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Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Washington DC Hotel Video, Tourism, Travel and Restaurant Photos

I went down to Washington DC several times in the last few weeks and when traveling, it is my opinion that the less of a hassle it is to travel, the better the trip. For example, getting to an airport 2 or 3 hours prior to the plane taking off is a waste of time and if I have another option to travel other than airplane, I'll take it. Which is why, when I travel to Washington DC, I always opt to take Amtrak. I bring my laptop with me, my drink of choice and a few DVD's and in no time, the train is pulling in to Union Station in Washington. Just a note though: If you would like total quiet and don't want to be disturbed, Amtrak has a feature called a "quiet" car. This means that when you are in this car, library rules apply, that is, no loud talking, absolutely no cell phone conversations and no loud music.

One side thought though: When I travel, I pack underwear, socks, toothbrush, deodorant, toothbrush/toothpaste and maybe 2 pairs of jeans and a shirt or 2 which fits snugly in my knapsack, which also holds my laptop. This should hold me for 2 - 3 days. I have noticed people traveling down to Washington DC for like 2 days and they are lugging steamer trunks. Please be a knowledgeable traveler and don't draw attention to yourself as a tourist--pack your bags and luggage wisely and efficiently.

If you know you are going to travel to Washington DC or anywhere on the Northeast Corridor line (from Boston - New York - Philadephia - Washington DC), Amtrak features weekend specials where your trip may cost as low ast $49.00 one way and if you book your trip far enough in advance, you may realize further discounts. Amtrak also has a frequent traveler program called GuestRewards, which allows you to add points for future travel discounts.

Here is some video and a photo of Amtrak's premier train, the Acela:

Amtrak Acela Video




Amtrak Acela Train Photo



















So I leave Union Station and head on down to my hotel in Washington DC. I have a choice of two that I use, the first is the Embassy Suites on 22nd and M Street and the other is the Embassy Suites DC Convention Center Hotel.

Here are photos of the Washington DC hotel on 22nd Street.

Washington DC Hotel Bedroom Photo














Living Room Picture at Washington Embassy Suites Hotel













When I was in Washington and stayed at the DC hotel on 22nd Street, the first round of the NFL playoffs was going on, so I had to do a pre-pre-pre Super Bowl party and here are some of the furnishings:













The next morning, I headed out to the United States Supreme Court and took some video outside of the high court but I also took some video inside the court. So here you have the:

United States Supreme Court Video





At the Washington DC hotel on M Street, they had a large pool with some exotic fish, so I stopped by and took some video of the pool to show the design of this Washington DC hotel and to also show how family and tourist friendly this Washington hotel is. I did kind of get the heebie jeebies because the fish saw me there and they all swam over to me as if I was going to toss them some food. Here is the video:














It was now time to go out into the city of Washington DC and find a good restaurant. I'm not so much of a steak dude but I have ordered Italian, French and so-called Cajun food and either the food tasted like it was microwaved or it was too bland and over priced. So when I travel, I'm usually going to take the safe bet and do some kind of steak but lately I'm slowing down on the large cuts, such as over 20 ounces. So I found a good Washington DC restaurant on 7th Street called the Chop House. They had something called tenderloin tips, which was basically sliced steak with a nice saunce on it and they also had braised or roasted mushrooms, mashed potatoes and a salad. The food was decent and not expensive. Here are a few of the photos:


Salad and Cocktail at Washington DC Steak House Restaurant






Washington DC Steak Restaurant Photo of Tenderloin Tips and Mushrooms








The other Washington DC hotel that I stayed at was on 10th Street and near the Washington DC Convention Center. This Washington hotel is located closer to downtown Washington DC and closer to features such as the Smithsonian Institute, White House and Capitol Hill. The DC Convention Center hotel is near major restaurants and Washington DC's so-called Chinatown as well as the Verizon Center.

Here is the Washington DC Hotel Video which I created.











and when we travel, we decided to travel light, so here are some of the spirits we brought with us:





So there you have it. Traveling to Washington DC or any other city on the Northeast Corridor is easy to access and if you use some of the discounts or book your hotel and travel early, you will receive substantial travel discounts, whether it is a weekend getaway or if you are simply doing the travel and tourism thing.

New York City Super Bowl Party in New York City Hotel

The New York City Super Bowl party at the New York City Embassy Suites hotel was cool in that, there were no interruptions, there was good food and drink and it was not a crowded event. This New York City hotel is located in the heart of lower Manhattan and steps from the World Trade Center and Battery Park City. There rooms are extremely large and have a living room area, with a large flat panel television, sink, sofabed and a table with 3 chairs. The bedroom featured a king size bed, a table for work and a large flat panel television.

Living Room Area of New York City Hotel



With the hotel stay and for each night that you stay at this New York City hotel, there is a complimentary made to order breakfast every morning and a managers cocktail party, with complimentary drinks every evening. It is secure and it offers a very reasonable rate for the night considering that it is in New York City.

Here is the Bedroom of this New York City Hotel



We started taking a few pictures before the game started but when the game started we put the camera away. This is the first of the six packs that came into our hotel room at this NYC hotel but we did work a few beers.

Beers Chilling in Sink at NYC Hotel



The whole point is that we watched the game, no one was too drunk and we did the hotel room in case anyone who drove their car, needed to dry out or sleep it off before getting behind the wheel of their car. Embassy Suites is a very good New York City hotel and is a great place to stay when traveling to New York City or when doing the tourist thing.