Tours to take in DC

On Foot

A Tour de Force (tel. 703/525-2948; www.atourdeforce.com) is historian and raconteur Jeanne Fogel's 25-year-old company. She offers various modes of transport, from walking to bus, SUV, and limo tours. Fogel custom designs the route around the city per your request and size of group, from a romantic tour for a couple to a traditional sightseeing excursion for a convention crowd. Fogel (or her stand-in) peppers her narration with little-known anecdotes and facts about neighborhoods, historic figures, and the most visited sites. Call for rates.

Spies of Washington Walking Tours (tel. 703/569-1875; www.spiesofwashingtontour.com) offers four walking tours that focus on espionage-related sites in Georgetown and around the White House, Pennsylvania Avenue, Capitol Hill, and the Russian Embassy areas. Carol Bessette, a retired Air Force intelligence officer, conducts the tours, which cost $12 per person. Private tours and bus tours are also available.

Anecdotal History Tours of Washington, D.C. (tel. 301/294-9514; www.dcsightseeing.com) offers 2-hour walks through the streets of Georgetown, Adams-Morgan, and other locations guided by author/historian Anthony S. Pitch. Inquire about private tours. Rates are $15 per person.

Segway Tours (tel. 877/SEG-TOUR; www.citysegwaytours.com/washington) are available March through November. Though technically they are "on foot," Segways are self-propelling scooters that operate based on "dynamic stabilization" technology, which uses your body movements. Tours last 4 hours, cost $70 per person, and include training; age 16 and up.

By Bus

Tourmobile -- Best-known and least expensive, Tourmobile Sightseeing (tel. 888/868-7707 or 202/554-5100; www.tourmobile.com) is a good choice if you're looking for an easy-on/easy-off tour of major sites, especially since security concerns have made the already limited parking nearly nonexistent. The comfortable red, white, and blue sightseeing trams travel to as many as 24 attractions (the company changes its schedule and number of stops depending on whether sites are open for public tours), including Arlington National Cemetery. Tourmobile is the only narrated sightseeing shuttle tour authorized by the National Park Service.

The company offers a number of different tours, but the most popular is the American Heritage Tour, which stops at 21 sites on or near the National Mall and at 3 sites in Arlington Cemetery. (Again, the number of stops may be fewer than 21, if regularly scheduled stops are not open for public tours due to increased security.) Normally, stops include the memorials and Washington Monument, Union Station, the National Gallery, most of the Smithsonian museums (National Air and Space, National Museum of Natural History, and the Arts and Industries Building/Hirshhorn Museum), the Capitol, the White House Visitor Center, and several other locations. In Arlington Cemetery, the bus stops at the Kennedy grave sites, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and Arlington House.
You can purchase tickets at the Union Station and Washington Monument booths, or inside the Arlington National Cemetery Visitor Center, or, for a small surcharge, order your ticket in advance from Ticketmaster at tel. 800/551-7328 or www.ticketmaster.com. Or if you'd prefer, just pay your driver when you first get on the bus. Hop on a Tourmobile at any of the designated locations, then get off at any stop to visit monuments or buildings. When you finish exploring each area, just show your ticket and climb aboard the next Tourmobile that comes along. The buses travel in a loop, serving each stop about every 15 to 30 minutes. One fare allows you to use the buses all day. The charge for the American Heritage Tour is $27 for anyone 12 and older, $13 for children 3 to 11. For Arlington Cemetery only, those 12 and older pay $7.50, children $3.75. Children 2 and under ride free. Buses follow circuits from the Capitol to Arlington Cemetery and back. Well-trained and personable narrators give commentaries about sights along the route and answer questions.
The trams are heated in winter, but they're not air-conditioned in summer; and though the windows stay open, they can get hot and uncomfortable. Readers also report that Tourmobiles, being the largest trams, take a long time to load and unload passengers, which can be frustrating to those anxious to see the sights.
Tourmobiles operate 9:30am to 4:30pm, daily year-round, except Christmas. (In the busy tourist season, Tourmobile sometimes extends its hours.) Call Tourmobile or visit the website for further information about other tours and their rates.

