Weekending in Washington
By Andrew Collins

If Washington, D.C., has any drawback for weekend visitors, it's that it has far too many museums, monuments, and attractions to visit in just two or three days. Furthermore, this progressive metropolis has developed an impressive array of cosmopolitan restaurants, festive gay bars, and hip hotels in recent years. There's a lot to see and do, but if your time in town is limited, don't fret - with a little planning and plenty of stamina, you can enjoy a wonderfully engaging and enriching weekend in the national capital.

Your first night in town, consider grabbing a light dinner in Dupont Circle, and then perhaps exploring a few of the neighborhood's extensive gay-nightlife options. P Street due west of Dupont Circle cultivates an interesting mix of eateries - one of the best is Pizzeria Paradisio, which bakes tantalizingly good wood-fired pies. Or just off busy 17th Street, another stretch of popular if less critically acclaimed restaurants, you can tuck into such down-home fare as Old Bay-seasoned peel 'n' eat shrimp and tangy barbecued oysters at Hank's Oyster Bar, one of the culinary stars of the city.

A few of the many notable spots for Friday bar-hopping including J.R.'s, a classic stand-and-model video bar on 17th Street, and its multi-level down-the-street neighbor, Cobalt. Over near P Street, Omega is the grandpa of Dupont Circle gay clubs - a racially diverse disco and lounge that packs in crowds into the wee hours.

On Saturday morning, preface a day of sightseeing by enjoying a light breakfast at the Dupont Circle branch of the local Firehook Bakery and Coffeehouse chain. Or for a more substantial brunch, try the cafe at the long-running indie bookstore, Kramerbooks & Afterwards - the Maine lobster omelet topped with lemon hollandaise sauce is a real crowd-pleaser.

When it comes to cultural attractions, Washington is an embarrassment of riches - there may be no other city in the nation with a greater number of daytime diversions. Among the possibilities along the city's National Mall, try to check out a few of the Smithsonian Institution museums. Highlights include the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of American History, and the National Portrait Gallery. Also set aside time to see the moving U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which distributes a pamphlet, "Homosexuals," that details the persecution of gays and lesbians in Nazi-occupied Europe; there are also gay video testimonies in the museum's library.

If you're an art lover, don't miss the city's largest non-federal museum, the Beaux-Arts-style Corcoran Gallery of Art, which contains more than 11,000 works of art. Its emphasis is on late-19th- and early 20th-century European painting, American painting and portraiture, and photography. The Corcoran has an excellent little cafe, perfect for grabbing a light lunch to break up your explorations. Several blocks north of the Mall, in Old Downtown, is the outstanding National Museum of Women in the Arts. The permanent collection includes works by the likes of Georgia O'Keeffe, Mary Cassatt, Frida Kahlo, and Berenice Abbott, and quite a few excellent rotating installations keep this facility fresh and exciting.
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