Great Gardens in DC and the Wider DC Region

Year-round, DC has fantastic gardens everywhere - from the general neighborhood front yards of Capitol Hill and Georgetown en-masse, to professionally designed and tended "official" parks and gardens both public and private.  Major efforts aside, you would be hard pressed to find any street in NE or NW DC without a few impressive plantings. Some favorites are:

Grounds of Georgetown's Lutheran Church, with the lovely rockwork church as a backdrop, the lawn is packed full of flowers.

The Russian and French decorative work focused museum at Hillwood Estate is absolutely fantastic but so are the gardens, so leave plenty of time for each. The greenhouses are especially impressive and there are always beautifully complex flower arrangements everywhere.

Dumbarton Oaks has extensive gardens and park lands; the pebble pavement is stunning and everywhere you go you find new garden rooms.  They have a several sound installations which are interesting and the roses are so robust that you can smell them in the air far away. The museum galleries attached to the house are worth looking at but the garden is the top-liner in my opinion.

Over in Arlington, the elevated Freedom Park arcs up over streets and past buildings. It gives great views while providing a very architecturally structured park. In SE DC near the waterfront, Yards Park also is a more modern, urban park with fun fountains and water features.

Close enough to be done within an easy day's drive are LaDew Topiary Gardens, beautifully designed formal gardens including some very intricate topiary. Take the time to go on a guided tour of the house as well, housing a fabulous collection of all things hunt related and some very lovely architecture.

The National Arboretum is a must visit. I strongly recommend visiting often enough to watch the magnificent bonsai collection change between foliage, flowers and fruit. There are also extensive holly, magnolia, cherry and other blooming shrub collections besides the various show planting areas.  The reflecting pond with the original US Capitol columns stands on a small hill in the middle of wild meadowland. There are extensive trails and some of the best birding in the city.

The beauty and profusion of DC's famous cherry blossoms can't be overstated and is truly breathtaking…however, so are the crowds. Be prepared.  Even well before sunrise you will have substantial company.

Kennilworth Aquatic Gardens are now run by the National Park Service and still host impressive water lilly and lotus collections as well as beautiful marsh land board walks and trails. Spring photography and birding is spectacular. Plan to drive or be dropped off rather than walk from Metro.

Seasonal DC

Throughout the year in Washington, DC there are constant seasonal events, concerts, gatherings - it is almost impossible to keep track of everything that is occurring.  The following are in no way a complete list of suggestions, just ones I've enjoyed.

Cultural Tourism DC runs Walking Town DC (September) and PorchFest in the fall, as well as organizing Passport DC in the embassy areas in May.  They are a fantastic organization that also has many other projects including permanent walking tour routes with signs throughout the city.  Sign up quickly for space on the most popular of the many free historical and cultural walks led by local experts everywhere from most historic neighborhoods, to fascinating cemeteries, and even on lesser known themed walks through the main tourist stretch - such as the Latino & Hispanic Heritage tour I joined starting at the Organization of American States.

Walk East Capitol Street during Halloween night to see the various over-the-top decoration schemes as well as more trick-or-treaters than you can shake a stick at!

The Library of Congress (besides being my very favorite building in the city) also runs a free concert series for which you need to be ready on the first day of each half year's session with your prioritized list of event choices to have a chance to sign up for these competitive events.  You can also show up on the day of each events for returned tickets. One of the best events I have ever attended in DC is the December Stradivari Anniversary Concert - four of the LoC's Stradivarius instruments are played by highly skilled guest string quartets.

The lighting displays over the holiday season in the National Zoo are worth the visit and stroll, no matter the temperatures.

The National Arboretum changes throughout the year, with each season having wonderful displays. I strongly recommend visiting often enough to watch the magnificent bonsai collection change between foliage, flowers and fruit. There are also extensive holly, magnolia, cherry and other blooming shrub collections besides the various show planting areas.  The reflecting pond with the original US Capitol columns stands on a small hill in the middle of wild meadowland. Any season is a good time to walk the many trails and it has some of the best birding in the city.

The beauty and profusion of DC's famous cherry blossoms can't be overstated and is truly breathtaking…however, so are the crowds. Be prepared.  Even well before sunrise you will have substantial company.