Old Town Trolley -- Old Town Trolley tours (tel. 202/832-9800; www.historictours.com) offer fixed-price, on-off service as you travel in three loops around the city, with a transfer point at the Lincoln Memorial stop to go on to Arlington Cemetery and a second transfer point at Ford's Theatre to get to Georgetown and to Washington National Cathedral. Many hotels sell tickets; otherwise, you can purchase tickets online or at the Old Town Trolley Tour booths at Union Station, the D.C. Visitor Center in the Ronald Reagan Building, and many other places around town. Buses operate daily from 9am to 4:30pm, extended to 5:30pm in summer. The cost is $32 for adults, $16 for children 4 to 12, free for children 3 and under. You can buy tickets online in advance and at a discount, and use those e-tickets to board at any of the stops on the route. The full tour, which is narrated, takes 2 hours (if you don't get off and tour the sites, obviously), and trolleys come by every 30 minutes or so. Old Town Trolley tours cost more than Tourmobile tours, perhaps because the buses travel to neighborhoods and attractions away from the Mall.

By Boat

Since Washington is a river city, why not see it by boat? Potomac cruises allow sweeping vistas of the monuments and memorials, Georgetown, the Kennedy Center, and other Washington sights. Read the information below carefully, since not all boat cruises offer guided tours. Some of the following boats leave from the Washington waterfront and some from Old Town Alexandria:

Spirit of Washington Cruises, Pier 4 at 6th and Water streets SW (tel. 866/302-2469 or 202/554-8000; www.spiritcruises.com; Metro: Waterfront), offers a variety of trips daily, including evening dinner, lunch, brunch, and moonlight dance cruises, as well as a half-day excursion to Mount Vernon and back. Lunch and dinner cruises include a 40-minute musical revue.

The Spirit of Washington is a luxury climate-controlled harbor cruise ship with carpeted decks and huge panoramic windows designed for sightseeing. There are three well-stocked bars onboard.

Potomac Party Cruises (tel. 703/683-6076; www.dandydinnerboat.com) operates the Dandy and Nina's Dandy, both climate-controlled, all-weather, glassed-in floating restaurants that run year-round. Lunch, evening dinner/dance, and special charter cruises are available daily. You board both vessels in Old Town Alexandria, at the Prince Street pier, between Duke and King streets. Trips range from a 2 1/2-hour weekday lunch cruise to a 3-hour Saturday dinner cruise.

Odyssey (tel. 866/306-2469; www.odysseycruises.com) was designed specifically to glide under the bridges that cross the Potomac. The boat looks like a glass bullet, with its snub-nosed port and its streamlined 240-foot-long glass body. The wraparound see-through walls and ceiling allow for great views. You board the Odyssey at the Gangplank Marina, on Washington's waterfront at 6th and Water streets SW (Metro: Waterfront). Cruises available include lunch, Sunday brunch, and dinner excursions, with live entertainment provided during each cruise.

The Potomac Riverboat Company (tel. 877/511-2628 or 703/684-0580; www.potomacriverboatco.com) offers three narrated tours April through October. The Matthew Hayes and the Miss Mallor have a 90-minute round-trip tour past Washington monuments and memorials; the Admiral Tilp is on an 80-minute round-trip tour of Old Town Alexandria's waterfront; and the Miss Christin cruises to Mount Vernon, where you hop off and reboard after you've toured the estate. You board the boats at the pier behind the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria at the foot of King Street, or, for the Washington monuments and memorials tour, Georgetown's Washington Harbour. A concession stand selling light refreshments and beverages is open during the cruises.

The Capitol River Cruise's Nightingales (tel. 800/405-5511 or 301/460-7447; www.capitolrivercruises.com) are historic 65-foot steel riverboats that can accommodate 90 people. The Nightingales' narrated jaunts depart Georgetown's Washington Harbour every hour on the hour, from noon to 9pm, April through October (the 9pm outing is offered in summer months only). The 45-minute narrated tour travels past the monuments and memorials to National Airport and back. A snack bar onboard sells light refreshments, beer, wine, and sodas; you're welcome to bring your own picnic aboard. To get here, take Metro to Foggy Bottom and then walk into Georgetown, following Pennsylvania Avenue, which becomes M Street. Turn left on 31st Street NW and follow to the Washington Harbour complex on the water.

