(If I'm lying to you on any of these, please send nastygram to [email protected].)
364 Days a year, 6 PM: The Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage has a free performance. Check their website for a listing.
Art Walks:
Peruse small galleries that provide liberal amounts of wine and cheese --all good.
First Friday: Dupont Circle (6-8 pm), Leesburg.
Second Saturday: Capitol Hill, by Eastern Market.
Third Thursday: Alexandria
Smithsonian Institution: Hours are not so amenable to working people. For the kid-friendly museums such as Air and Space (Apollo rockets, a real moon rock you can touch, and of course astronaut ice cream in the gift shop) and Natural History (fossils, Hope Diamond) I suggest you visit during the week.
National Gallery has an ice rink in the sculpture garden that is open from November to March.
Also, the National Gallery West Building has free chamber music concerts.
Natural History has Jazz Night on Thursdays. Not free, but inexpensive.
Summer: If you can brave the evening heat, as the sun shimmers down over Rosslyn, there are free performances on the Capitol steps. The US Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Bands give back to the taxpayer. Bring a picnic lunch, or get a Hebrew National hot dog from one of the many vendors trawling Constitution.
Political/Media
Capitol: If politics and rhetoric interest you, visit your Congressman for a free gallery pass. You can watch proceedings on the floor of the Senate or the House.
Supreme Court:
Hearings are open to the public. If the court is not in session, you can tour the exhibits in the basement and listen to a presentation in the courtroom. Be sure to find out what is the highest court in the land --above even the Supreme Court itself!
Crossfire. George Washington University and CNN have partnered to broadcast Crossfire live each night from GWU's School of Media and Public Affairs. For free ticket information, call 202-994-8CNN, or send an E-mail to [email protected]
Culinary
Wine Tastings:
Tivoli Deli at Rosslyn Metro Mall. Intimate setting, good wine, yet very unassuming. Paul won't let you spend more than $20 a bottle. Most selections are less than $12. Fridays from 4-7.
Harris Teeter's in Pentagon City. Weekday evenings you can sample the store's selection in the wine aisle. The courteous staff will help you choose the perfect white bordeaux for poached rainbow trout, or a cheap H&G Merlot for spaghetti.
Cheap eats: The Washingtonian Magazine has compiled a 100 Best Bargain Restaurants List. While I won't try to improve upon this fine journal, I will draw attention to one of my favorites...
CHINATOWN EXPRESS. Watch noodles be made by hand and enjoy them for pennies!
Highlights:
Take the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument.
Jefferson Memorial: perhaps our finest president, he looks out across the tidal basin and in April onto the blossoming cherry trees given to us by Japan.
Derided as the "Old Tooth" for its single tower, this gothic structure built in 1909 not only held all of postal bureaucracy at that time, but was allowed to fall into disrepair and almost razed during the mid 20th century. A group of citizens rallied and saved it from oblivion. It now houses some offices, cheap ethnic food (Indian, Chinese), occasional free concerts and of course the eleveator ride up the Tooth itself, arguably the best view in town. DC's Parisian boulevards and blocks of impressive masonry.