Washington DC, the Heart of the Empire

Washington DC is Rome. When I make this statement, I envision what it must have been like to live in the heart of the great empire that ruled over so much of the world. Not that I condone empires or people ruling over the world. When I say DC is like Rome was to its namesake’s empire, I refer to the sheer power and importance of the city, which houses the government of the most powerful country on Earth. Arguably, the most influential decisions in the world are made in this city. Towards the end of my eight years living in our great nation’s capital, the power, prestige and importance of the city started to ring true and resonate within me. I could feel the majesty and might walking down Constitution or 17th Street. I was starstruck seeing the likes of John McCain, Donald Rumsfeld and President Obama. I thrived off hearing Russian coming from my neighbors at the Embassy, French chatter on the streets, and Portuguese in restaurants.

Free group yoga session at Dupont Circle

Fast forward a couple of years, and I now live in Nashville, TN, another amazingly wonderful city for completely different reasons. I miss the omnipotence and international nature of DC. I miss the neighborhood-city vibe and the seemingly unending options of gourmet restaurants and fun bars. I miss going to the best museums in the world (which are mostly completely free) and strolling around the stately memorials. I miss driving and walking by the always impressive capital building (no matter how many hundreds of times you pass it, it never ever fails to impress). I miss walking, in general, EVERYWHERE! and taking the metro. I miss never needing to drive. I miss the ease of getting anywhere you want to go in no time at all. And most of all- I miss my friends. The greatest thing about DC is that no one is actually from DC. Almost everyone living there is a transplant from all over our country and the world.

With friends from Georgia & Mississippi- out on the town

I’ve had a few requests in the past couple of weeks for DC posts, so I’ve decided to dig up some of my favorite places, people and moments in time and create a DC post series. Stay tuned for exciting articles on restaurants both fit for foodies and budget-friendly, fun festivals – like the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival (one of my favorite times in the city), and museum and activity recommendations. The great thing about DC is that you will never run out of things to do here– EVER.