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AirTran Airways Flights from Orlando (MCO) to Washington (IAD)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on AirTran Airways, which operates a daily non-stop flight from Orlando (MCO) to Washington (IAD) regularly scheduled to depart at 10:04am and arrive at 12:05pm. Usually a Boeing 717 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Orlando, FL to Washington, DC is 2 hours.
During your Washington vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
The White House Visitor Center
Even -- especially -- if you are not able to tour the White House, you should stop here. The Visitor Center opened in 1995 to provide extensive interpretive data about the White House and to serve as a ticket-distribution center (though that function is suspended indefinitely). It is run under the auspices of the National Park Service and the staff is particularly well informed. Try to catch the 30-minute video about the White House, Where History Lives, which provides interior views of the presidential precincts (it runs continuously throughout the day). Before you leave the Visitor Center, pick up a copy of the National Park Service's brochure on the White House, which tells you a little about what you'll see in the eight or so rooms you tour and a bit about the history of the White House. The White House Historic Association runs a small shop here. The association operates an informative website, www.whitehousehistory.org. Before you leave the Visitor Center, take a look at the exhibits, which include:Architectural History of the White House, including the grounds and extensive renovations to its structure and interior that have taken place since its cornerstone was laid in 1792.Symbol and Image, showing how the White House has been portrayed by photographers, artists, journalists, political cartoonists, and others.First Families, with displays about the people who have lived here (such as prankster Tad Lincoln, who once stood in a window above his father and waved a Confederate flag at a military review).The Working White House, focusing on the vast staff of servants, chefs, gardeners, Secret Service people, and others who maintain this institution.Ceremony and Celebration, depicting notable White House events, from a Wright Brothers' aviation demonstration in 1911 to a ballet performance by Baryshnikov during the Carter administration.White House Interiors, Past and Present, including photographs of the ever-changing Oval Office as decorated by administrations from Taft through Clinton.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
This elegant art museum, a stone's throw from the White House, is a favorite party site in the city, hosting everything from inaugural balls to wedding receptions.The first art museum in Washington, the Corcoran Gallery was housed from 1869 to 1896 in the redbrick and brownstone building that is now the Renwick. The collection outgrew its quarters and was transferred in 1897 to its present beaux arts building, designed by Ernest Flagg.The collection, shown in rotating exhibits, focuses chiefly on American art. A prominent Washington banker, William Wilson Corcoran was among the first wealthy American collectors to realize the importance of encouraging and supporting this country's artists. Enhanced by further gifts and bequests, the collection comprehensively spans American art from 18th-century portraiture to 20th-century moderns like Nevelson, Warhol, and Rothko. Nineteenth-century works include Bierstadt's and Remington's imagery of the American West; Hudson River School artists; expatriates like Whistler, Sargent, and Mary Cassatt; and two giants of the late 19th century, Homer and Eakins.The Corcoran is not exclusively an American art museum. On the first floor is the collection from the estate of Sen. William Andrews Clark, an eclectic grouping of Dutch and Flemish masters; European painters; French Impressionists; Barbizon landscapes; Delft porcelains; a Louis XVI salon dore transported in toto from Paris; and more. Clark's will stated that his diverse collection, which any curator would undoubtedly want to disperse among various museum departments, must be shown as a unit. He left money for a wing to house it and the new building opened in 1928. Don't miss the small walnut-paneled room known as "Clark Landing," which showcases 19th-century French Impressionist and American art; a room of exquisite Corot landscapes; another of medieval Renaissance tapestries; and numerous Daumier lithographs donated by Dr. Armand Hammer. Allow an hour for touring the collection.Pick up a schedule of events -- temporary exhibits, gallery talks, concerts, art auctions, and more. Families should inquire about the Corcoran's series of Saturday Family Days and Sunday Traditions. (Family Days are especially fun and always feature great live music.) Both programs are free, but you need to reserve a slot for the Sunday events. There is some street parking.The charming Café des Artistes is open for lunch Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am to 2pm, on Thursday from 11am to 3pm for lunch and from 4 to 8pm for dinner, and for Sunday brunch from 10:30am to 2pm (reservations accepted for parties of eight or more), which costs $24 per adult, $11 per child (under 12), and includes live gospel music singers; call tel. 202/639-1786 for more information. The Corcoran has a nice gift shop.
