Just before I turned 13, my family moved to Washington D.C. because of my dad’s job. Initially, I was afraid. I was moving to a new and large place, I had no friends, and I was going into 8th grade – one of the most awkward periods in my life thus far. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel that this would be a positive change in my life. I would get to have a fresh start by going on this grand adventure with my family. So, with that feeling in tow, I set off as fearlessly as I could with my family to this new, strange, and populous city. As it turns out, Washington D.C. is one of the most expensive places to live, so instead of moving to the city, we landed in the suburbs of Northern Virginia. The ‘burbs are not the most exciting of places to live, quite frankly, but the more I grew up here, the more they started to grow on me. The close proximity to the city gives us the ability to do all of the metropolitan excitements while still having a place to retreat away from all of the noise. This series, titled “Around Town” is my way of showing off the best of both worlds. Some weeks I will stick to the 202 (inside of the city limits) and some weeks I’ll show the hidden gems that lie just outside of the city.

This week, I’m just going to highlight the DC that I see. Not the one with all of the tourists and travelers. The one that hides its urban beauty in the details. Some people walk around this city and see only buildings and monuments. When I look, I see marvels of architecture, I see wonders of art, I see an intricacy of detail. Once you pull away from the magnet of the Smithsonians and the monuments and the tourist traps and allow the city to speak to you, boy does it really start to sing.

– Hazel

Photos © 2015 Hazel Arroyo