One of the beauties of DC is its subway. The Metro is the most scenic transit system I've ridden. The stations are nicely designed, clean, and graffiti free, the trains fast and quiet. It was a great way to get around a very walkable city if we didn't want bike (and DC is a very also bikeable town). The conference was at the Mariott in Crystal City, right by Regan National Airport - a perfect hub of air, train, and bicycle transportation. Crystal City itself has the somewhat sterile feeling of purpose-built resort town, but there are some good restaurants there if you choose carefully. But its most compelling feature for me is public transit. Driving there - not so nice. But park the car and you can get anywhere in the world or nearly anywhere in DC without much fuss.
So we hopped the train to the National Botanical Gardens near the end of our visit to see more flowers. Already wowed by the dogwoods in full bloom everywhere outdoors, we entered and were instantly immersed in the exotic plants of the conservatory - the largest I've ever seen, with commensurately sized collections: from the blooming tropicals, to the towering Royal Palms, to the epiphytes hanging above the second story skyway. A touch of the tropical world a few stops away, a taste of the desert for a $2.80 fare.
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