Surprise, I wanted to try to do them all. However, I knew that Greg wouldn't make that plan. So we found a common one we both wanted to see: Japan, for their famous tea house. We then structured a plan around that. This plan would keep us central and would likely mean more crowding, but we thought it gave us the chance to cover the most ground. Turns out, we were right on all accounts. This plan put us past fully half of the embassies. Considering that the "day" was six hours long, and we missed the first half hour, there's really no possible way we could have done them all and actually learned/enjoyed anything.
So join me on a quick around-the-world tour, and share the fun and excitement that is Washington. The embassies help make the city the cultural mecca that it is, and it was thrilling for so many of them to open their doors to everyone and say welcome. I only wish I could have done them all!!
Our first stop, Senegal. Did you know that horse racing is HUGE there? They had a live satellite feed of a race, which, by appearances, was much longer than any horse race we have here. (No, I doubt very much that they showed it because it was Derby day.) Must be more of an Arabian-style race.
Many embassies occupy amazing and beautiful buildings in Washington. Remember, when you enter an embassy, you technically are entering that country, as the property is deemed part of that country's holdings.
Many embassies also have BEAUTIFUL art from their countries on display.
Next was Sri Lanka, where I was promptly whisked away to a room full of beautiful women who insisted on wrapping me in a traditional sari. They opted for the Indian-style wrap, as opposed to the Kandyan-style wrap. Either way, it was great fun and I felt so beautiful!
A street over brought us to Benin. A small country, but by all I could see, beautiful and very welcoming. It's astounding how lovely some of the buildings are, and how many have gorgeous courtyards and yards hidden behind their imposing facades. Benin had a lovely garden in the back, well shaded, and very inviting.
They showcased many beautiful art pieces in one of the main rooms, for visitors to explore.
Next door, Serbia. Outside, they had a photo exhibition along the fence about an archaeological expedition and Roman ruins in the country. Like many embassies, they offered a slideshow displaying some of the gorgeous tourist attractions of their country, and food samples. (We'd had a big breakfast -- farmer's market started today too!! -- so actually didn't eat during our tour.)
This was almost like a game spread out on the lawn.
Ever the student of history and geography, Greg studied these panels while I explored.
We then wandered through the Kalorama section of town as we crossed over to another section. Honestly, I'm newly amazed each time at the size and opulence of some of those houses! Truly stunning.
I've actually not been in the mosque -- I'm not certain that I'm allowed in, to be honest -- but it's a beautiful building. We really like the DC birds -- crow and pigeon -- sitting on the horns of the moon.
Moving along to Embassy Row, we headed straight for our main destination, Japan. The Japanese Embassy here has an Ippakutei, a traditional teahouse, which is regarded as the greatest of its kind outside of Japan. Sadly, it was not to be.
Fine, I understand needing to limit access. But then why advertise this as what you are featuring for the day? And why not make a mention of "limited tickets available" or something. We got there at 11:20, to find out that all tickets had been issued at 11. :(
So I said fine, and we took off for Zambia. This is where the lines began, although I think this was the longest line that we actually waited in. They had a huge line for the food, and since we were so full, we were able to wander the rooms and the look at all the craft instead.
Next were Korea and Kyrgyzstan.
This is the painting outside the Korean Embassy. It's quite pretty. The line, however, wasn't so pretty, so we opted to come back. We didn't make it though.
Kyrgyzstan, however, was apparently closed, a late cancellation.
So we proceeded on to Croatia.
This is out an upstairs window, down to the statue on the front grounds. Across the street you can see the lines for Korea.
The Croatian Embassy had several stunning stained glass windows.
Somehow, I have no good pictures from the Haitian Embassy. They were wonderfully open and hospitable, serving food and drink. They had sales in the lobby to benefit the relief efforts, and I gladly contributed to ISPAN, one of the organizations working to preserve the buildings and cultural history of the country. They also had huge banners of some of the main buildings and landmarks, with before and after images.
