff Eatery (awesome burgers, fries and toasted marshmallow milkshakes) on Capital Hill and We The Pizza, also that way. Mike Isabella used to work at Zaytinia, which is tapas and part of the Jose Andres empire. Very yummy.

bardo1

Your place now is OK - just wanted to give you more info.

Here is one in a VERY nice area - very safe and chock full of good stores, cafes, etc. - and close to Metro:

http://www.vrbo.com/277501

What might be better is for you to post links of those that interest you and we can comment on the surrounding area.