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Around the World Open House
May. 17th, 2008 03:36 pmToday was the second round of embassy open houses (put on by Cultural Tourism DC) and there was an associated Volksmarch, centered around South American embassies. Not all of the embassies on the route were participating in the open house and I went into some along the route that were not South American. The weather was nearly perfect for walking, though perhaps a bit on the windy side. And, as I have mentioned before, I like walking along embassy row (and the residential side streets around it). The section of the walk down 17th to Virginia and back up on 19th was less attractive, though it did go past a few things of interest. In particular, it allowed there to be a checkpoint involving a statue of Simon Bolivar, so was eminently suitable.
As for the embassies I visited, it was a mixed bag. The Korean Embassy was well worth the visit, with a beautiful display of Celadon pottery, various other art displays, and samples of Korean snack foods which I can best describe as being sort of like cracker jack but not quite as sweet. Madagascar had art exhibits too, as well as a book signing by a former U.S. ambassador to it. The food there bodes well for my upcoming trip - delicious samosas, for example. The music there was interesting, too, and sounded like it had some definite Portuguese influences.
Paraguay was disappointing as all they had was one room of photographs. Argentina had tango demonstrations, but the highlight there was the building itself which is magnificent. There was also a nice display of modern art. Micronesia had a crafts exhibit and more tourist information than any of the others I went to.
When I entered the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago, a guy said to me, "inside, it is just like being in Trinidad." I can only conclude that Trinidad is hot, crowded and noisy. I do like the music (which included steel drums) but I wasn't willing to fight my way through the crowd to the beer. I did get some sort of fried dough puff and flax seed juice. The latter is said to be very healthy but I'm not likely to go out of my way for it.
My final stop was at the Embassy of Peru. They did have food events, but they were reservation only (and, apparently, sold out quickly). The main feature was a crafts marketplace, but the real highlight was outside, where they had a few alpaca.
I'd have liked to get to some of the embassies in the International Drive area (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Pakistan) but my energy was flagging after walking 10 kilometers and climbing up and down stairs inside embassies. It was still a worthwhile event and I hope they repeat the embassy open houses (and associated Volksmarch events) in future years.
As for the embassies I visited, it was a mixed bag. The Korean Embassy was well worth the visit, with a beautiful display of Celadon pottery, various other art displays, and samples of Korean snack foods which I can best describe as being sort of like cracker jack but not quite as sweet. Madagascar had art exhibits too, as well as a book signing by a former U.S. ambassador to it. The food there bodes well for my upcoming trip - delicious samosas, for example. The music there was interesting, too, and sounded like it had some definite Portuguese influences.
Paraguay was disappointing as all they had was one room of photographs. Argentina had tango demonstrations, but the highlight there was the building itself which is magnificent. There was also a nice display of modern art. Micronesia had a crafts exhibit and more tourist information than any of the others I went to.
When I entered the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago, a guy said to me, "inside, it is just like being in Trinidad." I can only conclude that Trinidad is hot, crowded and noisy. I do like the music (which included steel drums) but I wasn't willing to fight my way through the crowd to the beer. I did get some sort of fried dough puff and flax seed juice. The latter is said to be very healthy but I'm not likely to go out of my way for it.
My final stop was at the Embassy of Peru. They did have food events, but they were reservation only (and, apparently, sold out quickly). The main feature was a crafts marketplace, but the real highlight was outside, where they had a few alpaca.
I'd have liked to get to some of the embassies in the International Drive area (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Pakistan) but my energy was flagging after walking 10 kilometers and climbing up and down stairs inside embassies. It was still a worthwhile event and I hope they repeat the embassy open houses (and associated Volksmarch events) in future years.
