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7 may 2001
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yep, i'm reviewing the entire city
Okay, so you guys know that I've been travelling of late. From New York City, I met up with a friend decided to spend a few days in Washington, D.C. My friend hadn't been since she was a little kid, and I'm always up for a good Smithsonian stroll and good Ethiopian food on 18th Street. About one day into our trip, I realized that I had either twelve different reviews on my hand, or one rather large (but well-deserved one): Washington D.C. is the tourist-friendliest city on the East Coast. No, I'm not kidding. And no, you won't convince me otherwise. You have got to see this for yourself. From the moment we checked into our Winchester, VA, hotel, we immediately began to wonder what was going on here. I assumed that maybe people here actually get paid a good living wage to do the often-difficult job of interacting with the public. Our hotel staff couldn't have been friendlier or more professional. The housekeepers even set aside our smaller items in the room so that we could easily find them when we returned. The guy at Sheetz actually said "well, that's my job, to make sure the customer is happy" when I thanked him for my sub sandwich. Okay, everyone! Seriously, you all can stop now. Go back to normal. Really. And yet, the hospitality continued. On our first trip into the city, we arrived at the Vienna Metro station and weren't sure about the parking situation. (It was late Friday morning, and some special "reserved" spaces were the only ones available in the packed lot.) I ran in to ask the attendant, who had just been asked the same question by another family in front of me. With an enormous grin on his face, he answered me as patiently and nicely as he probably had the first person who asked him the same stupid question three hours ago. The reserved spaces were free for the taking, and we were good to go! Until, of course, we got into the station and had to use the restroom--badly. Not to worry! There were no public restrooms available, but that didn't stop the same attendant from UNLOCKING THE EMPLOYEE LOO for us, and anyone else who asked. Not only that, but he and his coworkers patiently helped absolutely every tourist in that lobby area to get a transit card. The one-day transit card program, incidentally, is definitely the deal of the day. For one five-dollar card, you can travel all day on any Metro train or bus. Considering that five dollars normally pays for one regular round trip, it can't be beat. Especially when you get lost on the blue train when you meant to take the orange one, and you end up at the Pentagon instead of Vienna. Erk. Okay, so we get to D.C. and head the Museum for Women in the Arts to see the Grandma Moses exhibit. The paintings were wonderful, but it's worth the trip up to 12th and New York just to see this building. Once owned by the Masons, a group of women art philanthropists purchased the building and refurbished it beautifully. We wouldn't have known this, however, if it weren't for the wonderful woman at the ticket desk who not only answered our questions about the building, but gave details, dates, and a handout to read later. In addition to her, we also ran across a man who had a most interesting job. While strolling upstairs, we saw a man hunkered in a chair with his face very close to the wall. Turns out that he was repairing--with white paint and a tiny brush--the screenprinted exhibit information that you see on the walls. He, too, was happy to explain what he did for a living. No doubt he has a stellar eye doctor. I guess we assume that people in museums and in tourist areas will be nice. That's their job, right? But then, when you hit food vendors, gas stations, and drugstores; you kind of get used to lackluster service. I've been asked everything from "whatchoo want" to "yer order? [insert gum smacking here]". When it comes time to pay, I have become accustomed to the blank, stupid stare that says, "well? Give me money now". If I'm lucky, the cashier's stray two-inch pierced fingernail won't charge me for 41 packs of Juicy Fruit. Not so in D.C., or the small city of Winchester. People were forthcoming, warm, and helpful every single day of our visit. We weren't charged for drink refills. We were given good directions. People said "please" and "thank you", and seemed happy to be doing their jobs. If they're not already advertising this hospitality that puts most every other major American city to shame--THEY SHOULD! Even if they didn't have all the cool Smithsonians, monuments, and random cool stuff, I'd return. It's a real vacation of being treated well, as if you're welcome there. It's clean. For whatever reason, people do their jobs, and they do them well. After thinking about it, I think I've figured it out. Aliens. Yep, D.C. has been taken over by polite aliens. Go visit them. Maybe you can figure it out.
Washington, D.C. |