The Historic Congressional Cemetery is truly the most socially active cemetery anywhere! Depending on the time of year expect book clubs, outdoor horror films, yoga, concerts & creepy Soul Strolls around Halloween. Year-round it is a membership-only dog walking area.

Kennilworth Aquatic Gardens are now run by the National Park Service and still host impressive water lilly and lotus collections as well as beautiful marsh land board walks and trails. Spring photography and birding is spectacular. Plan to drive or be dropped off rather than walk from Metro.

Evening Parade at the Marine Barracks happens all summer and is free, but you should sign up in advance for tickets, or risk waiting for left over seats.  The precision marching, history lesson and music is spectacular and if you hit the first or last parades of the season, they finish off by firing their canons in the yard!

DC has a growing Diner en Blanc annual event (similar to the long running fundraiser Dinner in White in Colorado and the original in Paris) that happens on August 27 all-white clad, fine-byo-picnic-dining flash mob evening. I happened upon the mob gathering but it would definitely take advance planning to participate.

There are runs, rows, rides and races throughout the year - be aware of them even if you don't want to take part as they can significantly impact transport and transit across town. The Marine Corps Marathon and Rock and Roll Marathon were two which were very enjoyable from the sidelines. Over the Memorial Day weekend, if you are a motorcycle fan, the Rolling Thunder Run gathers an impressive number of riders going from the extensive Pentagon parking lots and looping around the mall. Stand on a bridge as they go by for truly impressive rumbling.

Ecuador Hop Scotch

For travelers looking for an easy entry to South America or Latin American countries in general, Ecuador is a wonderful start. English is spoken more widely than in many countries that I've been to, although some Spanish will be needed if you want to speak to everyone you meet. The food is excellent and very innovative. The cultural layers that overlap here have created a wonderful gastronomic tradition - the soups are amazing, my favorite is a very Ecuadorian potato and cheese based soup, and the fresh fruit is everywhere.

Some lodges I stayed at that I would recommend are:

Tandayapa Lodge

Sacha Lodge

...while others that I have heard positive comments about but that I have not stayed are:

Napo Wildlife Center

Kapawi Ecolodge

Wonderful places to visit:

Refugio Paz de los Aves

Any of the Jocotoco Foundation's reserves

Rome - March 2006

Found a fabulous place to stay in Rome, The Roman Rooms, a quiet bed and breakfast flat located near the Metro line.  Breakfast yogurt (and other things) was completely yummy and it was wonderful to have host Tony available to help with local advice in perfect English and Italian. Loved the view into the center of the building's courtyard where everyone had laundry lines and gorgeous blooming cyclamens.

We didn't let the unseasonably chilly weather or pelting rain keep

 us in.  I finally got to see one of my all-time favorite buildings in 

person - Borromini's San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane - a perfect little gem and then found a wonderful surprise in the unbelievable ceiling of Sant'Ignazio. 

Watch your bags closely on the Roman subway, especially on the

 line going to the train station! Because of Rome's well-deserved reputation as a home for

 excellent and multitudinous pick-pockets, I'd been very careful until we headed via Metro to pick up our rental car and was weighed down with luggage and backpacks as well.  When I saw the group of tiny, slightly grubby, pre-teen girls with open topped shoulder bags come on and start moving swiftly through the cars, I had a pretty good guess as to their goal.  Even though I was closely watching the one that was going to pass me, she still managed to unzip the top of my purse and get her hand down to the bottom in seconds with no trouble - I grabbed her hand to make sure she really didn't get anything and the nun next to me gave her a sound yowling.  On the

plus side, my Parisian purse really does foil pickpockets, even if I hadn't grabbed her, she wouldn't have gotten anything.

Rome is a city of history, domes and fountains.  A great strolling city, especially in weather that would allow savoring the outdoor seating areas at the tasty restaurants.  We did most of the other big recognizable name Rome "things": sights, museums, Roman ruins, churches, and all absolutely lived up to their reputation.  Best museum title for me would have to go to Galleria/Villa Borghese because it was more than rooms full of individually lovely items.  The rooms themselves and their decoration worked together like a jewel box setting for the works of Bernini and others.

For more details on what to see in Rome check out this city guide.

