Springtime in D.C.

April 14, 2013

Cherry Blossoms Fest

From VOA Learning English, welcome to THIS IS AMERICA. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Bob Doughty. It is here at last: the Washington D.C. spring, when America’s capital bursts into color. We can ride a bus, a bicycle, a Segway, a horse-drawn carriage, a taxi or a pedicab around the historic city. But to see some of the most important places, walking is best. Do not forget to wear your walking shoes.

The first things we notice are the people – crowds and crowds of people. These visitors fill -- and sometimes overflow -- the trains, buses and restaurants. They increase traffic and sometimes block it.

But the District of Columbia -- called D.C. -- is pleased to welcome tourists, especially at this time of year. City officials say more than one million people visit Washington during the two-week period surrounding the Cherry Blossom Festival. Hotels, tour guides and eating places all benefit from the guests.

“Yeah, our business today is okay. Weather is good, work is good. We’re selling hot dogs, you know, like this is something is like national food.”

“This is Nini’s Soft Serve, located right here in DC. We serve soft serve ice cream, the vanilla, the chocolate, and the twist. So far it’s been great, I mean a lot of people from different places, we’ve met a lot of different people. So tourism seems to be booming right now.”