Day 10 - Washington: a walk through history

We awoke to a beautiful day in Washington. Well it was freezing cold and windy but lovely and sunny as well. It was so nice walking in the sun - we haven't had much of that lately (sorry to rub it in Melbournians, we know it's been unbearably hot back home recently!

It was an early start, (kind of) worked out the subway and headed to Capitol Hill. We booked an hour tour at the Capitol at 9.30am, however we were advised to be there 45 minutes early for the security screening process.

We arrived early, but the crowds weren't too bad so we moved through quite quickly. The first line we waited in was outside the Visitor Centre entrance and the attendant was a very pleasant chap - he talked exactly like Jim's father in the American Pie movies!

Because the lines moved so quickly, we had the option to start our Capitol tour early which we did. The first part was an introductory film and then we were met by our guide - we were only in a group of about 8 people which was a perfect size. Our first stop was the National Statuary Hall off the side of the Rotunda (inside the Capitol dome) where a number of statues are housed. Over the years, each
USA state has gifted 2 statues each to the Congress and the person they have chosen to model the statue after is a relevant, influential person from the state. Here's a pic...

 

The next space we were guided through was the Rotunda (i.e. inside the Capitol dome). What amazing architecture and detail! It reminded us of a couple of Basilicas in Europe (it actually felt like we were in Europe for a moment, rather than the USA). Here are a couple of images, including a picture of one of the paintings in the Rotunda which is the signing of the Declaration of Independence...

 



 

 

The final room on the tour to see was the crypt, which was located underneath the Rotunda (although no one is buried in there. The room is made up of a series of columns which also have a practical purpose - to help hold up the Rotunda...

Our tour ended and then we were able to go and request tickets to go to the Senate and House of Representatives. After handing in all of electronic devices and another security check, we were allowed to sit in the Senate while a debate was in process which was fascinating. Troy has a very keen interest in American politics and could have sat there all day! (Between his love of American sport and politics, I think he may actually be American deep down!) Anyway, the House of Representatives was in recess, so we didn't end up going in there.

We left the Capitol and really liked the surrounding grounds - Washington seems so spacious and open (more so coming here after New York probably!) Here are a few photos taken around the Capitol...

Our next stop was the Washington Newseum - the best museum either of us have ever been too. I think we spent about 5 hours there! Opened in 2007, the Newseum chronicles 5 centuries of news history. It was 6 floors of all types of news history, including newspapers dating back to the 1400s, multiple theatres playing various documentaries, artifacts from major events over the years... the list goes on and my description is definitely not doing the Newseum any justice! I could continue but this blog would never end! If anyone is interested to read more, probably best to go to their website: www.newseum.org.

One exhibit which I will mention was regarding 9/11 and how it was reported through the media. They did have some artifacts from 9/11, including part of the antenna from the North tower - see below:

We would definitely recommend that everyone who visits Washington spends at least an afternoon at the Newseum (they even have an activity where you can tape yourself being a news reporter... I was very tempted to do this!) Here is what it looks like inside:

We enjoyed our walk back to the hotel in the sun! Although I was wearing new shoes (even though I've worn them for a couple of days now) and my feet were killing me! We stopped off at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden which obviously included a collection of sculptures throughout and an ice skating rink! (see below)... nice day for skating...

We loved walking back through the streets to our hotel - for us, Washington is such an impressive city with all of its imposing (European-like) buildings, open spaces, green lawns and wide streets.

After a quick stop off at the hotel, we decided to go across the road for dinner (there aren't too many restaurants around our hotel), so we ended up at the Irish pub opposite where we are staying. Although, it was more American than Irish! The place was pumping though - lots of suits there for dinner and the place was full... he's a pic...

 

After dinner we decided to brave the cold and go for a quick walk down to the White House to see it at night...

 

 

So that was our first full day in Washington and we have another day packed full of activity for tomorrow!