A Bookish Walk on the National Mall

Last Tuesday instead of taking the metro to work I took it to the Smithsonian station and had myself a field trip.

Late February can be touchy weather wise in Washington, DC, but it turned out to be a perfect day for strolling through museums. There were no lines to get in, and the exhibits weren’t crowded at all.

My initial thought was to see the Nature of the Book exhibit at the Natural History Museum. I had high hopes, but this was really just two cases of books and other artifacts. Pretty, but it took me ten minutes to see.

After looking at the rest of the Natural History Museum I went next door to the National Gallery of Art. I almost had it to myself and spent hours there. I enjoyed all the exhibits, and made sure to snap a pic of Young Girl Reading by Jean Honore Fragonard (pictured above.) The National Gallery has about three or four cafes and I was grateful to sit for a while at one of them. I ordered avocado toast and read my book. My reading choice for a day in DC? It was Rivals by Katherine McGee.

By about 2 pm I was ready to head home, but decided to duck in The American History Museum. They know what they’re doing, and put a huge gift shop right by the entrance. I didn’t buy anything, but I did add Never Panic Early by Fred Haise to my TBR.

Upstairs I hit the highlights. A new addition to the culture section was a costume from The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.

After that it was time to head home and meet the school bus. It was only a day, but I felt like I had been away for a week. I’m adding it to my to-do list to do this kind of thing more often!

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