Last weekend my husband took me to Chinatown in New York City to celebrate my Birthday. Chinatown, Manhattan, home to the largest enclave of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, USA, bordering the Lower East Side to its east and Little Italy to its north (from Wikipedia).
Last Saturday, May 11th, we attended the second signature event of Passport DC – EU Open House 2013. During this day, The Delegation of the European Union to the United States and the Embassies of 27 EU Member States to the United States plus incoming Member State Croatia opened their doors to the Washington public.
This annual event is a highlight of the Washington May calendar and is celebrated during Europe Week. Each embassy offered a rare look inside the buildings and provided a unique opportunity to experience the country’s cultural heritage and national traditions.
We started our day early at 10 a.m., but were able to visit only 5 Embassies due to their dispersed locations: European Union, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of France (France and Germany), Austria and Slovakia. Our first destination was EU House located at K Street, NW near Foggy Bottom metro station.
Every year, Cultural Tourism DC presents Passport DC, a month-long celebration of international culture that lets us explore the world without ever leaving the city. Nearly every day throughout May there are programs: music and dance performances, art exhibits, workshops, embassy events, street festivals, food tastings, and more that bring global adventures to DC.
As our nation’s capitol, DC is home to over 70 foreign diplomats, embassies and consulates. Passport DC offers 3 different signature events each Saturday starting May 4th.
Last weekend Dave and I attended the first signature event – Around the World Embassy Tour showcased 44 embassies from Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, and the Americas. We took the metro to Dupont Circle station and started out tour with the Embassy of Indonesia. Altogether, we visited 7 embassies in 4 hours: Indonesia, Haiti, Japan, Cote d’Ivoire, Korea, Australia and Peru.