Thursday April 18 Washington_DC

The day dawned very wet yet mild as I headed off for my tour of Washington DC. The taxi was a bit early and it was a fairly slow crawl most of the way in to the Old Post Office Pavilion where the tour was due to start. There were about fifteen of us on the tour and the weather was on the improve as we set off. 

Our first stop was at the Capitol, the seat of power in America. We wandered around and also saw the statue of Ulysses S. Grant sitting atop a noble steed. The whole area is built on reclaimed land that was known for its mosquitos!! We then  proceeded down Constitution Avenue and on the way we passed the WW2 memorial. it is undergoing renovation at the present and has two arms the Atlantic and the Pacific. I looked away from the Capitol towards the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian Museum and had to pinch myself that I was actually here on Washington DC!!

We then arrived at the Martin Luther King Jr memorial. There is a wonderful statue designed
by a Chinese Artist but the work is incomplete as he was assassinated before he could finish it. Some of the sayings from King have been etched on the wall behind the statue. Between the two sides of the statue the Jefferson Memorial from across the other side of the Potomac River. The Korean War Veterans Memorial is nearby so we walked over to it. This memorial consists of statues of soldiers walking across a field and there is a wall running alongside which has the images of people taken from the newspapers, lasered onto it. 


One of the highlights for me was the Lincoln memorial, next on our schedule. To stand at the feet of that great man was awesome. It also really underlined how well cast Daniel Day Lewis was playing the lead role in the film - Lincoln.

The Vietnam Memorial is a wall that contains the names of all who either died in the fighting or have died of their injuries or illness since. The design, by a young female student, did cause some controversy at the time. Walking beyond the wall we were also able to visit the memorial to the women who served behind the lines in Vietnam.

The Marine Corps Memorial depicts a group of four marines raising the flag over Iwo Jima. The flag pole creates an optical illusion as you drive past and it appears as if it is actually being raised. It is very clever! This memorial is in The Arlington National Cemetery, section 27. We were also able to visit the latest modern convenience there, Porta Loos as we call them in New Zealand!! Everywhere else we went the restrooms were closed. Beyond this memorial is the Netherlands Carillon with a Bell Tower and the most beautiful Tulip garden made up from bulbs that are sent every year from the Netherlands.

Our final stop was to visit the outside of the White house and no, the President was not home, he was in Boston for the day! We were fortunate enough to get fairly close to the North side but had to fight our way through a demonstration to get some photos. It would seem there were several different ones on at the same time and they rotated through the front position!! Secret police were on guard at the front and there was what looked to be a sniper on the roof of the White House.

Finally, we were dropped back at our starting point and by this time I was fairly peckish. I wandered along Pennsylvania avenue and then onto Constitution Avenue, passing the American Archives, and settled for some lunch at the Pavilion Cafe in the Sculpture Gardens. By this time, the weather was warm and the sun was out. I had no idea how I was going to get back to my hotel in Arlington but that did not seem to matter very much at all. I have to say I am not usually this disorganised!! I managed to find an outside table and started chatting to this woman just along from me. She asked me where I was from and on hearing my response told me she is spending a month in New Zealand next February.Anyway, for some reason I asked her if she knew were I could get a taxi to Arlington. She told me that all I needed to do was get to the Metro just beyond the Smithsonian. So I thanked her and once I had finished my lunch I wandered over towards the Smithsonian, it took me a little while to find the Metro. My only help in working out if the Metro was any use to me was a map I had torn out of an Arlington Guide. Putting that together with the map at the station, I finally managed to work out that I could get much closer to my hotel so with the help of one of the very helpful station staff staff I obtained my ticket and had my very first ride on the Washington Metro.

So ended an eventful but very enjoyable day in Washington DC, one that will remain with me for some time. Oh, and one last comment, no-one said hi to me today so I did not accidentally run into anyone who chats or lurks at FFRC. I know this because I wore one of my FFRC T-Shirts!!!