Washington National Cathedral
Pierre L'Enfant's 1791 plan for the capital city included "a great church for national purposes," but possibly because of early America's fear of mingling church and state, more than a century elapsed before the foundation for Washington National Cathedral was laid. Its actual name is the Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The church is Episcopal, but it has no local congregation and seeks to serve the entire nation as a house of prayer for all people. It has been the setting for every kind of religious observance, from Jewish to Serbian Orthodox.A church of this magnitude -- it's the sixth largest cathedral in the world, and the second largest in the U.S. -- took a long time to build. Its principal (but not original) architect, Philip Hubert Frohman, worked on the project from 1921 until his death in 1972. The foundation stone was laid in 1907 using the mallet with which George Washington set the Capitol cornerstone. Construction was interrupted by both world wars and by periods of financial difficulty. The cathedral was completed with the placement of the final stone on the west front towers on September 29, 1990, 83 years (to the day) after it was begun.English Gothic in style (with several distinctly 20th-century innovations, such as a stained-glass window commemorating the flight of Apollo 11 and containing a piece of moon rock), the cathedral is built in the shape of a cross, complete with flying buttresses and 110 gargoyles. It is, along with the Capitol and the Washington Monument, one of the dominant structures on the Washington skyline. Its 57-acre landscaped grounds have two lovely gardens (the lawn is ideal for picnicking), four schools, a greenhouse, and two gift shops.Over the years the cathedral has seen much history. Services to celebrate the end of World Wars I and II were held here. It was the scene of President Wilson's funeral (he and his wife are buried here), as well as President Eisenhower's. Helen Keller and her companion, Anne Sullivan, were buried in the cathedral at her request. And during the Iranian crisis, a round-the-clock prayer vigil was held in the Holy Spirit Chapel throughout the hostages' captivity. When they were released, the hostages came to a service here. President Bush's National Prayer and Remembrance service on September 14, 2001, following the cataclysm of September 11, was held here.The best way to explore the cathedral is to take a 30- to 45-minute guided tour; they leave continually from the west end of the nave. You can also walk through on your own, using a self-guiding brochure available in several languages. Call about group and special-interest tours, both of which require reservations and fees (tel. 202/537-5700). Allow additional time to tour the grounds or "close" and to visit the Observation Gallery, where 70 windows provide panoramic views. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon tours are followed by a high tea in the Observation Gallery for $22 per person; reservations required. Call tel. 202/537-8993.The cathedral hosts numerous events: organ recitals; choir performances; an annual flower mart; calligraphy workshops; jazz, folk, and classical concerts; and the playing of the 53-bell carillon. Check the cathedral's website for schedules.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Washington area, including:
Hotel Rouge
High-energy rock music dances out onto the sidewalk. A red awning extends from the entrance. A guest with sleepy eyes and brilliant blue hair sits diffidently upon the white tufted leather sofa in the small lobby. Attractive, casually dressed patrons come and go, while an older couple roosts at a table just inside the doorway of the adjoining Bar Rouge sipping martinis. Shades of red are everywhere: in the staff's funky shiny shirts, in the accent pillows on the retro furniture, and in the artwork. This used to be a Quality Hotel: It's come a long way, baby.The Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC (known for its offbeat but upscale boutique accommodations) has transformed five old D.C. buildings into these cleverly crafted and sexy hotels (see the Topaz, Helix, Madera, and Hotel Monaco). In the case of Rouge, this means that your guest room will have deep crimson drapes at the window, a floor-to-ceiling red "pleather" headboard for your comfortable, white-with-red-piping duvet-covered bed, and, in the dressing room, an Orange Crush-colored dresser, whose built-in minibar holds all sorts of red items, such as Hot Tamales candies, red wax lips, and Red Bull. Guest rooms in most boutique hotels are notoriously cramped; not so here, where the rooms are spacious enough to easily accommodate several armchairs and a large ottoman (in shades of red and gold), a number of funky little lamps, a huge, mahogany framed mirror leaning against a wall, and a 10-foot-long mahogany desk. The Rouge has no suites but does offer 15 specialty guest rooms, including "Chill Rooms," which have DVD players and Sony PlayStation, "Chat Rooms," which have computer/printers, and "Chow Rooms," which have a microwave and refrigerator. The hotel embraces the theme of adventure, inviting guests to partake of a complimentary Bloody Mary in the lobby on weekends, 10am to 11am. Weeknights, 5 to 6pm, the hotel serves complimentary red wine and red beer. If that aperitif whets your appetite, you can head to the Bar Rouge, settle into one of the thronelike armchairs and slurp a "Brigitte Bardot Martini" (orange vodka, citron, Grand Marnier, and orange juice), or some other exotic concoction, with a plate of seductive bar food to go with it.Facilities: Bar/restaurant (American, with a French twist); modest size fitness center; 24-hr. concierge; business center; room service (7am-11pm); same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 6 rooms for those w/limited mobility, 1 with roll-in shower. In room: A/C, 27-in. flat-screen TV w/pay movies, 2-line cordless phones w/dataport, minibar, coffeemaker (with Starbucks coffee), hair dryer, iron, robes, CD player, free high-speed Internet access.
