Washington D.C

Washington D.C, the capital of the United States. Barely 2 hours south of New York City via train. Across a few days we explored some great museums, memorials, and checked out that big house in white.

The day we arrived we headed straight to the White House to snap a few pictures. It’s pretty and pristine and constantly surrounded by tourists fighting for fence space for a photo. I couldn’t help but wonder how many people it takes to keep the garden surrounds so neat and tidy.

The next stop was the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian is a series of museums all packed neatly near each other. We considered going into the Natural History museum for about 2 seconds but after already having seen the NYC version we decided against it.

The National Air and Space museum was our first stop. It holds a great collection of artefacts, rockets, and planes. Some of the highlights we discovered included Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis and the Wright brothers plane from 1903. I have to say I did find it got a little bit meh after a while. Though I enjoyed the interactive exhibits and seeing the pieces I recognised, a lot of the museum is reliant on poster reading and prior knowledge.

On the following day we went firstly to the Lincoln memorial. It’s a popular stopping spot for tourists and locals alike. I know that I was supposed to be enraptured with his magnitude when I looked up at the imposing statue but honestly, my only thought at the time was of that scene in Legally Blonde 2 when Elle’s buddies turn up at the memorial to cheer her up with a “snap cup”.

It’s also kind of hilarious to see the importance level of the Presidents according to where their memorials are situated. Lincoln and Washington are of course in the centre, Jefferson is off to the side a bit, and I don’t even think there was a memorial for poor John Adams.

After the Lincoln memorial it started pouring leaving us no option but to wait it out inside the closest museum. The American History museum was a welcome reprieve from the rain outside and quite fun to walk around. Thanks to film and television we were quite aware of many of the pieces including Judy Garland’s famous red shoes, Kermit the frog, President Lincoln’s hat, and the inauguration dresses of the First Ladies.

On our last day in Washington D.C we aimed to keep it simple, opting for the casual walk around option. This included finding the Ford’s Theatre, known as the place of the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go inside but we did manage to take a few photos.

We then made our way to Capitol Hill. The United States Capitol building is the home of the United States Congress. It was completed in 1800 in a neoclassical style and is situated at the East end of the National Mall in Washington D.C. Again, it is surrounded by a never ending series of statues and dedications linked to past war heroes and presidents. It was also a surprisingly nice place for a picnic.

Our last stop for the day was the Library of Congress. It was beautiful inside, with intricately designed interiors and I would have loved to explore it further but unfortunately our small cluster of tourists were abruptly kicked out after about 10 minutes. I’m still not quite sure which important person was soon to arrive but apparently they needed the library to themselves.

Washington is a fun city to visit if you are a fan of history and/or politics. It’s relatively easy to get around and has a wide set of activities and museums the whole family can enjoy.