Travel
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
DC on a budget
So I have a question. My husband and I are travelling to DC April 7-10 and were wondering if we could get some suggestions. I haven't been there since I was 13 and he was only there recently for a conference. We're both big museum people and luckily the ones we want to see are all free. But since we're both students we don't have a ton of money with eating out/souvenirs (if any) and such. Also, it's been a while since either of us have lived somewhere with metros so, what are you best money saving tips for them? We'll be staying at a hotel in Rosslyn which luckily provides breakfast so that's taken care of. Where are good but inexpensive places to eat? What are some off beat places to go see? Any and all help would be appreciated. Our budget for the 4 days is about $450...
Re: DC on a budget
First - I'm assuming it was planned this way - but you do know that's the height of Cherry Blossom Festival right? You could not pay me enough to go downtown at that time. Think Times Square on NYE.
Ok, not that bad and if you don't mind crowds, the festivals, parades, etc. are great. Unfortunately spring came so early here that I'm not sure there'll still be a ton of blossoms (although that may actually be a good thing for thinner crowds). Just plan on the metro (which is really, really easy) and everything else to be rather crowded and it taking a bit longer to get from place to place.
As for food, several of the museums actually have a pretty decent cafe. There are also several nice fast food restaurants all over dc (Cosi-type) so cheap eats shouldn't really be a problem. If you're looking for specific, great cheap food options, the Washingtonian publishes a "Cheap Eats" list every year. Not sure if it's online but worth googling.
Also, look at groupons and livingsocial deals for DC. And I like CulturalTourism's website for info on free, off the beaten path stuff happening in DC.
As far as meals go, food trucks are quite popular in DC. You can usually get lunch at one of them for under $10. This site will tell you where the different trucks are located each day: http://foodtruckfiesta.com/. You could also try the food court in the Reagan building for cheap, quick lunches: http://www.itcdc.com/explore.php?p=13 . There are also lots of little sandwich shops and hot food bars (although those can get pricey) scattered around.
There are quite a few casual restaurants in Arlington, so you should be able to find relatively inexpensive dinners. For example, there's Rabbit Grill, Northside Social, or Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon; Fireworks Pizza in Courthouse; Guajillo in Rosslyn; Vapiano's in Ballston... Ray's Hell Burger in Rosslyn is probably a bit pricey as far as burgers go, but not bad overall compared to sit-down dinner prices. There is also a Whole Foods in Clarendon; while not exactly cheap, getting some of their prepared food to-go is cheaper than a dinner out (there's a Trader Joe's, too, if you want snacks). Peruvian chicken is very popular here; you can get a quarter chicken plus two sides for something like $6. I'm a vegetarian, but my husband is a big fan of Super Pollo in Ballston (I don't think they have a website, but they recently moved to 550 N Quincy St). All of these places are metro-accessible. I am sure there are others I am forgetting, but hopefully someone else will chime in.
As pp said, sign up for Living Social or Groupon emails and they will frequently have deals on things to do around DC, as well as restaurant deals.
Baby248 - ETA 1/10/13
Ditto the food truck recommendation for lunch. Just be careful as some of the trucks are not as "cheap" as you would assume, but most you can get a meal for $12 or less.
Also, DC and Arlington have really good happy hour specials at a ton of bars and restaurants. Cava Mezze (locations in Eastern Market and Arlington) has really good happy hour for food and booze, but especially food. You do have to sit at the bar though to get the deal.