Let me tell you, it was gorgeous. Crowded beyond belief, but gorgeous.
Just look! All the pretty!
The Washington Memorial through blossoms
My favorite picture of Steph and I from the festival. <3
I probably wouldn't have visited the Cherry Blossom Festival if my friend Steph did not live nearby. It is quite the pain to drive down to Maryland, and even more of a pain to ride the metro to the actual festival. I've never seen the metro so packed, especially at a far station. It was insane.
First off, the wait to get a metro pass was longer than I've ever seen, I definitely recommend getting a pass beforehand if possible. Having a pass ready would speed up the process immensely. Once you get to D.C. be prepared for crazy huge crowds. Being a very anti-crowd person myself, dealing with all these people was very stressful for me. Steph and I did our best to avoid the main parts of the crowd, but there is only so much you can do. If you want to go down to the waterfront for the best pictures, you're going to have to suck it up.
These views are why braving the crowds is worth it.
The waterfront is the easiest place to get pictures where you seem to be the only person.
Blossoms against the water, the reason everyone crowds along the water.
The monument was insanely packed, so we didn't visit, but I got this nice picture anyway.
The waterfront and the area around the Washington Monument are the best places to take pictures that we found. It is harder to get pictures without people in them around the monument though, I suggest aiming up.
You can even find some cherry trees around the Washington Monument that you can have to yourself for a moment.
See? Aim up and there seem to be no people. Illusion of peace.
We aimed up, but you can still see some people. Ugh
There are tons of varieties of cherry tree. I loved these super poofy ones
My favorite picture from the whole ordeal. Steph looking super artsy with her real person camera (I use my Iphone)
There was also a Japanese festival a few blocks away that Steph and I paid to visit. It, sadly, was not worth the money. It was so packed inside the fences you could barely move, the food was only good not anything spectacular, and the lines were ridiculously long. I would not recommend spending the money on the Japanese festival, it isn't worth it. I would just check out the cherry blossoms, they are worth the crowds. Plus you can order Japanese afterwards like Steph and I.
Amazing sushi and gyoza we ordered afterwards. Plus it delivered to us so we didn't have to see anymore people.
I'm going back to D.C. this summer, and I plan to check out the monuments and museums then. They were far to packed during the festival. If you're thinking about heading to the festival at some point, I definitely say do it. The gorgeous pictures were worth the crowds. Just give yourself plenty of time, and perhaps make a separate trip to see the other sights.
I leave you with some pictures the lovely Steph was kind enough to take of me so that I wouldn't have all selfies.
It was a tad windy.
Apparently the paddle boat behind me is ridiculously expensive to rent.
Near the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial you can get pretty sitting pictures.
Have any of you ever been to a cherry blossom festival anywhere? D.C. perhaps? Anyone else think the driving in Maryland is terrifying? Shout out to everyone else who hates crowds but braves them for pretty pictures.
-Alisa
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