america, the beautiful

this past weekend i took a very pink and patriotic spring break trip to washington, d.c. to see both the cherry blossoms and some friends of mine. my friend emily visited me in new york last month, so this time it was my turn to go see her. it was the perfect escape from new york's dreary weather and it had been almost three years since my last visit to d.c. so i was pretty psyched to be there.

we visited a bunch of the monuments and saw all the beautiful cherry blossoms at the tidal basin. i'd always wanted to see them in bloom and they did not disappoint. it was really hard not to take five million pictures. i also visited the national gallery of art, which i love and recommend, as it has a wonderful collection and surprisingly comfortable couches. if i'd had more time i would've gone to the hirshhorn and the smithsonian american art museum too. bless you, d.c., for your free museums!

i also visited the united states holocaust memorial museum. it was definitely a very moving and powerful experience and brought back the memories and emotions of my visit to the dachau concentration camp in germany. i highly recommend touring the holocaust museum if you get the chance. i think it's an important testament to a piece of history we all should feel more deeply, and maybe the most incredible part is at the end of the exhibition where you can watch videos of holocaust survivors telling their stories. i was so touched by the video of gerda weissmann klein (including her story of how she married the american soldier who liberated her from a concentration camp and 350-mile death march) that i looked her up and read all about her when i got home. she wrote a memoir called all but my life that i will definitely be reading.

we crammed a lot of good food into one weekend, but the highlights were definitely 2 amys neapolitan pizzeria and founding farmers. i am still dreaming about their beignets. i also enjoyed my meals at good stuff eatery, golden brown delicious, and we, the pizza. next time i come to d.c. i want to go to baked and wired, burger tap & shake, eastern market for blue buck pancakes, and of course, cafe rio for a good old sweet pork salad. i love you, food.

another fun part of this weekend was seeing my friend hannah and her husband rob. they drove up and met us to see the cherry blossoms together. we hadn't seen hannah since before she got married, so it was a very happy little reunion. i'm so glad i got to make this trip! i love the east coast and i hope if i write enough of these posts i can convince all my friends to move out here. (if you're reading this, please move out here.) see you soon, d.c.