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    What's going on in Washington D.C.?

    So, then, etc. Am going to be there in mid-November, visiting a friend working at the Library of Congress audiovisual archive in Culpeper, VA, and doing assorted other busman's holiday stuff around and about the imperial capital. Aside from using local knowledge for all the record/book shop and good eating tips, I'm open to any/all suggestions of touristy stuff that a local might not think to recommend.

    #2
    The African American History Museum and the Museum of the American Indian are both very much worth your time

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      #3
      Okay, so this may be obvious, but Culpeper is a good distance from DC, transportation becomes an issue: basically, you need a car.

      With a vehicle, you actually get access to a lot of things that are driving distance in that part of Virginia: Richmond, Charlottesville, Harper's ferry, Shenandoah Nat park, Monticello, etc.

      Have any interest in the American civil war? Cause that's very close to many of the battlefields.

      So, you figure out how and when to get to DC. The Mall is first stop. You can spend literal days wandering through the completely free museums. There is usually a surprise or new exhibition somewhere that is worth visit. The Smithsonian also hosts a lot of free events and activities that are worth checking out. While at the American Indian museum get something to eat. Unlike most of the museums the food there is generally very good.

      Get to DC early, stay late. This will avoid traffic and make the most of your time. DC metro is fine, but Uber/ Lyft or taxis can get you to places the metro doesn't.

      Lots of concerts and shows. Even the Kennedy center hosts free concerts. You will also be there at the right time to probably see a show at Ford's theater. Wolftrap has a lot too.

      Get Ethiopian food. Dama in Arlington is a personal fave, but if you get off the beat and path, try Ghion, the owner is awesome.

      I can probably think of more, but basically, there is a lot, and a lot that's free.

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        #4
        United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is essential.

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          #5
          Originally posted by matt j View Post

          but if you get off the beat and path
          Autocorrect is the best!

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            #6
            So there's more free in DC than NYC?

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              #7
              Yes, as many of the cultural institutions are Federal and required not to charge admission by law

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                #8
                The 64,000 dollar question; is Washington more interesting than Boston?

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                  #9
                  Apparently my other option was 'get off the Bertrand', so I'll take what I got.

                  Off the top of my head: natural history, American history, portrait gallery, modern art, national gallery, Asian art, African art, native American, African American, botanical gardens, zoo, air and space, library of Congress, most the monuments...

                  It's a lot: https://www.si.edu/museums

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by Sporting View Post
                    The 64,000 dollar question; is Washington more interesting than Boston?
                    It depends a good deal on what you are interested in. Boston is a more interesting city to explore, but Washington's museums are unrivaled, particularly of one has an interest in American history and culture. Washington has also gotten much more interesting over the last quarter century or so. Summers in Washington are absolutely intolerable without air conditioning, whereas winters in Boston can be harsh and long.

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                      #11
                      Welcome back Matt J. Haven’t seen you here in a very long time.


                      I can’t really add much to what has been said even though I’ve lived in the DC and Boston areas. I like Boston a lot more overall, but DC is more tourist-oriented. There’s so much stuff around the mall. But if museums aren’t your thing, then you won’t like that.

                      I didn’t know the LOC’s AV archive was in Culpeper. Is there anything for the public to see? The public part of the LOC near the Capital is pretty cool as are the archives.

                      If you’re going to be driving all over Virgina, consider Williamsburg-Jamestown-Yorktown. It’s really lovely in the fall.

                      You could also pop up to check out Baltimore. The inner harbor and Fells Point are pretty touristy but might be cool to check out. It’s all got a unique vibe.

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                        #12
                        Thank you for the tips everyone. I will dig through them all today, but just wanted to jump on this really quickly:

                        Originally posted by matt j View Post
                        Okay, so this may be obvious, but Culpeper is a good distance from DC, transportation becomes an issue: basically, you need a car.
                        Sorry, I should clarify - I'm going to be based in DC for most of the trip, and make maybe one return trip to Culpeper and kipping wherever my mate can put me up. I was presuming I would be able to Amtrak from DC to Culpeper, though all of their route checkers and suchlike don't seem to be with it right now.

