Washington DC is a fantastic city. Beautiful monuments, lots of grey buildings, expensive food, heavy security, and culture were main themes of our trip.
It doesn't feel much like a vacation, though, because we walked all day, every day. But that's okay - we saw just about everything we wanted.
A few things we'll take away with us:
- We noticed many of the professional women weren't married. Rebecca and I didn't see many wedding rings.
- For the large number of pedestrians, there were very few garbage cans along the street. Unless you were in a National Park (like the Mall), they were hard to find.
- The size of government is massive. Seeing each department housed in a building that spans multiple blocks adds perspective, and it makes me nervous.
- Many conversations we heard from folks around town were about people's travels overseas to England, Japan, China, etc. I left with the impression people were expected to travel abroad; a far cry from families in the south encouraging their children to stay close by.
- Everyone walks quite a bit. Many people used public transportation (again, very different from the south), meaning they walk many blocks from the Metro station to their place of employment.
- Other than McDonalds, seeing fast food was rare. Finding fried food in restaurants was also rare. Everything was served in small portions.
- Very few people had visible weight issues. Obviously a byproduct of the active lifestyle and healthier eating.
