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Published: August 8th 2006
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First stop...the Capitol!
It's hot and my feet hurt already! (Sorry this entry is a bit late and out of sequence, but better late than never!)
After a thoroughly enjoyable three weeks of country living and a truly magnificent drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway, Washington Dc was the perfect choice for our first big American city experience. With memories of London still clear in our minds, making the capital city of the USA our first big destination had a very appropriate feeling about it, and I am pleased to say that we did not leave disappointed.
Washington DC is everything you would expect or imagine it to be. The monuments and buildings are grand and imposing and it was also fascinating to realize just how many of the Washington buildings we recognized from the many films, television shows and news reports we had seen. Most notably, the Washington Monument (giant obelisk and most impressive phallic symbol at the centre of DC) is clearly visible from almost everywhere in the city, nice piece of planning.
We started our tour by taking the Metro (which is air-conditioned and a joy and a pleasure to use after many years of misery on the Tube) to Capitol Hill, the center of
DC Ducks
The duck family that lives in the pond right in front of the Capitol building, ahhh! American Government. The Capitol building itself is cleverly positioned on top of a hill to give it an even more impressive demeanor, probably why they called it Capitol Hill…! The view from the hill was fantastic, the weather was exceptional and we could see all the way down to the Lincoln Memorial at the far end of Constitution Gardens. After the Capitol, we made our way down The Mall and passed the numerous museums in equally impressive buildings lining each side of the thoroughfare. The one building that in my opinion stood out as the most impressive and interesting is the one housing the Museum of Native American History, a fantastic piece of modern architecture and a work of art in its own right. We felt it appropriate to visit at least one of the Smithsonian museums lining The Mall, and since there isn’t anything similar in London, we opted for the National Air and Space Museum…a good choice. Somewhat similar to the Imperial War Museum, the grand entrance hall is adorned with historically significant flight and space vehicles, including such gems as the Spirit of St Louis and the Apollo moon capsule, all very impressive. The museum itself was
Secret Sculpture Garden
One of our favourite sculptures in the Hirshorn Garden. enormous and could have easily devoured an entire day; however our time was limited, so after a whistle stop tour of a few of the more appealing exhibits including a Wright Brothers room we continued on our journey down The Mall.
A short stroll further down we came across a real gem that took us both by surprise, the slightly hidden Hirshhorn Museum Sculpture Garden was a truly unexpected highlight. Alongside assorted ‘Moores’ and ‘Rodins’ are some truly breathtaking examples of modern abstract sculpture. The Garden itself is sunk below ground level and slightly shaded; it was a welcome respite from the baking midday sun and an inspirational spot for a quick break.
We had been catching glimpses of a red brick castle-like building as we were making our way down the Mall, so when we were finally upon it we had to check it out. The surrounding gardens were magnificent, starting with the Enid A. Haupt Garden, a winding flower garden with hundreds of different plants, all labeled, and a beautiful central fountain. On the other side there were more formal landscaped gardens and a peaceful rock garden with reflection pool. From here you could see the
Smithsonian Castle
We loved the Castle and the beautiful gardens surrounding it. This was the first and oldest Smithsonian museum. full scale of what we learned is “The Castle”, the original home of the Smithsonian. It’s now the Smithsonian headquarters and main visitor center and houses an impressive collection of historical artifacts and memorabilia including, somewhat curiously, an authentic Prince guitar.
After passing by the Washington Monument, we walked around the Tidal Basin to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence and was the 3rd US President so clearly he deserves the giant bronze statue and grand domed temple surrounding it. From there, we moved on to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial. This was a less traditional and more interactive memorial, making it a much more interesting place to visit. It consists of four outdoor ‘gallery’ rooms made from stone walls inscribed with FDR’s wise words, sculptures, waterfalls and pools; all very interesting and peaceful.
A short stroll from FDR, we found ourselves at the Reflecting Pool (as seen in Forrest Gump, when he jumps into the lake during the Vietnam protest) facing the truly magnificent Lincoln Memorial. By this point, we were truly knackered and sat on the steps facing back towards ‘The Monument’. The view was outstanding…with the exception of the mountains
of goose cack surrounding the pool. Lincoln himself was an inspiration to behold, a good 30 feet tall with his words of wisdom inscribed throughout the interior of the memorial.
From this point, there was only one thing left to see…The White House. We wandered past the Vietnam & Korean War veterans memorials, stopping for Jennifer to flirt with a DC cop mounting a horse…interesting what they allow in public these days. We then made our way through the Ellipse (garden in front of the WH) to the Bush residence. And…hmmmm…not exactly as I had imagined, kinda small, sort of far away, somewhat overshadowed by the rest of what DC has to offer. The only redeeming fact was that we may have seen George Dubbya himself taking flight in a trio of choppers towards the FDR memorial…probably seeking out some words of inspiration for his next address to congress!
We completed our day in Washington with a great meal near our Hotel in Arlington. For all you potential visitors out there…Arlington is a great base from which to enjoy all the sights of DC without the expense of a central DC hotel. It is situated just across the
Chris & Franklin
The waterfalls at the FDR Memorial were both beautiful and refreshing on a hot summer's day. Potomac River from all the memorials and is served by 2 metro stops which are only a few minutes from central DC.
Overall, this was a fantastic and memorable day. We would have liked to have spent a bit more time in DC but hey, we've got the rest of the country to see! We will definitely return to explore it in more detail in the future.
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