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Tags: Holiday Travel / Christmas / How To Get Tickets To / Christmas Travel / Washington DC Travel / → All Tags

How To Get Tickets To Witness The National Christmas Tree Lighting

A trip to the local discount store over the week confirmed things: Christmas has arrived. The Halloween candy was marked down to free, and scavengers had already stripped the shelves of the remaining discount pet costumes. We’re kind of ready for the holiday season, as we’ve accepted that it now officially begins on November 1. Now that we understand things, we're eager to get tickets for the National Christmas Tree Lighting.

This week is your only opportunity to enter for a chance to witness the lighting of the huge tree in Washington, DC. If you miss out this week, you’re going to need some good luck or have your Congressperson on speed dial. The ticket lottery opens up this Wednesday at midnight and runs through 11:59 pm on Friday evening. Almost 10,000 free tickets will be distributed, but remember to some bring good shoes, as 7,000 of the tickets will be standing room only.

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Tags: Holiday Travel / Barack Obama / Presidential Travel / Political Travel / → All Tags

How To Get Tickets For The White House Holiday Tour

Washington D.C.-bound travelers hoping to celebrate Christmas with the Obamas may already be out of luck. With its twinkling lights and a new family occupying the world's most famous address this year, snagging holiday tour tickets to the White House is a feat that rivals landing floor seats to a Springsteen concert.

As the Richmond Times Dispatch reports, tour requests are accepted up to six months in advance, but whether you're the lucky winner of tickets isn't disclosed until three weeks before the scheduled date, or thereabouts.

The formal request process and the lottery-like submission for tickets are a result of post-September 11th security measures. Before then, tourists could show up the morning of and fall in line to get same-day admission. Now, ticket requests must be made "through the office of a member of the House of Representatives or Senate."

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Tags: Literary Travel / Dan Brown / Washington DC Travel / → All Tags

Top Three DC Tourist Sites Ruined By Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol'

First he came for Rome, and no one was particularly worried. Then he came for Paris, and only the French were upset. But now Dan Brown's latest book The Lost Symbol has set its sights on Washington D.C., and the normally tourist-clogged city will soon have to contend with book-toting thriller nerds who missed the fact that Nicolas Cage already found the secret Freemason treasures, and they're in New York.

Haven't bothered to read The Lost Symbol yet, you lazy so-and-so? David Plotz of Slate called it "awesomely wrong about what makes [Washington D.C.] compelling."

Here's our guide of sites in the book to avoid on your next trip to the Beltway:

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Tags: Restaurant Week / Food Travel / Washington DC Travel / Events / → All Tags

Dine at Oprah's Chef's Place During DC's Restaurant Week

Ny now you probably know well our love of the various Restaurant Weeks around the country, whose reduced but 3-course menus allow everyone from penny-pinching tourists to jaded locals to sample something new. This year saw both a super extended New York Restaurant Week and the beginning of restaurant weeks in Miami ("Miami Spice") and Los Angeles'dineLA). Now it's the capital's turn.

Starting today in the dining rooms of Washington DC's best foodie spots is Restaurant Week, serving up several-course lunches for $20.09 and dinners for $35.09. The deal is short; it only runs from August 24-30, so we recommend getting on the phone with that little expensive place you've always wanted to try.

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Tags: Drinking Travel / Keg Tossing / Sports / Events / → All Tags

DC Ready to Toss Some Kegs This Weekend

Washington, DC may have a rep as the nation’s most cerebral town, but that doesn’t mean they can’t drop the whole brainy thing once in a while. Said brains take a back seat in DC this weekend, as the Battle of the Biceps commences.

Keg-tossing, arm wrestling, and fastest pitch competitions are all on the agenda, along with a few less arduous tasks, like flip cup, corn hole beanbag games, and frozen margarita drinking. The event takes place a The Bullpen, a new outdoor beer garden and festival grounds across the street from the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium.

The games get going Saturday afternoon at 12:30. Afterwards, stick around for a far less threatening performance on the Bullpen’s sound stage from local indie poppers Olivia & the Mates, or just head across the street to watch the Nats take on the San Diego Padres.