                        I didn’t know the LOC’s AV archive was in Culpeper. Is there anything for the public to see? The public part of the LOC near the Capital is pretty cool as are the archives.
                        I think it is open to the public, though their website doesn't appear to have been updated since 2012. I know they have an exquisite screening room which has public screenings. The conservation centre itself is supposed to be incredibly impressive - built into the side of a mountain by the Federal Reserve, before the fella who started Hewlett-Packard bought it for the LIbrary of Congress and built the aforementioned cinema (based, apparently, on the favourite cinema of his youth). The whole mountain thing means it is climactically suitable, and the fact that it was Federal Reserve means the vaults really are vaults. I'm insanely excited to get to see it, not least checking out (for academic reasons) the folk who are laser-scanning wax cylinders.

                        Not sure how much the rest of my access is going to be from knowing people who know people etc.

                        Anyway that's already become more of a response than I thought it would, I'll be back with more questions when I'm a bit more awake.

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                          #13
                          There is indeed limited Amtrak service from DC to Culpeper.

                          One at 11 am, a couple around rush hour, and one a bit later. Though they don't all run everyday.

                          Schedule is here

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                            #14
                            Amtrak is kind of a noted mess, so always take the schedule with a grain of salt.

                            There is also commuter rail service to both Fredericksburg and Manassas, should your friend be willing to meet you either place. There is probably a connector bus from Culpeper to Manassas, though I'm not 100 percent sure.

                            For real DC commuting fun, look up slugging.

                            Reed: I admit I lurk mostly now, and I hate trying to respond from my phone (which I use primarily to browse otf now).

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                              #15
                              The Amtrak long distance services (Cardinal and Crescent) are indeed subject to significant disruption when compared to the Northeast Regional.

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                                #16
                                I have nothing of note or substance to add to this thread, but I just wanted to mention that beak currently has my favourite avatar pic on the entire forum.

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                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by matt j View Post
                                  Amtrak is kind of a noted mess, so always take the schedule with a grain of salt.

                                  There is also commuter rail service to both Fredericksburg and Manassas, should your friend be willing to meet you either place. There is probably a connector bus from Culpeper to Manassas, though I'm not 100 percent sure.

                                  For real DC commuting fun, look up slugging.

                                  Reed: I admit I lurk mostly now, and I hate trying to respond from my phone (which I use primarily to browse otf now).
                                  My brother’s first “real job” was with the agency running the commuter rail to Manassas and Fredericksburg.

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                                    #18
                                    in brief review:

                                    washington d.c.
                                    the "real" city is brilliant and exciting, and way more enticing than the federal city. despite having had it mentioned by my pal, it didn't sink in til i was there that it is a southern city. everybody very polite. tons of good food and drink. decriminalized weed. the metro stations are a thing of sublime beauty.

                                    downtown is incredibly boring and very bleak in its way. it's a strange feeling to be walking down the street, and to look up at random and find oneself stood outside a deeply sinister three-letter-name organization you've only previously heard of in reports of american state crimes. strange that they exist in spacetime, even, and not just on the pages of news/history. evident haussmann planning. a corollary/reversal of the normal hyperreality of being somewhere in america (or anywhere) that has been omnipresent in your (particularly visual) culture beforehand, a feeling of having been here before.

                                    all the museums are ace, and the scale of everything around the mall is incredible. african american museum was fantastic, was a bit dubious about the museum of the american indian, hirshhorn was top, national gallery was superb (when i discovered the room that's all rothko and barnett newman i enjoyed a fully transcendent art experience, aided somewhat by the aforementioned legal weed). found the lincoln memorial a remarkably impressive space for reasons i can't quite figure out, even if the statue of the man himself is a bit shit in person.

                                    baltimore
                                    spent a few days here staying at a friend of a friend. blagged my way into one day of a professional conference, turned up to it late and hungover, by complete happy accident had a long lunch with some very important people, attended one talk ostensibly as a show of support to a former teacher/friend which turned out to be potentially dead useful for my job, grabbed as many freebies as i could and left to go drinking.

                                    the city itself i found incredibly on top, and i would not have visited 80% of the places i did if i hadn't had a local guiding (and driving) us. seems like one of those cities where the tone of the neighbourhood can change drastically from one street to another. everybody seems to drive drunk, seatbelts optional. otherwise, reminded me a lot of my faint, untrustworthy memories/imaginations of what manchester was like in the late 80s/early 90s. still had a top time, mind, and there seems to a bunch of interesting stuff going on there, none of which i was around to witness.

                                    culpeper
                                    smokes for $2.50 a pack. beyond this i have a fathomless degree of sympathy for my friend who is having to live/work there for 6/7 months. as a tourist gawper it's very pretty and very americana, but john cooper clarke's "spend a year in a couple of hours" was ringing in my head. smokes for $2.50 a pack though, it bears repeating.