South to Paestum - March 2006

Pompeii was completely worth the whole day spent wandering the streets. While it was amazing to see the variety of floor mosaics and sheer size of the town, it was the little details opening a window into the daily life there that fascinated me. The ruts from chariots and wagons worn into the stone paved streets, pedestrian crosswalks made of raised stones at intersections with cuts in them to allow the wheeled vehicles to pass, hot food stands, and neighborhood water fountains with different faces carved in the back...in fact, the more famous, semi-intact rooms with colorful plaster paintings made it hard to believe that the place wasn't much more recent, it didn't feel ancient at all in some places!

We stayed a bit to the south of Naples in Paestum, home to some of the oldest (early doric) most intact greek temples outside of

Greece - and a fabulous museum showcasing the finds from this Greek/Lucanian/Etruscan area with frescos, metalwork and stone carvings.

We stayed at a working estate in the area, one of several agriturismo places we stayed. Azienda Agrituristica Seliano was the very top of the heap!

Nearly everything served was local/estate produce at the tasty, multiple course dinner, and such fantastic food (can you say artichoke season and home-made bufalo mozzarella?)

Ravenna - March 2006

Ravenna is a city with a long history, having been in a strategically important position from the time of the Roman Empire. Fortunately for art history buffs, succeeding groups of kings, popes, armies, and emperors haven't stripped the city of all of its marvellous Byzantine mosaics, primarily created from 400-500 AD. The overall effect of the mosaic decorated spaces is overwhelming, even more so when I started looking at the intricate details more closely.

Everyone keeps saying how unseasonably cold it is this March.  Good to hear, but when I come back some year, I think I'll aim for June!  It is also burning season.  Didn't realize there was one in Europe - here in Italy everyone is trimming their olive trees and other bushes then burning the slash piles.  On the drive from Paestum to Ravenna (yes, long driving day but I couldn't not see either one - it was only with great reluctance I gave up the Riace bronzes, find Riace on a map, then you will understand) there was so much smoke along the coastal

 highway that at times I couldn't see the ocean!  Ever since I first saw some of the NASA satellite photos of plumes of manmade smoke streaming around the globe, I've been paying more

 attention to human uses of fire and been more aware of the far reaching consequences.  The particulates from a fire (or other source) can stay in the atmosphere for months, falling back to earth far from their source.  It is a good reminder of how closely we are all tied together and that it does matter what people do on the other side of the globe.

And I love driving in Italy!  Everyone is so well behaved.  On the highways you drive in the right hand lane until you are really ready to pass, then you overtake the vehicle you are passing and 

immediately pop back into the right lane.  Haven't seen this international rule so well followed anywhere else!  On two lane roads folks going both directions edge to the sides of the road while driving to allow passing as well - kind of like western Texas.  Very much appreciated!  Italian drivers do drive fast and their sense of personal space is limited - I'm still a bit shocked at how close cars come to each other at high speeds.   American tail-gating doesn't hold a candle to it!  At least the cars are tiny - a new Mini Cooper looks huge here.

A Cold Tuscan Spring - March 2006

Orvieto was my favorite hill town, relatively few tourists and a welcoming, pretty walking town to visit (see the picture below of the charming little entrance to someone's home).  The cathedral (and its wild decorations) is impressive but the entire area is soothing and scenic, the walk around the walls especially.  So many of the heralded towns were awash with tour bus after tour bus of student groups, making them somewhat less scenic in my eyes.  Similarly off the path was the old town of Chianciano in the Montepulciano area, with the wonderful B&B, La Locanda degli Artisiti.  The owner, Monica, was a fantastically welcoming host and Maurizio's artwork around the house made for an impressive setting.  She, like all the other Italians we met, reiterated that it was VERY unusually cold this year.  I definitely didn't bring enough long underwear!

Of course, saw and loved Florence (make time to walk up on the bluffs across the river 

to the lookout where the sell THE BEST gelato).  I didn't stay in the town because of the car, but did find one group of accomodations there that I would have liked to stay at, and not just because they filched my name.  BTW - driving in and around Florence wasn't my favorite - still kind

 drivers (where else would they smile make way for crazy tourist driving the wrong way up a 4-lane, one-way street) but it wasn't designed for driving and the steep hills around the city provided me with one of the scariest roads - one narrow lane, two way traffic, down into a huge gully and then back out, I really thought I would flip over backwards on the way up - that I have experienced anywhere.