USA - the Federal City
Mystic of Holyhead (successor to Lynn Rival)
Rachel and Paul Chandler
Thu 3 Nov 2016 20:00
At the heart of Washington, the National Mall,
with the Capitol at one end and the Lincoln Memorial at the other
is a splendid place to explore in October. We got our bearings by
taking a ride on the circular Mall route of the public (not tour)
bus.  The latest (opened last month) Smithsonian outlet We jumped off the bus at the Lincoln Memorial.  Towering (quite rightly) above the people . . . . . . and his view to the Washington monument and Capitol We walked up the Capitol Hill in light drizzle. Our tour of the Capitol was excellent. We only wished we could have seen more. Our guide added her moving personal experience of the emergency evacuation on 9/11.  From south to north - the House of Representatives, the old House, the Rotunda, the old Senate and the Senate  The 'new' cast iron dome of the Rotunda (replacing the early wooden dome)  The original House  It wasn't a working day, but the public areas in the Capitol were filled with worthy gentlemen (and some women)! Thanks in part to the British laying waste the old buildings in 1814, Congress had to build themselves new library. In the Library of Congress we had an excellent (volunteer) guided tour of another remarkable building.  Library of Congress  Of course it too has a dome  and interesting decoration to the galleries. You didn't want to see the floor, I hope. Elsewhere we were spoilt for choice when it came to choosing which of the many Smithsonian Institution Museums to visit - and all free! Paul spent almost a day exploring less than half of the Air and Space Museum - while Rachel and Lynda viewed but a fraction of the Gallery of Art!  On our way across town we were attracted by (part of) the National Law Enforcers' Memorial We did get to peer at (and photograph) the White House, but out of respect for the incumbent have decided not to publish the evidence. After 3 days it was time to move on - back to stay in the same Airbnb apartment in Jersey City we had used in August. |