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                                      #19
                                      Glad it went well.

                                      JFK called Washington a city with southern efficiency and northern charm. That is not a complement, of course. It is not as "southern" as it used to be - all of the big rich cities in the US are far more cosmopolitan than they were a generation ago. But people are generally more friendly by default there than in New York or Boston, I suppose. It is still largely segregated, however, but so are many northern cities. Especially Chicago.

                                      I assume by "downtown," you mean the whole middle part of the city, from Foggy Bottom in the west, Capitol Hill to the east, Dupont and Logan Circle to the north, and the waterfront on the south. That's where many of the big government agency offices are and most of the lobbying and other office buildings are.* IIRC, technically, "downtown DC" is just the bit around Metro Center, Chinatown and the hockey/basketball arena. It has been transformed dramatically in the 20 years with the construction of the arena, the new convention center and a lot of other shiny new office buildings. Before, it was kinda ugly and depopulated.

                                      Manchester kinda reminded me of Baltimore when I visited, except with way less gun crime and maybe less government corruption. And like Manchester, it does help to have a guide. Well, I suppose that's true of all cities, but in New York, DC, Paris or London, their are a number of big world-famous museums and tourist sites that one could navigate with a book and have a good time. But with a smaller city, the value is in the small museums, the cafes, the pubs, and just the general vibe of certain neighborhoods and the best way to enjoy that is with a local you can trust who has a good feel for what you'll like. I don't currently know anyone who lives in Baltimore, unfortunately.

                                      Culpeper is kind of in "horse country" but is economically distressed, as I recall. Perhaps it is being gentrified as more and more people who work in DC or NoVA move out there. That's a long commute, but the train does go there.

                                      *Although so much of the government is not in DC. The Pentagon and a lot of other military stuff, for example, is in Virginia. FDA is in Silver Spring. CMS is near Baltimore. And more and more of it isn't even nearby. The USDA is moving to Kansas, and the CDC is in Atlanta.

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                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                        I assume by "downtown," you mean the whole middle part of the city, from Foggy Bottom in the west, Capitol Hill to the east, Dupont and Logan Circle to the north, and the waterfront on the south.
                                        that's just about my mental picture. or, to put it another way, anything beneath dupont/logan circles. for comparison's sake, i was sleeping (and eating and drinking) mostly around mount pleasant/columbia heights way.

                                        But with a smaller city, the value is in the small museums, the cafes, the pubs, and just the general vibe of certain neighborhoods and the best way to enjoy that is with a local you can trust who has a good feel for what you'll like. I don't currently know anyone who lives in Baltimore, unfortunately.
                                        speaking of museums, i thought the walters art museum was top, though the big charles rennie mackintosh exhibition there did a lot to sway me. i also enjoyed that they have a conservation atelier with an open window onto one of the galleries, meaning i got to have an interesting chat with a conservator about some aztec (or in one case, supposed aztec) stonework she was doing up. the reginald lewis museum seemed good but i was in an insane rush to get through it, and would have benefited from a greater knowledge of maryland history in general.

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                                          #21
                                          See, I had no idea any of that was in Baltimore. I've mainly just been to the aquarium and Camden Yards and the inner harbor shops, which were once considered a really fun thing to visit, but probably aren't any more now that lots of places have those kind of retail developments and bricks and mortar retail in general is dying.

                                          Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights are examples of areas that have managed to be 'revitalized" while staying somewhat diverse. Nevertheless, Mount Pleasant Isn't Any More
                                          Last edited by Hot Pepsi; 26-11-2019, 18:50.

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                                            #22
                                            Baltimore is very much that way, in that one can experience different areas in a completely different way, and that many locals find areas other their own to be completely alien.

                                            Hopkins is very much its own world in that way, even to the extent that the Med School is separate from the rest of the university.

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                                              #23
                                              Was the African-American museum crowded? I'd like to take a day trip down there sometime just to see it, but I need to be able to stand back and look at things sometimes, and crowds don't help. But I think it might be a long time before its popularity dies down, if ever.

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                                                #24
                                                it was rammed, to be honest, and they allow people in in batches so we had to queue for twenty minutes or so - i presume if you buy a timed-ticket this isn't a problem, but we didn't mind as it was a nice day to be standing about outdoors.

                                                but yeah, busy but worth it. it's huge and densely presented (and quite confusingly laid out tbh). you could easy spend a day in there.

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