A Boat on Wheels -- Old Town Trolley also operates DC Ducks (tel. 202/832-9800; www.dcducks.com), which feature unique land and water tours of Washington aboard the DUKW, an amphibious army vehicle (boat with wheels) from World War II that accommodates 30 passengers. Ninety-minute guided tours aboard the open-air canopied craft include a land portion taking in major sights -- the Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, and Smithsonian museums -- and a 30-minute Potomac cruise. Purchase tickets inside Union Station at the information desk; board the vehicle just outside the main entrance to Union Station. Hours vary, but departures usually follow a daily 11am, 1pm, and 3pm schedule (Mar-Oct).

By Bike
Bike the Sites, Inc. (tel. 202/842-2453; www.bikethesites.com) offers a more active way to see Washington, in season, from March to November. The company has designed several different biking tours of the city, including the popular Capital Sites Ride, which takes you past museums, memorials, the White House, Capitol, and Supreme Court. The ride takes 3 hours, covers 7 to 8 miles, and costs $40 per adult, $30 per child 12 and under. Bike the Sites provides you with a comfort mountain bicycle fitted to your size, bike helmet, water bottle, light snack, and two guides to lead the ride. All tours start from the rear plaza, 12th Street NW side of the Old Post Office Pavilion, which is located at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (Metro: Federal Triangle, on the Blue and Orange Line). Guides impart historical and anecdotal information as you go. The company rents bikes to those who want to go their own, unnarrated way for $7 an hour ($15 minimum) or $45 a day, including helmet, bike, lock, and pump. It also customizes guided bike rides to suit your tour specifications.

A few things to do in DC

National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum

Two museums in one, directly across the street from Hotel Monaco, and FREE! Your tax dollars at work... so be sure to stop by! It is a beautiful museum and rarely crowded. It is Lauren's favorite museum in the city. Open 11:30am-7pm daily.
Links: National Portrait Gallery American Art Museum

National Air and Space Museum
Two locations: one on the national mall and the other near the Dulles airport. This is Sameer's favorite museum in DC. Check out the Dulles airport location to see a full size Concord and the space shuttle Enterprise. Sameer actually wanted to hold the wedding here; but the Smithsonian doesn't allow weddings or wedding receptions....
Links: National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles


The International Spy Museum
This is a fun museum and very popular. It is also located very close to Hotel Monaco. Not free though... admission is $18.
Links: Spy Museum

__________________________________________________

http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/guide/dc

an over all good site for things to do
____________________________________________________

Bus tours
A great way to tour the whole city very easily. The bus tours take you all around the mall, through Georgetown, and the the Arlington National Cemetery.
Links: DC bus tours

Other Transportation information


Airports

There are three metro area airports which is helpful in finding competitive airfare.
BWI: located north of the city near Baltimore. Usually has the cheapest fares but is the least accessible. There is a train (MARC) that travels from BWI to Union Station in DC, from which you can transfer on to the red line Metro or catch a cab to your hotel.
IAD (Dulles): located in Sterling, Virginia. No metro access, but you can take the Washington Flyer bus to the West Falls Church metro station on the orange line for $18 round trip.
DCA (Reagan or National): located in Arlington, VA just across the river from downtown DC. Also located on both the yellow and blue metro lines or a short cab drive in to the city. This is by far the most convenient airport but usually has higher fares (note, Airtran does fly here).
Links: BWI IAD DCA

Metro

The metro is a great way to get around Washington, DC. All Souls Church is located closest to the Columbia Heights metro on the yellow/green line. The Hotel Monaco is located just steps from the Gallery Place-China Town metro stop on the red/yellow/green line. The metro also serves Reagan National Airport (DCA) via the blue and yellow lines.
Links: Metro Map

Cabs

Cabs in the District of Columbia are an easy way to get around the city and operate on a metered fare system (the zone system was abolished in 2008). While always easy to catch a cab, it isn't always a very fast way to get around.... take DC traffic in to consideration when planning how long it will take to get to your destination!
Links: DC Taxi Fares

Mike and Kristin's Wedding in DC

Less than a year away from the wedding (5/1/2010) so I thought I would start posting some information for our guests that will be traveling to DC.

