Saturday 1 September 2012

Washington DC - A Cosmopolitan Capital




Our next stop was the capital city of the United States, Washington D.C. Washington D.C. was formally the District of Columbia and by law, the skyline is low due to height restrictions. It is divided into four quadrants - Northwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest.

Washington D.C. is home to a number of monuments, important political buildings and the Smithsonian Institute.

The first monument we went to see was the Washington Monument which is an obelisk situated on the National Mall. It was built to commemorate the first US President, George Washington. The monument  is the world's tallest stone structure and also the world's tallest obelisk. The monument is situated east of the Reflecting Pool, a rectangular pool that vividly shimmers and the two together create an awe inspiring sight.

The National Mall is a national park in the city and a lot of the monuments are located here. 24 million visitors a year come here to gaze in wonder at the impressive structures.



The next monument we visited was the Lincoln Memorial. Now this was very impressive and surreal to gaze up at the imposing huge statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in a chair. The entrance to the Lincoln Memorial is an imposing building fronted by columns which are reminiscent of a Greek temple. It was constructed to commemorate Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. Both the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address are inscribed inside the building. It is very iconic and was also the site of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream' speech.





We were really enjoying our self guided tour around all of the monuments and our next port of call was the Korean War Veterans Memorial.  This monument was constructed to commemorate soldiers who served in the Korean War and was my personal favourite monument. The faces of the statues just really resonated with me.


Our last memorial of the day was the World War II Memorial. The memorial is dedicated to Americans who served in the second World War and consists of 56 pillars surrounding a plaza and a fountain. It was very peaceful here and we stood in quiet reflection as we listened to the fountain.


The following day we decided to spend the morning at one of the many museums Washington D.C. has to offer. After studying it at school, we decided to head for the Holocaust Museum. The building was designed by an architect who was also a Holocaust surviver so it is very personal indeed. We explored the museum and felt a deep deep sadness and horror at the appalling atrocities that took place against Jewish people. The Hall of Remembrance allowed us to light a candle and silently reflect on all we had seen at this fascinating museum.

After our very sobering morning at the museum, we headed back to the National Mall. The US Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress and is host to the presidential inaugurations held every four years. Unfortunately, we didn't get chance to visit the visitors centre but were still grateful that we had got to see the impressive exterior of the building.


Our last stop was the famous White House. The White House is the official residence of the President of the United States and is one of the iconic symbols of the US. I couldn't believe I was there, standing in front of the house I had seen so many times on television.

There are six stories to the house and it is actually owned by the National Park Service as a National Heritage Site. 


Whilst we were visiting Washington D.C. we stayed at The American Guest House (2005 Columbia Rd NW) www.americanguesthouse.com which I would thoroughly recommend.

 Little did I know at the time but I would be coming back to this fab city very soon. All will be revealed in another blog post coming soon!



1 comment:

  1. Thanks for letting me know, error now corrected :-). I should really sack the researcher (i.e. me ha ha!)

    ReplyDelete