Hotel Monaco Washington, DC
Let's cut to the chase: This is where I'd stay if I were a visitor to D.C. The Monaco has been winning awards and great notice ever since it opened, summer of 2002. Museum-like in appearance, the Monaco occupies a four-story, all marble mid-19th-century building, half of which was designed by Robert Mills, the architect for the Washington Monument, the other half designed by Thomas Walter, one of the architects for the U.S. Capitol. The two halves connect seamlessly, enclosing an interior, landscaped courtyard. Jutting into the courtyard from the F Street side of the hotel is its marvelous restaurant, Poste, which got off to a rough start, but has finally established itself as a top spot for dining. The hotel takes up an entire block, between 7th and 8th streets, and E and F streets. Superlatives are in order: The hotel is truly magnificent.The spacious guest rooms, similarly, combine historic and hip. Their vaulted ceilings are high (12 ft.-18 ft.) and windows are long, hung with charcoal and white patterned drapes. Eclectic furnishings include neoclassic armoires and three-legged desks. A color scheme successfully marries creamy yellow walls with periwinkle blue lounge chairs, with orange damask pillows. Interior rooms overlook the courtyard and the restaurant; you'll see the charming arched passageway through which horse and carriage came a century ago. Exterior rooms view the MCI Center and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery on the north side, and downtown sights on the south side. This is a great location: When you stay at the Monaco, you're not just downtown, you're part of the scene.Need more? The Hotel Monaco gives you a complimentary goldfish at check-in (if you so request); offers specially designed "Tall Rooms" with 18-foot-high ceilings, 96-inch-long beds, and raised showerheads, for tall guests. Go to the hotel's website or call direct to the hotel to obtain lowest available rates. With your own laptop, you have free high-speed Internet access in your guest room; otherwise, you pay $10 a day for Web TV access to the Internet.Pets allowed -- they get VIP treatment, with their own registration cards at check-in, maps of neighborhood fire hydrants and parks, gourmet puppy and kitty treats.
Sofitel Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C
The Hay-Adams faces some competition since the 2002 opening of this luxury hotel, which, like the Hay-Adams, borders Lafayette Square and is just minutes from the White House. The Hay-Adams offers White House views, and the Sofitel does not, it's true, but the Sofitel's other appealing features may make up for that.This handsome, 12-story limestone building was erected in the early 20th century, and its distinctive facade includes decorative bronze corner panels, bas-relief sculptural panels at ground-floor level, and a 12th-floor balcony that travels the length of both the H and 15th street-sides of the structure (decorative, not accessible, alas). Inside, hotel staff dressed in designer uniforms greet you with "Bonjour!," small hints that a French company (Accor Hotels) owns the Sofitel. Noted French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon styled the interior; a Michelin three-star chef is behind the contemporary French cuisine served in Café 15, the hotel's restaurant; and the gift shop sells such specialty items as French plates and porcelain dolls. The Sofitel also has a super bar, Le Bar, which also serves lunch.Because of its corner location and exceptionally large windows, guest rooms are bright with natural light; second- and third-floor rooms facing 15th or H street bring in more light still, because their windows extend nearly from floor to ceiling. Each room sports elegantly modern decor that includes a long desk, creamy duvet with a colorful throw on a king-size bed (about 17 rooms have two double beds instead of kings), a much-marbled bathroom with tub separate from the shower stall, fresh flowers, and original artwork, including dramatic photographs of Washington landmarks. The 11th floor has been designed with visiting heads of state in mind, and can be easily secured. In each of the 17 suites, the bedroom is separate from the living room.Facilities: Restaurant (contemporary French); bar; 24-hour state-of-the-art fitness center; 24-hr. concierge; 24-hour business services; 24-hr. room service; same-day laundry/dry cleaning; 8 rooms for those w/limited mobility, all with roll-in showers; library with books about D.C. and Paris. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies and Nintendo, 2-line phones w/dataports, minibar, hair dryer, iron, safe, robes, slippers, CD player, high-speed Internet access ($9.95 per day).
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