The wedding will be held at Georgetown University's Dalhgren's Chapel
http://explore.georgetown.edu/locations/index.cfm?Action=View&LocationID=29

guided and self guided tours. http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/information2546/information.htm

We also recommend Washington Walks, DC’s premier guided walking tour company: www.washingtonwalks.com

On May 1, 2010 the cultural tourism group will be hosting Passport DC, an embassy open house event, which could be a lot of fun for your guests. The website for the event is www.PassportDC.org although right now you’ll see that it still has this year’s info on it. It will give you an idea of what the event is about.

Also, here’s a link to the Georgetown neighborhood page on our site: http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/information2550/information.htm?area=2526

contact the Georgetown BID for some more info: http://www.georgetowndc.com/

For those wanting to check out more of Washington, here is a good link:

http://www.visitthecapitol.gov/

A Walk in the South of France

An Early Morning Walk in Nice
Text and Photos by Kathy Hume
They say the reason so many artists flocked to the South of France is the light. The way the sun illuminates the scenery. It really is true. On an early morning walk along the Promenade des Anglais on the Côte d'Azur in Nice, I noticed that the colors shone brighter, bolder almost super saturated. The best light for photography is early in the morning or just before dusk, so at 7am I started out from The West End Hotel, and headed left along the Promenade. It was very peaceful, not many people were out yet. Walking along the beach I was struck by the blues….the sea, the sky and the umbrellas. This shot was awarded the first prize in our local photography show and remains one of my favorites. The value of being up early is being able to capture the shot without people.
Further along there was a man walking a dog. Using the “rule of thirds” I waited until the boat was at the 1/3 mark, and he was at the 2/3 mark. It was an added benefit that he turned to talk to the dog.

The air was so clear and the temperature just perfect for a hike up to Le Chateau, the park that overlooks the city. The view from up here is just incredible -- the blues of the sea, the rust color of the roofs of the buildings. Framed by blooming cactus plants, the harbor is on one side and on the other side, the Mediterranean sea stretches out forever in azure blue.

Walking down the bank past the waterfall, you come to the bottom of the hill and the Cours Saleya Market. It was just opening and everywhere you looked it was a feast for your eyes. Reds tomatoes and strawberries, green and yellow vegetables, multi colored marzipan fruit, and enticing smells of spices and dried roses was a photographer’s dream. I was on sensory overload.


After the market, as I wandered through the Old Town looking for shapes and shadows and reflections to photograph, I spotted this lingerie hanging on the side of a building. The warm color of the building contrasted with the red and black of the lingerie. The shadows gave a new dimension to the image. This photo also won first prize.
One of the best tips I ever received regarding taking photos was “turn around”. So often the best shot is behind you. When I turned around I spotted three color coordinated Gameboy playing young boys who were no doubt wondering why this crazy American woman was taking pictures of the underware.


I love the streets of the Old Town of Nice – people with dogs, flowers and paintings on the sides of the buildings. Walking along I knew that I had to share the essence of this amazing town. My sister is an artist and a photographer and I knew how much she would enjoy experiencing this wonderful part of the world. Years later (2004) we returned and together explored and photographed this part of the world. Just as I did years ago, she fell in love with the South of France.

photos discussed can be found at : http://www.kodakgallery.com/kathyhume/main/favorite_photos_of_france

Off to Savannah and The Cloisters

Leaving today for a trip down to Savannah to visit my dear friend, Mary. Mary lost her husband several months ago and due to the airlines canceling our flight, we were not even able to attend the memorial service. I am going to help Mary with the technology side of her life (programing things and showing her how to use the "talking lady" in her car and Mary is treating me to a visit to The Cloisters, where Ken and I honeymooned many years ago. Just read an article that if you have your original receipt (which I do) that you can go back for that same amount of $$. Since what we paid for 5 days would only cover around 5 hrs now, it will be interesting to see what the deal is....maybe Ken and I will be visiting there again!



