Our first sight-seeing day after 3 days of travelling and we were looking forward to getting out and stretching our legs. On this day we walked more than 5 miles around the centre of Washington DC but we still didn't get as far visiting the White House. Maybe next time and we'll try to arrange a tour around (apparently we have to apply to our local Senator for tickets!)
The very Borg-like metro stations, this one was at the Smithsonian where we stopped.
I loved the curves and the minimalist look, though I think I would have preferred slightly brighter lighting. They were very clean. All the stations on the Orange Line we passed through seemed to be identically finished.
The Washington Monument from the National Mall. As you can see DC had already had a coating of snow (about 4-6" in places where it wasn't trodden down)
Looking East towards the Capitol Building. As you can see the National Mall is huge!
Inside the Smithsonian Natural History Museum there were many amazing things to see, here are just a few:
Skeleton of a fossilized Giant Ground Sloth.
A variety of mammoth.
Some malachite in it's natural form, I love this mineral when it's carved, the deep green colour is so beautiful.
Some rocks & minerals with amazing properties...
Here they are glowing under dark light.
These are meteorite specimens.
And this is one of the pieces of moonrock on display.
Some of the fabulous gems in the collection.
And this is the Hope Diamond, one of the owners used to store it under the sofa cushions according to the write up on the wall, even getting her Great Dane to model it!
A 2000 yr old Egyptian mummy and sarcophagus.
Three totem poles in a stairwell.
Skating on a rink in the park outside the Smithsonian.
A tree made of concrete and aluminium in the Sculpture Garden.
This house was by Roy Liechtenstein and was very clever, from which ever position you looked at it the perspective changed, the effect was particularly apparent if you walked slowly around it.
The Capitol Building with a Frozen Reflecting Pool in front of it.
Soyuz spacecraft on display at the National Air and Space Museum
A full size Skylab - you could go in this and see just how cramped the quarters were.
Catherine in front of a Saturn V engine exhaust - with mirrors used to show the huge size of the Saturn V rockets.
Space Ship One
A quick dash to the Smithsonian Museum of American History before it closed to see just one exhibit.
Julia Child's kitchen - I have always loved this woman for her quirkiness and her sense of humour. After watching Julie & Julia and realising that her kitchen was in the Smithsonian we had to visit, though we did not bring a pat of butter with us!
Tom took this quirky picture of the Washington Monument, I can assure you it does actually stand straight and tall so I'm not really sure how he created this effect.
Dusk at the Washington Monument.
Looking down the Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial as the sun set.
The adventurous squirrels of the National Mall were only too keen to check us out when me and Catherine sat down for a rest on a bench.
Looking down to the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial
The very Borg-like metro stations, this one was at the Smithsonian where we stopped.
I loved the curves and the minimalist look, though I think I would have preferred slightly brighter lighting. They were very clean. All the stations on the Orange Line we passed through seemed to be identically finished.
The Washington Monument from the National Mall. As you can see DC had already had a coating of snow (about 4-6" in places where it wasn't trodden down)
Looking East towards the Capitol Building. As you can see the National Mall is huge!Inside the Smithsonian Natural History Museum there were many amazing things to see, here are just a few:
Skeleton of a fossilized Giant Ground Sloth.
A variety of mammoth.
Some malachite in it's natural form, I love this mineral when it's carved, the deep green colour is so beautiful.
Some rocks & minerals with amazing properties...
Here they are glowing under dark light.
These are meteorite specimens.
And this is one of the pieces of moonrock on display.
Some of the fabulous gems in the collection.
And this is the Hope Diamond, one of the owners used to store it under the sofa cushions according to the write up on the wall, even getting her Great Dane to model it!
A 2000 yr old Egyptian mummy and sarcophagus.
Three totem poles in a stairwell.
Skating on a rink in the park outside the Smithsonian.
A tree made of concrete and aluminium in the Sculpture Garden.
This house was by Roy Liechtenstein and was very clever, from which ever position you looked at it the perspective changed, the effect was particularly apparent if you walked slowly around it.
The Capitol Building with a Frozen Reflecting Pool in front of it.
Soyuz spacecraft on display at the National Air and Space Museum
A full size Skylab - you could go in this and see just how cramped the quarters were.
Catherine in front of a Saturn V engine exhaust - with mirrors used to show the huge size of the Saturn V rockets.
Space Ship OneA quick dash to the Smithsonian Museum of American History before it closed to see just one exhibit.
Julia Child's kitchen - I have always loved this woman for her quirkiness and her sense of humour. After watching Julie & Julia and realising that her kitchen was in the Smithsonian we had to visit, though we did not bring a pat of butter with us!
Tom took this quirky picture of the Washington Monument, I can assure you it does actually stand straight and tall so I'm not really sure how he created this effect.
Dusk at the Washington Monument.
Looking down the Reflecting Pool towards the Lincoln Memorial as the sun set.
The adventurous squirrels of the National Mall were only too keen to check us out when me and Catherine sat down for a rest on a bench.
Looking down to the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial
The Washington Monument at night.
The Lincoln Memorial at night.
We loved Washington DC and all of us wanted to go back for more. You would need a week just to go around the various Smithsonian Museums and there were plenty more places we could have visited on our trip.
The Lincoln Memorial at night.We loved Washington DC and all of us wanted to go back for more. You would need a week just to go around the various Smithsonian Museums and there were plenty more places we could have visited on our trip.
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5 comments:
Well, I'm seriously green with envy, gives me encouragement to save up to finally make it across the pond. Beautiful pictures.
Your pictures of Washington are wonderful! I only live 20 miles from there, too bad we couldn't have met...next time maybe? Sounds like you had a wonderful time! *Hugs*
I love, love, love the Smithsonian and can't wait to take the boys there one day.
You need more than a week to look in the smithsonians and you'd still find stuff you'd miss. They had just redone the American History museum within the last year after closing it for over a year for the renovations. I still haven't been down there since they redid it.
We definitely need to meet up again next time you are over K!
Great pictures, thanks for sharing them all.
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