My friend Katie and I spent the day in Washington, D.C. last week, and it was the best day ever! It was so easy to get to the College Park metro and then get to one of the metro stops in D.C.
Our day started bright and early (well, for a college student) at 10 a.m. when we walked to the bus stop to catch the bus to the metro. This was only a 15-ish minute drive. It was Katie's first time taking the metro, so she got her first metro card when we arrived at the College Park metro. We got on the green line towards Branch Ave; however, for the stop we wanted to get to in D.C., we got off at the Gallery Place stop.
When We Arrived:When we got off the metro in D.C., we went to Compass Coffee to get some energy for our walk to get more food (brunch!!) I enjoyed a delightful coffee cake, and Katie got hot apple cider that was foamy...it was amazing!!
Compass Coffee is such a cute and quaint place to enjoy a latte and a pastry with a friend. They currently have some seasonal drinks that I was amazed by: a gingerbread latte, a Nutella mocha, a maple latte and so many more. If you are on the metro, be sure to get off at Gallery Place, walk across the street and grab some Compass Coffee...you will not regret it!!
The Original Plan:
Katie and I wanted to go to Founding Farmers, which is a restaurant in D.C. that is amazing!! From the metro stop, we walked 1.5 miles just to get to Founding Farmers, only to be met with an hour and a half wait to get a table...BIG bummer.
Plan B:
After our feet were tired, and we used up all of our "coffee cake and apple cider energy," we needed a place to get brunch. After lots of google searching, we found a place called Tonic. It had great reviews and an awesome brunch menu.
It is this cute little restaurant that is in a building that used to be a pharmacy. Tonic is on the corner street of a neighborhood near George Washington University. (Shoutout to our fellow spoonies at GW!)
What We Ate:
Katie and I both got the Eggs Benedict with crab cakes. It was absolutely delicious and kept us full for the whole day of walking in D.C.
They also do something fun at Tonic -- they serve tater tots as their home fries! Crunch on all sides of the tot and a perfect pairing with the runny egg yolk!!
After Food:
We were full and ready to explore D.C. We continued to walk and talk and this led us to the Natural History Museum. There was a long line to get in the museum, but it moved fast and was SO worth it. I think Katie and I looked at every exhibit. Our favorite was the gems and minerals exhibit
Ok We Are Done Learning...Our Brains Hurt
Going through a museum is tiring, on top of walking over 4 miles! It was around 3:30 pm, and we were ready to head back to campus.
Our Walk Back To The Metro:
As we were heading towards the Gallery Place metro, we came across a gelato place and just had to get some. The gelato place was called Pitango.
They had so many amazing flavors to choose from, and even had dairy-free sorbet options. I got the dark chocolate and raspberry sorbet. They were both amazing, and I was impressed with the dark chocolate sorbet...it tasted like dairy-filled gelato!
Once we got on the metro, (with our gelato,) we were on our way back to College Park.
It was a GREAT day!
Bottom Line:
Every University of Maryland should spend a day in D.C. with a friend.
There are so many amazing food places and always so many free events, (including museums,) open and going on. It is also to have a nice change in scenery from campus, and it is only a simple metro ride away. If you got to the University of Maryland, traveling to D.C. needs to a priority at least once a semester -- if not more!
Katie and I will be back soon!