I will post a review as well as photos when I return.

slight correction....to Inverness portion of Scotland Blog

Thanks to Snowfalling in Cedars...from the trip advisor board for pointing this out:

By the way (and not that it matters) many people seem to think Madonna got married at Dornoch Cathedral which isn't true. She did the deed at nearby Skibo Castle. Her son Rocco was baptised at the Cathedral; that's the connection

The Highlands

St. Andrews to the Highlands - Inverness
Thursday, June 26th

We got a bit of a late start the next morning since it took quite a bit of time to pack up the van. Traveling with 2 sets of golf clubs, 4 sets of luggage and 4 people isn’t easy. Needless to say, the back seats were very crowded.

We headed out of St. Andrews and programmed the talking lady. We thought she would take us through Dundee, but she did have a mind of her own. We got to see some nice countryside and some very narrow roads. Our first stop was at The Hermitage (http://www.nts.org.uk/Property/57/ ) another Charlotte suggestion. We parked in the upper parking lot and hiked down. There was a snack van in the lower parking lot. We took the hike along the water (about a mile) to the hall. There is a trick to getting the doors to open, but I can’t remember what it was. Once inside you can see over the falls. What was really fascinating was watching the salmon jumping up the falls. Hard to believe they can make it all the way up. Lovely walk through a peaceful woods. And hardly any bugs! Not a midge in sight.

We stopped next at the Fish ladder in Pitlochry but that was a bust. Lunch was at The Dowally Craft Centre where they serve a nice meal upstairs. The ladies there were nice and the weather showered the earth while were dining. Once back outside, the sun was again shining. We also visited Scotland’s smallest distillery, Edradour. (http://www.edradour.co.uk/ ), where we took a tour and see how Scotland’s national drink is made. It’s just on the outskirts of the town and easy to find. Its output sounds a lot - 240,000 bottles per year - but the average large Speyside distillery churns that out in a week. The small scale is part of Edradour’s charm. Unfortunately, they weren’t producing that week, so we didn’t really get the total “tour”. Mike enjoyed driving on the one lane roads…windy with a place to pass now and then and was only disappointed he didn’t meet up with any of the large tour busses from the distillery. We continued up A9 which meanders though the Cairngorm Mountains and finally found our way to Inverness.

Inverness hotel: The Best Western Inverness Palace Hotel & Spa; 8 Ness Walk; rooms 35 and 37, both our rooms were overlooking the river and castle

Nice location on the river overlooking the castle and easy walk to most of the town. Did have a swimming pool, but we never got to visit.

Dinner: Castle Tavern, across the bridge, rt at the first street beyond the castle and you run right into it. Dinner and drinks for 4 £41.10---but with many mix ups; 2 tuna cheese Panini (except they forgot the tuna) Mike ordered the pork tenderloin special…which turned out to actually be lamb (he said it was good), Kristin had the salmon mousse, Ken had soup and the non-tuna tuna Panini and we had several pints of ale and maybe a glass of wine (should have stuck to the ale).

Friday, June 27th

Before leaving the US I had contacted Tour guide Bill Gordon of Moray Tours http://www.moraytours.com/. Got his name from the Trip Advisor board. I wanted someone to drive us around so we could all sight see and someone that would know the area and history of the area. Bill was a nice guy, and took us to some lovely places. Unfortunately he wasn’t big on the history aspect, but did know all about the area golf courses and distilleries. One of the places we stopped was Shin Falls, west of Bonar Bridge near Invershin. We hiked down to the Falls (no jumping salmon) and then had a lovely lunch at the nice restaurant owned by Mohammed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods and father of the guy who Diana was with when she died. Ken and I both had a baked potato stuffed with tuna, Mike had venison stew and I forget what Kristin and Bill had. Nice, if expensive, gift shop.

We also stopped by Dornoch golf course, most northerly first class golf course in the world, ranked 11th in the world according to Rough Guide to Britain. Dornach was where Madonna got married…and how ironic that as we were looking at the chapel, word on the street is they are getting divorced.

Next stop was Dunrobin Castle – owned by the Sutherlands one of the principal driving forces behind the Highland clearances. We visited the outside, but didn’t have enough time to do the tour. Too bad, it looked fascinating.

We had been trying to find a Highland cow, with not much success. Saw three on the A9 while we were heading towards Inverness, but none since, at least none close enough to photograph…even with an 18x optical zoom.

