Brazilian Embassy in Washington, DC

The temperature has been in the teens in the DC area... The winter has really set in. I am planning my upcoming trip to Brazil (yeah, sun, warmth, beach!) and had some documents to take care of. Among the three of us -- me, my husband, and my son -- we applied for 1 passport, renewed 1 passport, visa, and birth certificate. We spent a couple of hours at the Consular Office behind the Embassy. It took so long... we needed copies of everything, pictures, money orders... When we left the building I was so excited because we were able to apply for everything at once, only to find a parking ticket on my windshield. Apparently, the side of the street I parked on is reserved for Employees of the Italian Embassy. It upset me for two reason, first there isn't enough parking spaces near the Embassy - in fact the spot where I parked was the only one available at the time, second because the sign that says that parking isn't allowed is a tiny thing on the corner.

The trip to the Embassy Row is always pleasant nonetheless. "Embassy Row" in Washington DC is a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue extending out from Dupont Circle, toward the National Cathedral, along which you can find many (but not all) of the District's foreign embassies.