Remember OWJ?! Know Washington DC?
 

If you remember me, I'm back...if you don't, hello! Reformed regular poster.... ��

Family of 4 with 9yr old twin girls driving from Atlanta to Washington, D.C. over the kids' Spring Break. We're staying 6 nights and rented an apartment through Airbnb that's sort of between Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan--hope I did ok....

We plan to take the Metro or walk, so need to find reasonable parking if such a concept exists in the District. $36-40/24 hrs seems steep to me. Ideas?

Also would love dining suggestions--As far as kids go, our girls are reasonably adventurous eaters though they shy away from spicy and curries. Went to Jaleo years ago and hope it's still good because I want to go back. Open to dives with good food to nicer restos where kids aren't given the death stare.

We will be doing the main sites--kids have never been to Washington but OWJ2 and I have--pre kids, so clearly it's been awhile.

Thanks in advance for your help!
OWJ

Parking is going to be tough. What street/block is the apt on? Here's a website that shows garages and lots http://washingtondc.bestparking.com. One idea would be to park at the Economy lot at National airport and then take the metro to your apt. You could go to the apt and one of you could go & park and metro it back. Similarly you could do that in a suburban neighbor and park on a unrestricted street for free and metro it to your apt. Did you ask the owner of the apt about parking? Our neighborhood & many in DC have "neighborhood parking" but residents get passes that can be used by visitors. Maybe they have something like that.

Several food threads if you do a search. Some ideas include:
Jaleos is still around and still quite good. Right in the same area are a couple other restaurants by Jose Andres, China Chilcano, Zaytina and Oyamel.

In Dupont Circle I like Agora, a Turkish restaurant. Teasim is good. Kramers has decent food. DGS Delicatessen gets good reveiws. I didnt have a great lunch there, but maybe I ordered wrong. Pesce has good seafood. Sette Osteria has good food.

Thanks, yestravel! The apartment doesn't come with a permit--unfortunately, I didn't think about that when I booked. I appreciate that link, i looked at it quickly and already think I found some options for 24hr parking.

I did a search for restaurants prior to this post and topped the most recent one that popped up was from last year. Thanks again for your suggestions!

You can book a space at Reagan National -- might be worth while over spring break. Economy is busy enough during the week and it's pretty easy to cancel if needed.

Union Station also has long term parking at $24/24 hours. On the Red line.

There are a couple of Park and Fly places at Crystal City hotels (adjacent to Reagan) -- my husband has parked at the Crystal Gateway for trips for $8-10/day. I've never done it so can't tell you much more.

Many/most DC neighborhoods lift parking restrictions on the weekends so scout out the signs in your neighborhood.

What metro station are you closest to? Might dictate other restaurant suggestions....:-)

Jaleo is still a fantastic place to eat. Jose Andres practically owns the neighborhood, Penn Quarter, these days. Some of his other places there would be good choices as well: Oyamel and Zaytinya especially.

Dupont Circle:

Pizza Paradiso
Dukes Grocery (not a grocery and there is a full bar)
Bub and Pops
Firefly
Hanks Oyster Bar
MIssion
Bistro Du Coin
Kramer Books and Afterwards
Dolcezza (great coffee and gelato)
Pana's Empanada's
Tabard Inn (brunch)
Founding Farmers (more Foggy Bottom than DC)
District Commons (same)

Agree with Pesce for a recommendation. Not cheap.

Dupont Circle has a great farmer's market on Sunday morning. Some yummy street food there.

Eastern Market (Capitol Hill) is another good weekend market -- Saturday and Sunday. That part of CH is very residential -- lots are great restaurants in that neighborhood as well.

I 2nd Pizza Paradiso- my favorite pizza place in DC. Also one is in Georgetown. Two Amy's is off Wisconsin Ave in the vicinity of the zoo if you go out there. It has great pizza also and salads and sandwiches. Also Barcelona is a casual taps bar that is near the zoo and National Cathedral.

We're on Vernon St. behind the Washington Hiltton, basically Florida btwn 18th and 19th so looks like Dupont Circle is our closest stop. Friends of ours and their 10 yo will also be in DC that week so we plan to do some touring together. They'll be near Foggy Bottom metro.

Thanks, people for your help! If you think of anything else :)

Lauriol Plaza is right near you. It has good Mexican food. Tryst is down 18th and is a nice casual place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Have fun!

For reasonably priced parking....I've had great success with www.spothero.com. I'm currently planning a trip that will include DC next month and, interestingly, one of the places they referred me to was my hotel (parking would be $24 for 3 days versus $30/day with the hotel) but they stipulate that guests can't use the deal!

Please post back about the airbnb you rented once you get home. My son and DIL live on 19th at R, and don't have room for guests, so I'm always on the lookout for good places to stay.

MP -- great site--thanks for posting!

MP--found parking nearby with in/out privileges thanks to you! Appreciate it!

SF7307--I'll let you know. Crossing fingers.

Welcome back! :)

The twins are 9?! How on Earth does time go by so quickly!?

We loved the Shake Shack for casual food. There are several but the one we found convenient was close to Ford's Theater.

Have a wonderful trip!

Lynette ( formerly Moneygirl)

Hi Lynette!
There's a time warp issue with my kids--they get older (and mouths get sassier) at a quicker rate than the rest of Fodorsville.

Will have to check out Shake Shack. Thanks!
OWJ

Well...not a lot to update because we didn't end up going away. My husband lost his job after 13 yrs--former company isn't doing well...Know anyone hiring outside sales, maybe even inside sales? He signed a noncompete so he will be reinventing himself.�� Maybe I'll start a job hunting post...

At any rate, I need to give a huge shoutout to Airbnb customer service. We called and explained our situation after trying to work with the company that held the rental listing. Our Airbnb rep was friendly and easy to deal with. He worked on our behalf and got us a full refund, including fees! We didn't ask (or expect) that much but the unit was re-rented which clearly worked to our advantage. SpotHero cheerfully refunded our $ as well. We will definitely use both companies in the future!

Good luck to your husband with his job hunt!

I remember when your twins were babies. Glad you are back on Fodors'.

Sorry you had to cancel your trip. Glad to hear Air BnB was so helpful. Good luck to your husband in his job search.

That is just sucky news for your family OWJ. Wishing your husband a speedy landing into his next position. And DC will be there when you are able to reschedule the trip. Glad you all were able to recover your deposits.

I know the situation has changed for you on this trip, OWJ, but in the event someone else is looking for a place to park their car long-term in Dupont Circle -- I used to park it at the Washington Hilton. I was an absentee landlord for my condo in Dupont and I'd drive in once a year for about ten days and stay at my place for a little fun and to prepare the unit for the next tenant. I'd always rent a space at that garage (big hotel, too many empty space) and then just pay up and drive home when I was done. (Yes, in and out privileges, too ) Super easy. I haven't done it for three years because I sold the place, but it's worth checking out. I did not have an unusual deal. IT was a regular thing they did for all sorts of non-hotel guests. Just call and ask for the parking manager.

Good luck to your husband.

Good resource, kit. What was the daily charge to park at the Hilton?