Zoo and Embassy Row

Orangutangs climbing their tight rope

Veiled Chameleon

Pandas, orangutangs and lizards, oh my!  After having a lovely, hearty breakfast at the Dulles Marriott of all-you-can-eat eggs, homefries, bacon, waffles, fruit, OJ and cereal, we loaded the bus and headed for downtown DC.  We picked up our WorldStrides DC-certified tourguides (one per bus), who are our go-to people as we traverse the city during the day.  Tour guides provided us with some information about the zoo, and then students were permitted to explore the zoo.  Many students immediately headed to see the pandas - and were we in for a treat. 

One of two pandas eating bamboo

Frequently, the pandas are asleep, but because we arrived around 9:30am, the pandas were up, awake and eating bamboo.  Just a heads up: many comments went something like this: "Awwwwww!  He is so adorable!  I want one for home!"  I wish you the best of luck.  Other highlights included the ape house, the elephant colony, the lion den and the lizard lounge.

Embassy of Paraguay

Students had a wonderful time for approximately an hour, seeing a range of animals.  A great time truly was had by all.

Next, we head went on a driving tour of Embassy Row, en route to the National Cathedral.  As we drove down Embassy Row, students were interested to hear about nations purchasing property that serves as a mini "satellite" of their home country, right here in Washington, DC.  Above, you can see a picture of the Embassy of Paraguay.