Blogs from Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 2

Geo: 38.8921, -77.0241TempWoke 7Breakfast in hotelBought Big Bus hop on hop off tickets for a tour of WashingtonGeorgetown Lincoln MemorialXXXXXXGetting a little concerned about missing bags and hearing nothing....Rang Covermore to find out what the process was. Advised once bags delayed 24 hours we could purchase emergency clothes etc to value of $375 per adult passenger but would need a "Property Irregularity Report" from United to be able to lodge the claim which we can't obtain until case closed.Not to miss an opportunity, off we went in haste to Macy's. Cold 1 degree but felt like minus 7 but we really need to get some underwear and at least a jumper. We had our jackets but it was COLD!!!Back the hotel for dinner, it's 19:30pm and whilst we are getting emails from United every 6 hours ... read more

You have met my long-time travel friend, Valene L. Smith, in these pages in my journal entry for 17 September 2010 and in my travel blogs of trips taken long ago. Valene was back in Washington, D.C., again as a speaker at the 114th annual conference of the American Anthropological Association. I met Valene and her husband on Thursday evening for dinner at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, where they were staying. (It was also the conference hotel.) It was good to both reminisce with Valene about travels in the 1960s and 1970s and catch up on her latest doings. She was to give two papers on the subject of the anthropology of tourism. Valene literally founded the subject in 1975 with the publication of Hosts and Guests: The Anthropology of Tourism. Tourism itself has ... read more

In September 2014 the Library of Congress organized a small exhibit of items related to Anne Frank. A facsimile of her manuscript diary was displayed along with the first American edition of The Diary of Anne Frank. There were also personal items from the Frank family, including table linens that had been part of Edith Frank's trousseau. The Frank family items were loaned by Eva Schloss, who is Otto Frank's stepdaughter. The exhibit was an excellent prequel to our visit to Amsterdam.... read more

Whereas 2012 was the year for Europe, 2013 was the year for America. I rediscovered the beauty of my home country and I am gaining a deeper appreciation that grows with every passing week. I spent the first three months of this year in Chicago, the following four months back in my hometown in Southern California, and I'm finishing off the year here in Washington, DC. In between moves, I had the greatest fortune and pleasure in snatching glimpses of other parts of the country in Southeast Texas, Northern Oregon, and New England. Following tradition, I should be celebrating the New Year back in California. Southern California marked a chapter this year of endless sunshine, a restoration of peace and balance to a spirit admittedly depleted from a few years of cold, stress and work. When ... read more

During the Winter of 2012-2013, the National Gallery of Art hosted an exhibit of Michelangelo's David/Apollo sculpture. It is displayed at the Bargello in Florence, a museum we did not visit on our trip to Italy the previous summer. On our recent trip to Italy, we saw many of Michelangelo's achievements in sculpture, architecture, and painting. The Pieta, David, The Holy Family, the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, The Last Judgement, and St. Peter's Dome, each one magnificent, numbered among them. Then, in early December it was announced that Michelangelo's unfinished David-Apollo sculpture would go on display for a limited time at the National Gallery of Art. Here was an opportunity to inspect another of Michelangelo's works! Susan and I went on President's Day in February. David-Apollo is an unfinished sculpture by Michelangelo. Its subject, whether Apollo of ... read more