Hi all from Washington, DC!
We left at 6am today and caught the subway to Penn Station where we
boarded our Amtrak train southbound. We arrived in DC at about 10.45am
and my friend Maria picked us up from the beautiful Union Station. She
was my roommate on my Brazil leg of my South America trip in early 2015.
I last came and visited her in January 2017 and I’m so happy to see her
again. She’s one of those people that when I see her it’s like no time
has passed at all. She's currently 6.5 months pregnant!
Maria drove Rob and I first to the Wharf area where we walked in the sun
and had tacos for lunch. Then we stopped in Georgetown, a historic area
of DC with beautiful buildings. Here we had cookies from a bakery called
Levain which were delicious! We then walked near the C and O Canal and
along the Potomac River in the sun. It was so nice and warm today!
Next we parked near the Mall and headed to the Washington Monument for
our 3pm ascent I had booked. The tower is 168m tall and construction started
in 1848, but political struggles such as the Civil War and a lack of
money meant it wasn’t completed until 1884. At the time it was the world’s
tallest structure, but was quickly overtaken five years later by the
nearly double its height Eiffel Tower. These days it’s the world’s
tallest free standing stone structure as it’s not comprised of any
steel, it is all stone.
The monument was erected to commemorate George Washington as a tribute
to his military service and the ideals of the nation he helped create.
It is the tallest building in Washington DC. I love how open and green
it is here, and that the buildings aren’t very high. I think it would be
a nice place to live. After a security scan, we saw a statue inside the lobby near the elevator that is meant to be one of the closest in likeness to George Washington, that Thomas Jefferson had commissioned. Washington's proportions were all measured and a plaster cast created of his face to create the likeness.
We caught the elevator (the public can't take the stairs, but there are over 800 of them!) and were treated to gorgeous sunny views as far as the eye could see from above. We could see the Mall and the Capitol Building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and all the museums. Maria had never been up and really enjoyed the views as well. On the way down, the lift slowed to show us some of the 190 commemorative stones facing inwards in the tower donated by different states and groups. Some of the state ones are made out of local materials from that state such as Hawaii's being made out of coral.
Afterwards we walked to the Lincoln Memorial via the World War II memorial in which I dipped my feet (you're allowed!). It was lovely and cool. The Lincoln Memorial opened in 1922 and the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln was just as magnificent as I remembered. Maria and I had the foyer here to ourselves last time, but today it was swarming with people. It's Memorial Day Long Weekend here now with Monday being a public holiday, so it'll likely be a busy few days anywhere in the USA.
We headed then to Maria and Eric's house which is beautiful, they've done a lovely job renovating it. We are staying in their basement which they've converted into a guest suite. After chatting and relaxing for a while, the four of us went out for dinner to a Laotian restaurant. The food was delicious! We then drove back to the Lincoln Memorial and enjoyed it all lit up, before walking around to the MLK Memorial with a view of the Jefferson Memorial.
We've had a great day today, and it's been so lovely to spend some time with Maria and Eric! I'm glad we have three more days here with them.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
We caught the elevator (the public can't take the stairs, but there are over 800 of them!) and were treated to gorgeous sunny views as far as the eye could see from above. We could see the Mall and the Capitol Building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and all the museums. Maria had never been up and really enjoyed the views as well. On the way down, the lift slowed to show us some of the 190 commemorative stones facing inwards in the tower donated by different states and groups. Some of the state ones are made out of local materials from that state such as Hawaii's being made out of coral.
Afterwards we walked to the Lincoln Memorial via the World War II memorial in which I dipped my feet (you're allowed!). It was lovely and cool. The Lincoln Memorial opened in 1922 and the marble statue of Abraham Lincoln was just as magnificent as I remembered. Maria and I had the foyer here to ourselves last time, but today it was swarming with people. It's Memorial Day Long Weekend here now with Monday being a public holiday, so it'll likely be a busy few days anywhere in the USA.
We headed then to Maria and Eric's house which is beautiful, they've done a lovely job renovating it. We are staying in their basement which they've converted into a guest suite. After chatting and relaxing for a while, the four of us went out for dinner to a Laotian restaurant. The food was delicious! We then drove back to the Lincoln Memorial and enjoyed it all lit up, before walking around to the MLK Memorial with a view of the Jefferson Memorial.
We've had a great day today, and it's been so lovely to spend some time with Maria and Eric! I'm glad we have three more days here with them.
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
No comments:
Post a Comment