Related Stories:
· Battle of the Biceps [Washington Post]
· The Bullpen [NY]
· The Kayaking Craze Means Prime Seats For Washington's Monuments [Jaunted]

[Photo: cizauskas]

Tags: Kayaking / Boats / Active Travel / Monuments / Washington DC / → All Tags

The Kayaking Craze Means Prime Seats For Washington's Monuments

New York’s Hudson River isn’t the only scenic-but-questionably-sanitary urban waterway getting in on the kayak craze. Boating down DC’s Potomac River yields an inexpensive and crowd-free way to see the Washington tourist sites.

The Thompson Boat Center in Rock Creek Park offers kayak rentals, from $8 an hour/$24 a day for single boats and $10 an hour/$30 a day for doubles. The Boat Center is right in the middle of the city, and with just a few paddles in either direction you’ll sail past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Kennedy Center, as well as the picturesque Georgetown waterfront. For a more adventurous day, pack a picnic lunch and stop off for a hike at Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial, the relatively un-traveled, car-free park set on the DC-Virginia border.

The boat center opens at 8 am and in our experience, it’s best to get there before noon—kayaks can’t be reserved and are often rented out by early afternoon.

Oh, and as in the Hudson, try to keep your hands out of that water.

Related Stories:
· The Thompson Boat Center [Official Site]
· Kayaking Trend Going Strong Into 2009 a> [Jaunted]
· NPR Confirms Kayaks Are the Hotness for 2008 [Jaunted]

[Photo: Marciela]

Tags: Independence Days / Beer / Beer Travel / Restaurants / → All Tags

Washington DC Is Ready To Party For Belgian Independence Day

Bastille Day may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we’re ready to stop celebrating other countries’ independence. Fortunately, the next independence day on the agenda is for a country that loves beer and food just as much as the French (and Americans): Belgium. Tuesday, July 21 is the anniversary of the date when Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld took the oath as the first king of the Belgians in 1831. And yes, we’re using that as an excuse to party.

For reasons that remain unclear, DC seems to be the stateside locale most excited to get down for this holiday. First, acclaimed high-end resto Brasserie Beck is going buffet-style, celebrating with chef Robert Wiedmaier’s favorite selection of Belgian food and brew—both in unlimited quantities!

Meanwhile, chef Bart Vandaele of Capitol Hill’s Belga Café is hosting a beer dinner of his own Tuesday night at the Belgian Ambassador’s Residence. But that’s just the culmination of Belga’s week-long independence blow-out, which starts tonight with a “Blonds Have More Fun” party celebrating Belgium’s blond brews, kicks up with a street-side waffle cart Saturday afternoon, and ends with a DJ party and fireworks display at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Viva Belgium!

Related Stories:
· Brasserie Beck [Official Site]
· Belga Cafe [Official Site]
· Where to Celebrate Bastille Day in New York [Jaunted]

[Photo: Kalense Kid]

Tags: Drinking Travel / Rooftop Bars / Bars / W Hotel / Washington DC / → All Tags

DC’s Best View is Back, Complete With "Juicing Station"

While most Washingtonians have been pretty happy with the buzz the Obama administration has brought their town over the last six months, they’ve also been quietly mourning the loss of the city’s most awe-inspiring drinking spot: the rooftop bar at the top of the legendary Hotel Washington.

Across the street from the White House, the hotel’s terrace was indisputably the best spot to wow out-of-towners with a stiff martini and a view stretching miles around. So we’re happy to report the bar is now officially back—and officially a lot cooler in its new incarnation.

The hotel reopened this week as DC’s first W Hotel, and the rooftop space has been reconceived as POV, a sleek cocktail lounge helmed by Sasha Petraske of NYC’s Milk & Honey, which means you won’t see many guests going for that stiff martini anymore. Instead, there’s a fruit-and-vegetable juicing station inside the bar, so you can spike your cocktail with some freshly-made strawberry lemonade. The views, thankfully, are exactly the same.

Related Stories:
· POV [Official Site]
· While Kobe Hits the Beach, LeBron Does DC [Jaunted]
· The 'Congress of Cool' Will Convene at W Washington DC Tomorrow [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Starwood Hotels]

Tags: Dan Brown / Literary Travel / Freemasons / History Travel / US Capitol / → All Tags

Dan Brown's 'Lost Symbol' Cover Reveals The U.S. Capitol

It's been five years since Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown put out his last book and the world has been anxiously anticipating a follow-up featuring the symbologist Robert Langdon. But (not surprisingly for a man who writes about secrets), he hasn't made it easy for us.