Continuing down the street, we also put a temporary pass on the Bahamas, whose line rivaled Korea's. (We didn't make it back to this one either.) But we then cut a side street to visit the Dominican Republic. I felt I needed to go here, as I had friends en route to the DR for a small vacation even as we made our stateside visit.
Fun art, good-smelling food, and beautiful images which sadly we didn't get to view completely as the computer warred with the disk.
Next up, Indonesia. This was a long line too, but I refused to miss it, as the house is so famous. The Indonesian Embassy occupies the former McLean mansion. The building was built by Thomas Walsh, and eventually was owned by the McLeans, as in Eleanor Walsh McLean, of the Hope Diamond. And the building is STUNNING.
And yet, it's now very much Indonesian too. This is an Angklung, a musical instrument. They had a number of instruments available for people to see, and clearly were doing demonstrations at different times too. They also had a number of dolls in cases demonstrating traditional dress of the many and varied ethnic communities that call Indonesia home.
And what's an embassy without the markings and symbols of the state?
Next, we hopped continents to Colombia. This was easy -- we just had to follow the music!
This band was great and had a number of couples salsa-ing in the courtyard. Wish that I were one of them! I don't really know how and Greg doesn't want to know how, so we're a bad pair unless we just stand and watch.
Some of the buildings, as I've said, are grand old mansions. Colombia's certainly is, and you can see the opulence and the style maintained in their diplomatic and reception rooms. They actually opened quite a bit of the first floor, had fresh flowers EVERYWHERE, food, coffee, and a raffle.
So we needed to head back to Africa next. First up, Botswana. Botswana was also very high on our lists, as the episode of Top Gear, where their challenge is to drive across Botswana, is one of our all-time favorite TV episodes of anything, ever.
This embassy felt like someone's home! The main front room was full of couches, laughter, and people just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. It was fabulous.
Namibia was just up the street. I actually missed many phone calls as we were wandering, between traffic noises and bands. So I was trying to return calls as we kept embassy-hopping, and I managed to reach my brother while we stood outside Namibia.
Namibia is rather small, and is really trying to capture an adventure travel market. It looks stunning!
If you kept up the street and followed the music, your senses would lead you to Rwanda. This was another incredibly hospitable and welcoming embassy.
I supported a local women's artisan cooperative by buying some earrings and small baskets, and then was welcomed to take this photo. Surprise, it turned out well!
We now knew that we didn't have time to hit the other big cluster up past our house, or to catch shuttles to any of the outlying embassies, so we tried to grab the last two in this section of town. First, Kazakhstan, where my friend Kelly lived for 18 months. Kelly, wait 'til you see the propaganda we brought back for you!
No, I honestly don't know the story behind this statue. He's holding a falcon and standing on a griffin or some such magical creature, but that's all I can say.
There was one room devoted to traditional arts, complete with swords, dress, fabrics, and a saddle.
And the Kazakhs, too, occupy a spectacular building.
We hoped also to make Australia, but not only were we about out of time, but they closed early. I'd been there before, so it wasn't all bad.
So there we were: 34 embassies on offer, but with one apparent late withdrawal; 19 embassies attempted; 14 successfully visited. Not bad for an afternoon!
We headed home where I grabbed a quick shower and got ready for my friend Kristin's dinner party. Greg had made dinner reservations for us, so I was only going to be able to stay for happy hour, but how great! And we had a lovely dinner at a place we haven't been in many many years: Taberna del Alabardero, which I've actually visited in Spain. Our evening ended with another thoroughly-DC event: an hour-long delay in trying to get home while we waited for the Presidential motorcade, after leaving the White House Correspondents' Dinner, to pass, and traffic to return to some sense of motion. So yes, I sort-of saw President Obama last night too.
And next week, the EU embassies. I may not be traveling much officially this year, but I'll find ways to travel regardless. Stay tuned!!
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