All The Walking, Sightseeing, And Barre3 {DC Day 2+3}

Tuesday was a full crazy day. No stopping, packed with good fun sightseeing, tons and tons of walking, and a blogger friend meet-up to top it off! I’ll keep this posts mostly photos, so you can revel in the beauty of DC. I loved looking through these pictures, they transported me back 🙂 The only negative to Tuesday was the weather. It we beautiful and sunny but so cold and windy and then it rained later in the day, but was pretty off and on. We made the best of it though! We started off by taking the Metro down to the Capitol, around to the Jefferson Memorial, and then made our way back down to the GW campus area…it was a very very long walk!

(Library of Congress)

(Finally got to see the Supreme Court! There was some decision going on so it was packed with demonstrators and cameras!)

(Could you imagine working in that beautiful building! I am so upset that we were not able to go in again, but we had brand new water bottles and food with us that we didn’t want to throw away just so we could check out the gift shop…next time though, for sure!)

(The scaffolding is finally down! This is one beautiful monument! I can’t wait till it opens again and I can climb to the top. It must have the most amazing views or the city!)

(I had been waiting all this time to finally see the Jefferson Memorial! I was so excited. I think it might be my favorite. I just love how beautiful it is.)

(I also really liked the FDR Memorial. It was so beautifully set up with all his quotes on different walls. However I want to go back when it is less crowded. There were obnoxious kids everywhere. It took about 15 minutes just to take this picture with no one sticking their body in the shot.)

(The MLK Memorial was cool to see. The newest monument in DC. So clean and powerful!)

Then we eventually made our way back to the hotel, so tired and exhausted. We chilled for awhile before I got ready to attend a Barre3 class with Ericka Anderson from The Sweet Life! (Check out her formal review of the class here!) I asked her if she wanted to meet-up while I was down there and was so glad to hear she could. She had been meaning to go to a Barre3 class in Georgetown to review the class and said she had a free pass to bring a guest as well. Of course I would never pass up the opportunity to try a new fitness class!

Apparently we were supposed to take the class with the founder Sadie Lincoln, I would have loved to meet her! We arrived and were given a quick tour of the studio. It was so cozy and rustic, totally calming! There were two studio rooms with glass walls, a cute lounge, locker rooms, and even a kid zone so mamas could still get in their workouts while having their kids safe and sound!

(Can I saw I was kind of totally star-struck to finally meet a blogger that I have been following for so long, haha! One blend down, many many more to go!)

You know, I was surprised with the class. Everyone says Barre can be really intense. It is a combination of yoga, Pilates, and ballet bare techniques. All little movements with high reps. We used the bar, a ball, and light hand weights. They always say to start with the lowest weight for you first class, but I chose the heaviest at 3lbs. No holding back! Maybe it is because I am used to this type of exercise and it is really the stuff I love and have been doing my whole life, but I found the class to be a bit to easy. Don’t get me wrong, when we did all the arm exercises with those little weights…I felt it big time! But I was still able to complete everything without taking an easier modification (which was given for every move! Totally great for beginners!) and I was so sore from all the walking and sightseeing I had done. The class was mixed level which is the norm and all classes at the studio are mixed, that is why there are modifications. However I still loved it and it was a great change up and new experience!

Our instructor was such a sweetheart! Her name was Katherine, or KQ is what she told us to call her. She was super steller and great at queing and leading us through the class. She came around to everyone making sure we “felt it” and helped all of us who were new. I got to speak to her after class for awhie and learned she is a GW graduate! I will deifnalty be staying connected with her through my years in DC! It feels good to know a few people now who already went through what I will be going through in a few months!

After the class my mom and I had made reservations for dinner  in Georgetown and were going to meet up with my grandparents. After a lovely dinner, we walked around the beautiful Georgetown for a bit. I finally spent my Lulu gift card on 2 Bang Buster Headbands. I am totally in love with them! I wish I had endless money to spend in the shops in Georgetown… At this point we were all exhausted and decided to head back to the hotel and call it a night. Tomorrow my mom and I were leaving around 1pm to go home, but my grandparents would be leaving on Thursday. I wish I could have stayed longer, there was still so much I wanted to do and see!

We only had a few hours on Wednesday morning to do some last minute sightseeing. We had wanted to venture up to Embassy Row in Adams Morgan, but it was just way to damn cold and windy and we would not be able to enjoy it. Instead we took the Metro down to the Ford Theater area and the FBI building which my mom had been dieing to see.

(The Ford Theater)

(FBI Building)

From there, we hopped on the Metro back to the hotel and got ready to leave. We got picked up by the rental car company so they could bring us to their office. And then we had to make a really long and slow drive back to my grandparents house, drop the rental car off, and then drive back to our house. So much driving, so much sitting, and a sad goodbye to DC…for now!

So tell me:

+ Have you ever been to Barre3? Does anyone know the difference between Pure Barre and Barre3?

+ What is your favorite monument in DC?

I can not wait to share all of our great eats with you tomorrow! There was so good stuff and I am so proud to say that I survived eating out! Woohoo!

***Don’t forget to enter my Momentum Jewelry giveaway! You have until Thursday, so hop on over and enter!***

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