Back to Inverness for a little shopping and dinner. We ate at Johnny Foxes; 26 Bank St. Nice Pub. Broccoli pasta (huge amount) , sea stew; catch of the day; melon & prawn cocktail; Foxes club sandwich plus 3 pints…£2.75 each (total £45.60).


Photos to and around Inverness


July 27th

Today we are headed back to Edinburgh with a slight detour to Dornie to See the Eilean Donan Castle. It was the gloomiest day so far. First stop was a pull off by Loch Ness. Saw a pretty nifty snail, but no monsters. Next we stopped by Urquhart Castle Another time we were able to use our Explorer Pass. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urquhart_Castle )
Pretty setting on the banks of the Loch. Nice restaurant and gift shop. Good views …if only it had been a bit sunnier! Had a snack then off to Dornie.

Nice, if long, road with good views. Lots of small waterfalls coming down from the mountains and even though it was the end of June, there were still some patches of snow. I can see why the Eilean Donan Castle (http://www.eileandonancastle.com/ ) gets a lot of play. It really is beautifully situated on the water with the mountains in the background. Too bad it was so ugly out. Mike did manage to get some good photos. We had a very nice lunch and I have to say, their gift shop had a great selection of items, much more reasonably prices, so we did a little shopping. On the road again…and I have to say, our son, Mike did an excellent job of driving.

Back down A87 to A82 which we followed for quite some time. Past Glen Coe and around Loch Lomand. We were headed for Stirling. Mike really wanted to see the Wallace National Monument since he is a big fan of Braveheart. (http://www.nationalwallacemonument.com/ ) Unfortunately, it closes at 6 and even though we got there 25 mins before, they wouldn’t sell us tickets. Mike and Kristin did walk all the way up the VERY LONG hill to get to where the monument was and said the view was quite nice, but they wouldn’t let him in to see the sword…not even for 5 minutes.
We also miss out on seeing Stirling Castle. It was getting late, so we just headed back to our next hotel…The Marriott Dalmahoy.

The kids were just staying overnight and Ken and I had one more day. Dinner that night was at the Long Weekend restaurant. Time for an almost sunset walk then off to bed. The kids left early the next morning and Ken and I spent the day relaxing. It was a nice way to end the trip.

Photos from Inverness to Edinburgh

June 30th
The trip home. Sometimes when you use points for your tickets you pay the price. We had a non-stop flight over to Scotland, but the trip back wasn’t quite as easy. Off to the airport for a 9am Air France flight…to Paris…then a 5 hr layover. Not enough time to actually go into the city. Fortunately the airport wasn’t crowded. Ken found a nice waiting area with lounge chairs…all the way at the end of the terminal (2E I think), so for a while we relaxed and read. Then we discovered a bank of Internet computers. Put 3 euros in the slot for 30 mins time and then found out our computer already had time…so we check for e-mails, Yankee scores, etc. Since I still had our slip with the 30 mins of time, I gave it to a woman who was going to by one. She wanted to pay me…I told her just do something nice for someone else. She said she liked the karma thing and said we would have good karma. An hr later her prediction came true when we were upgraded to Business Class. I have to say…if you have a 7 hr flight to NYC this is the way to go. You couldn’t even reach the seats in front with your feet. There were more buttons…including one that worked the massage rollers in the seat back. Champagne (or juice) and hot cloths before we even took off, then dinner, starting with Hors-d’oeuvres: I had Terrine de foie gras de canard, chutney d’abricots et de figues, country style walnut bread, baby spinach, Ken had salmon simmered with olive oil and lemon, vegetable brunoise and caper vinaigrette…and this was just the first course.

Main Course: pan seared Filet of beef, sautéed potatoes, sautéed vegetables with Chinese artichokes.

Desserts---you could have several if you wished
Chocolate almond cake with crème de caramel; chocolate raspberry cookie, sorbets et petits four secs, choice of fresh fruit.

And all the wine, beer etc. you wanted.
Our movie screens worked so I watched several movies. The seats almost fully recline. Really really nice. We didn’t even mind that our flight was delayed from taking off. A few hours later they showed up with Chicken and apricot brochette, smoked breast of duck, fennel salad, comte’ cheese and walnut bread, yogurt and fresh fruit.

Sort of the perfect way to end the perfect trip!

So Long…until the next time….
Kathy