DESTINATIONS THE US |WASHINGTON DC
Where TO EAT
L’ARDENTE A classy Italian restaurant at the heart of the capital that is loved by the Obamas. Order their favourite – the
40-layer lasagne (pictured).
lardente.com
LEFT AND TOP: US Capitol Building ABOVE: National Museum of African American History and Culture
its central Rotunda, where I can’t help but gaze up at the towering sandstone walls and their intricate carvings and above to a cast iron dome and The Apotheosis of Washington fresco. This depicts George Washington rising to the heavens, and covers more than 430 square metres – which our guide tells us is about the same size as a basketball court.
SECRET MISSIONS The city’s International Spy Museum hails George Washington in another way – as America’s first spymaster who used the power of espionage to triumph in the American Revolution. As well as tracing the lives of real spies and showcasing artefacts such as the ice axe that was used to kill Leon Trotsky, this fun museum allows you to take on a mission yourself through a series of interactive electronic tests. I pass – just – and am told that my strengths are a strong memory and technical know-how. For clients with an interest in espionage, the company Spyher runs tours around the city led by former CIA officers and intelligence. On my last day, I am taken on an Embassy Row Tour with guide and founder Rosanna Minchew, who tells real-life tales of suspicious deaths in hotels and mansions and teaches the group how to do a ‘dead drop’ (leaving information in a secret location), which is one way that intelligence officers avoid being caught by spy hunters. Rosanna also talks about the typical perception of spies and why they aren’t true. “We are the good guys but no one in Hollywood makes spies
32 19 SEPTEMBER 2024
33The city’s International Spy Museum hails George Washington in another way – as America’s first spymaster
like this. We can’t be bad people, or we wouldn’t be successful in establishing positive relationships with our human intelligence sources.” I leave Washington with a better perspective on the world of spies and also of the city as a whole. It’s not only a place to get up close to world-famous buildings and monuments but one with a varied dining scene – I ate everywhere from a Cuban cafe to the tavern where JFK proposed to Jackie – plus a surprising range of attractions and cool cocktail bars where locals mingle after work. And you never know who you might sit next to – or spot on the way to the toilet.
BOOK IT
American Holidays offers a four-night stay in the Kimpton Monaco from £1,395, based on two adults travelling. Price includes flights from Heathrow departing on November 27, one checked bag per person, three-day Explore Big Bus DC Hop On Hop Off bus pass and an hour’s bike rental.
americanholidays.com
MARTIN’S TAVERN Ask to reserve booth number three (aka the Proposal Booth) to sit where president-to-be John F Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953. Order Grandma Martin’s Meatloaf to try President
Nixon’s dish of choice.
martinstavern.com
TW
LE DIPLOMATE Kamala Harris and the Bidens have eaten in this upmarket French restaurant which looks like a Parisian bistro. Apparently, Joe likes the
Burger Américain.
lediplomatedc.com
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURES:
Washington.org/Marquis Perkins; Graham Studios Inc; Mike Fuentes Photography; Shutterstock/Jakub Zajic, Lucky-photographer
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