Indeed, the details of new book have been kept as fiercely guarded as anti-matter or the scandals of the Vatican. There has been no hint as to what the new story is about or where it will take place. Pretty much all we can legitimately assume is that Robert Langdon is back and he will probably find some PYT to uncover some age-old mysteries with. What mysteries those will be, we aren't sure of but with the release of the cover for his new novel, The Lost Symbol, due out in September, we think it may have something to do with the freemasons.

The U.S. cover version shows a lit-up U.S. Capitol building and a giant red wax seal which has symbols embedded in it. The U.K. version has a larger picture of the capitol building and instead of a wax seal, a key that looks, to our untrained eye, to be a masonic key.

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Tags: Celeb Travel / Basketball / LeBron James / Kobe Bryant / NBA / Sports Travel / SilverDocs / Barack Obama / → All Tags

While Kobe Hits the Beach, LeBron Does DC

NBA Finals Kobe Bryant may be chilling out in Cabo this week, but basketball's erstwhile king is taking a meeting with the president.

LeBron James, last seen exiting the Eastern Conference Finals in quite a hurry, was in DC last night to take in a screening of More Than a Game at the opening night of the SilverDocs Documentary Film Festival. Kristopher Belman’s movie follows five promising young ballers from Akron, Ohio, one of whom just happens to grow up and become the greatest player of his generation (Kobe might argue that title is still pending).

And while LeBron still doesn't have that championship trophy, that didn't stop him from swinging by the White House to chat with Barack Obama for a few.

Of course basketball fans immediately wondered whether the future free agent had a good enough time in the nation's capital to consider a move there next year—can we expect a swing through New York on the way back, LeBron?

Related Stories:
· Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James meets with President Barack Obama, attends premiere of documentary "More Than A Game" [Cleveland Plain Dealer]
· Kobe Will Brave Swine Flu for Cabo Vacation [Jaunted]
· The Obamas Take Paris: A Guide To Their Family Weekend Getaway [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bettor's Edge]

Tags: Recessionomics / Film Festivals / Screen on the Green / Washington DC / → All Tags

National Mall Film Festival Gets a Bailout

When we said DC's favorite film festival deserved a federal bailout, we were half-joking, but it looks like someone heard us, because the Trust for the National Mall has responded to Washingtonians' angry cries all over the interwebs and banded together with sponsors HBO and Comcast to save Screen on the Green.

Visitors to the National Mall won't be out of luck when the museums close this summer after all. The classic film festival will be back, with movies shown on the 40' by 20' outdoor screen every Monday at sunset, from July 20 through August 20.

Screen on the Green kicks off next month with a showing of Steven Spielberg's 1977 sci-fi classic, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

Related Stories:
· Screen on the Green shows will go on [Washington Biz Journal]
· The Recession Puts a Kibosh on DC's Outdoor Film Festival [Jaunted]
· Film festival travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: voteprime]

Tags: Tragedy / Museums / Holocaust Memorial / Museum / DC Travel / → All Tags

Security Guard Wounded in Shooting at The Holocaust Museum

UPDATE: More tragic news. The museum has released a statement saying that the security offier, Stephen Tyrone Johns, has died after being shot today. The museum will be closed tomorrow in his honor.

Despite heavy security and metal detectors present at The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, an 89-year-old man walked into the museum this afternoon and fired off shots, wounding at least one security guard before he was shot down by a second security officer. According to the NY Times:

Preliminary reports indicated that the gunman was carrying either a rifle or shotgun and possibly a pistol, and that he fired five or six shots before being wounded.

The man has tentatively been identified as James W. von Brunn, who has been known to have conspiracy theories (and a website detailing them) about minority groups. However, the Washington police chief has not confirmed his identity. He's since been taken to the hospital. The shooting victim is a security guard, who's identity was also not released and who reportedly in grave condition.

The Holocaust museum sees an annual amount of 1.7 million visitors a year. At the time of the shooting, "a couple of thousand" visitors were inside, according to museum's chief of staff. The museum and roads surrounding it remain closed during the investigation.

Related Stories:
· Two Shot at Holocaust Museum in D.C., Police Say [NY Times]
· Shots Fired at The Holocaust Museum [CNN]
· The Holocaust Memorial Museum [Official Site]

[Photo: NY Times]