The DC Traveler

It’s the classic Victorian love story scene — a couple lounging in a rowboat, on a lazy summer afternoon in the middle of the lake, while he woos her with poetry by Byron or Keats.
And you too can add a bit of romance to your life and surprise your loved one with an afternoon or sunset rental of a rowboat at Burke Lake Park, in Fairfax Station, Virginia. All you need is a book of your favorite poet’s work. Mother Nature can proved a romantic sunset.

In the late 1950s, Fairfax County Park Authority decided to create a public fishing lake. …read more

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Just in time for August vacation season, the Travel & Culture channel launches three new blog…including one of mine!!

Travel Photo Daily, will feature travel, destination and vacation photos from around the globe.  Visit Travel Photo Daily often to help decide which destination to add to your next vacation destination list.
I hope you will enjoy it.
 
And occasionally on The DC Traveler, I review a great travel product, such as recently a couple solar-powered backpacks or Washington, DC pocket maps or DC travel guides. 

Now, you can have a daily update of all the latest travel products, gadgets, and gift ideas …read more

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Italian sparkling wines at the French Embassy? Is this possible? 
California champagnes being served on French soil?  Sacrilegious??!!
No!! Wine lovers know that great wines come from around the globe, not just one region or one country.  Especially champagnes and sparkling wines.
So sample over 25 French, Italian, Spanish, American, and Austrian sparklers that will be presented at the first Champagne and Other Bubbles Festival at the French Embassy in Washington, DC. 
The selection includes bubbly samples from around the globe including:

Champagnes
Proseccos
Cavas
Spumante
Blanc de noirs
Blanc de blancs
Sparkling rosés
Sparkling reds
Bruts, Drys, Extra Drys and Demi-Secs …read more

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For over 200 years, the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC has been the seat of American government and it’s open to the public for guided tours only.
The Capitol’s 500+ rooms serve both the House of Representatives and the Senate, plus staff.
On the third floor, when Congress is in session, visitors with passes can watch a couple minutes the proceedings where lawmaking, speech making, voting and typical partisan posturing occurs.

Afterwards, visit the Rotunda, with frescoed paintings of major events in American history, the Crypt, and the National Statuary Hall (rub the the shoes of Will Rogers for good luck). And …read more

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Today marks the the 39th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first manned space mission to land, walk on and safely return from the moon.
About a month before the historic moon landing, I met the three Apollo 10 astronauts, John Young, Thomas Stafford and Eugene Cernan on their national tour. They had just completed the final rehearsal for the moon landing. Their mission was to circle the moon’s surface in both the Command Module and the Lunar Landing module (LEM), and conduct photographic surveys for a good landing site for the Apollo 11 mission.
Just two months later, on July 16th, …read more

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People who have seen a Cirque du Soleil show instantly understand. People who haven’t… are in for a thrill.
Opening October 30th, 2008, for a one month run at the National Harbor in Washington, DC, Cirque Du Soleil combines some of the best acrobatic performers in the world, with the art of clowning to create mystifying stories that delights audiences.
Tickets for Cirque’s Middle Eastern inspired show, KOOZA, just went on sale. The show includes high-flying acrobats, amazing gymnastics and dance, high wire and trapeze artists, bicyclists, jugglers, and, as always, a good dose of humor and memorizing live music.

Cirque du …read more

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Muppets and Sesame Street creator Jim Henson was a visionary in creating puppets and entertainment for children.
In a new exhibit at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, get a rare  look at over 100 original pieces of art, including drawings, cartoons and storyboards from different productions.

Along with the collection are movie and television props, photos of Jim and his Muppets characters, as well as three 5-minute videos, including clips form early in his career and some experimental works.
Plus, several of the Muppets, including the loveable Kermit the Frog,  Bert and Ernie, Rowlf and Nutty Bird.
Jim Henson’s Fantastic World …read more

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So you think you’re funny?  John Belushi, Chris Farley, Bill Murray and Mike Myers all got their starts in Improv. 
Some learned their trade at Chicago’s famous Second City, others at New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade or other improv schools across the U.S.  The best ended up in Hollywood or on Saturday Night Live.
But improv is a learned craft, where students learn the basic skills of listening, spontaneously, off the cuff story-telling, confidence, teamwork, comedic instincts and how to never stop or never laugh, no matter what happens.
If you have a desire to try out your comedic skills, …read more

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The "mad" knight, Don Quixote, escapes the reality of the Spanish Inquisition and his imprisonment in this play within a play.
Set in a prison, Cervantes and his fellow prisoners awaits their hearings and most probably torture and death, while holding Cervantes’ own prisoner-led mock trail.
The story of the Man of LaMancha revolves around tax collector Alonso Quixano, who, in his own mind, becomes a retired gentleman, obsessed with truth, virtue and chivalry.  Yet to others, he has seemed to have lost his mind after taking on the persona of nobleman Don Quixote.
Dressed in knights armor, and …read more

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Going green is all the rage, and you know, it should be. But you can’t really have a totally green vacation when visiting Washington, DC.  But you can reduce your carbon footprint, without too much effort.
Can you find a “green” hotel to stay at? And even if the hotel claims to be green, are they really all that green?  Or are their claims simply a PR team spinning out eco-friendly press releases on glossy recycled paper?
Most major hotel chains have developed policies or are developing goals that help build sustainability into their business plan, to reduce waste, energy …read more

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