Destination: Washington, D.C. (Visiting the National Mall, National Portrait Gallery, & Cherry Blossoms– PART 3)

Floral Library with Washington Monument (April 2025)

My partner and I had one more day in D.C. following a day spent in Virginia. We had planned to take it easy before our flight back to Los Angeles that evening, but we ended up having a whirlwind of a time walking all over the capital to see the major landmarks, which we had not gotten to during our previous days in town. It was busy, but fun all the same.

We opted to pay extra for a late check-out from our hotel room, and then we headed out to grab breakfast at a nearby café. Sadly, breakfast was very-mediocre, but it did the trick to fuel us for all the walking we would be doing throughout the National Mall and its surroundings.

Coffees for breakfast

The National Mall is not a shopping mall, by any means, but rather a large park with many of the major historic monuments of the United States. We walked through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and headed up the marble steps to the Lincoln Memorial to see the 19-foot statue of the 16th US President looming over us, as well as overseeing the nation’s capital from the top.

Lincoln Memorial

Statue of Abraham Lincoln

In addition, my partner and I also got lovely views of the Washington Monument obelisk and its reflection from the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Another iconic landmark of the nation!

Washington Monument with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Washington, D.C. is known for its cherry blossoms that bloom in the springtime, a notable tradition since 1912 as a gift of friendship from Japan. The National Mall is especially known for an abundance of the pink flower, but unfortunately, we did not see many during our visit, as a storm a few days prior had blown most of them away. However, we did check out the Floral Library nearby filled with colorful tulips which made for a beautiful sight.

Tulips at the Floral Library

Although we did not see many cherry blossoms at The National Mall, we managed to see a good handful of them on our way to the National Portrait Gallery. There were a few trees next to the National Museum of African American History and Culture that were flourishing, and they were absolutely stunning. You can bet that I took tons of photos of them!

We made a 20 to 30-minute walk to the National Portrait Gallery, a Smithsonian museum known for portraits of important people in history. As it is a Smithsonian, admission was free, and we spent almost two hours checking it out. It is a fairly-large museum, and I enjoyed coming across famous portraits of historical figures that I had only previously seen in textbooks. Some of my personal favorites include portrait of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Barack Obama.

Inside the National Portrait Gallery

The Great Hall

Benjamin Franklin

George Washington

Barack Obama (portrait by Kehinde Wiley)

After visiting The National Portrait Gallery, we got lunch nearby (sadly, also mediocre) before heading back to our hotel, packing up and checking out, and taking an Uber over to the airport. Our flight left at 18h00 and we landed in LAX early around 20h30 local time.

Goodbye, D.C.!

Overall, it was a brief, but fun trip to D.C. with my partner. I had not visited D.C. since I was a teenager, and it was great returning as an adult. Not only that, but I also got to see two new US states: Maryland and Virginia! Despite everything going on in politics these days, I have hope that the country will turn itself around and that things will get better.

Thanks for reading, and more adventures are coming soon! 🙂

— Rebecca