"Holiday Road" - The Official Vacation Thread

[Count Walewski]

The last two weekends we had a blast going out to embassy open houses. They had EU embassy open houses on Saturday, May 11 and non-EU embassy open houses on Saturday, May 4. This year we went to the following:

• United Kingdom. This one was kind of lame. The line to get in was very long and they didn't have much in the way of events or giveaways going on. Seems like they were banking on the embassy itself being the attraction: and indeed the UK ambassador's house, built at the height of the British Empire, must be one of the fanciest houses in all of NW DC, which is saying a lot.
  
• Bolivia. Right next door to the UK. They threw a huge party with an MC, costumed dancers, and vendors from all over the DMV selling many different kinds of Bolivian food. Indoors were displays of traditional Bolivian clothing and an entire room that was just paintings of alpacas in different styles. Probably the best overall.
  
• Sri Lanka. They had costumed dancers in the gorgeous garden behind the embassy who were happy to pose for pictures with kids and adults alike. They gave an entire box of Ceylon tea to everyone who came through the door. There was free food but the line was too long for us to stand in.
  
• Austria. They were selling strudel (apple and cheese/blueberry) for $7 each and giving away little sandwiches with traditional Austrian spreads. There was a big gold statue of Strauss and guys in green hats playing the accordion. They were giving away tourism maps and brochures for pretty much every Austrian state, I noted only the Bergenland missing. If you want a tourist map of Carinthia this was your chance.
  
• Slovakia. Right across the street from Austria. Line was much bigger than for Austria because Slovakia was giving away free wine. They had a poster up with "Misconceptions about Slovakia" and the first one was that Slovakia was not the same as Slovenia. I laughed, but the guy in front of me in line legitimately thought he was in line to see Slovenia and when an embassy employee showed him on a map that Slovakia and Slovenia were different countries and do not even border each other, he was so shocked that he needed to sit down! Anyway strudel here (apple and walnut) was only $2.50 each but you could only buy them in twos. They fed us very generously: they had sausage, this mashed potatoes and sauerkraut dish, and a complimentary candy bar with at least 6 different kinds of Slovakian candies.
  

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Slovenia would have had pink bicycles, maybe a few old yellow and red ones, and some cobblestones.

(the top cyclist in the world, arguable another top 4 guy, as well as probably another top 20 guy, are all slovenians. The top 2 guys have 6 wins of the big 3 week races and are about to win another, and the top guy not only wins the tour de france, he also wins the hardest one day races over cobblestone paths on hills).

[imref]

We went to the EU mission and Italy today. Italy was disappointing. Just food / drink for sale. The line for Italy was about an hour long. Best thing we saw was the Bangladesh bazaar on Mass Ave.

[Count Walewski]

Trend with these embassy open houses seems to be that countries that are very popular with tourists phone it in, while more obscure countries try harder.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Saudi embassy open house was a couple of weeks ago.  I'll bet they have good drains in that place. 

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Saudi embassy open house was a couple of weeks ago.  I'll bet they have good drains in that place. 

used saws.

[Count Walewski]

People with kids: what are we doing for Winter Break? Arlington County schools have two full weeks of winter break this year and I believe most school districts around the country are doing the same because of how the holidays line up. I know that if my wife and daughter are in the same house for 2 weeks together, they will both drive each other completely nuts. However, I also know that airlines and hotels know that demand for travel will be high and prices are already huge.

[imref]

People with kids: what are we doing for Winter Break? Arlington County schools have two full weeks of winter break this year and I believe most school districts around the country are doing the same because of how the holidays line up. I know that if my wife and daughter are in the same house for 2 weeks together, they will both drive each other completely nuts. However, I also know that airlines and hotels know that demand for travel will be high and prices are already huge.

if it were me, fly to ft lauderdale and drive somewhere in the middle keys (e.g., marathan or islamorada). Or fly to Ft. Myers and stay on the gulf coast (sanibel / ft myers area).  Those places are usually a bit cheaper in peak.

[Count Walewski]

if it were me, fly to ft lauderdale and drive somewhere in the middle keys (e.g., marathan or islamorada). Or fly to Ft. Myers and stay on the gulf coast (sanibel / ft myers area).  Those places are usually a bit cheaper in peak.

Thanks! Fort Myers is by far the most reasonably priced place I've looked at thus far.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Two weeks??  Use your passports 

Ottawa is a lot of fun in the winter.  Or at least it was in the before times when one could still skate on the Rideau Canal for several months each year.  Ice sculptures etc. 

[wj73]

Starting a month long road trip through the Canadian Maritime Provinces - New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia. We drove up (nice to have our own car) and visited Acadia National Park in Maine today. What a beautiful park! It’s a bright sunny day here so the views were spectacular. 


Off to Moncton, New Brunswick tomorrow, stopping at Kings Landing Settlement, which I gather is sort of a Canadian Williamsburg with restored buildings and costumed interpreters representing a typical settlement of folks who were mostly Loyalists who fled to Canada after our Revolutionary War. Should be interesting.

[Dave in Fairfax]

One Saturday many years ago when I lived in Arlington, I was bored and got in the car for a drive. I ended up in Quebec City about 4 AM. After a nap in the car, I went for a walk around town and discovered they were having a heritage festival at the Château Frontenac with reenactors and displays showing life in New France in the 1600s. That was pretty fun.

Your trip sounds like a good time, and certainly better organized.

[varoadking]

Enjoy...

WNFF member NatsAllThe Way lives in Dartmouth...a short ferry boat ride across the water from Halifax.  Just beautiful territory up there.
If you've time,  make your way down to Peggy's Cove and the lighthouse situated on an outcropping right on the Atlantic...

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Going to Cape Breton?