I'm On Top On The World!

Last week one of my classes went to Washington Monument and then the memorials around the National Mall. First we went to the top of the Washington Monument, which was my first time going to the top of it. It was a lot of fun! We fit the entire class in the elevator, which probably was not the smartest idea ever . . . 

Some nineteenth century graffiti!

Then we started our tour to the war memorials. First up was the World War II memorial. Our tour guide was a National Parks guide that told about the history of each monument and why they were built the way that they were built. 

Stars for the fallen soldiers. 

The next couple of pictures are of the District of Columbia War Memorial. At first it was for the District of Columbia, but then it ended up on Federal property. Since it was a city memorial, however,  the National Parks Service could not renovate it.  But since it was on Federal property, the district couldn't renovate the memorial. For many years, the memorial was overgrown and nobody went there. In 2008, when one of the last living World War I veterans, wanted to see the memorial so the in 2010 the memorial began to be renovated by the National Parks Service. It opened in 2011 and I think it is one of the most beautiful memorials on the Mall. 

The Korean War Memorial is my favorite because I love the symbolism behind the memorial. For instance there are eighteen physical statues and then eighteen reflections of these statues in the black marble wall. These thirty-eight figures represent the 38th parallel in Korea. 

Last memorial of the day, that I have pictures of, was the Lincoln Memorial. We also quickly saw the Vietnam Memorial, but I have no good pictures of that. The first picture is one of my favorite pictures  that I have ever taken. 

This is a picture from the back of the Lincoln Memorial looking towards Arlington Cemetery 

After all that walking, my feet were tired and I was ready to head back to campus! While working on this post I copy and pasted a paragraph from this post into a Google demo that has famous dead writers (Dickinson, Shakespeare, Dickens, Poe, Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche) edit your work. This is the paragraph concerning the District of Columbia War Memorial. Enjoy!

The next couple of pictures are of the District of the stark and menacing chill of St. "Petersburg War Memorial", he growled incoherently. At first it was for the District of Columbia, but then it ended up on Federal property. Since it was a festering sore on the globe memorial, however, the National Parks Service unquestionably could not renovate it. But since it was a town of unnatural red and black like the painted face of a savage For many years, the memorial was overgrown and nobody went there. In 2008, when one of the last living World War I veterans, wanted to see the memorial so the in 2010 the memorial commenced to zealously be renovated by the National Parks Service. ... A good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends. 

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Kara

Washington, D.C. Day Five | Museum and Flying Home

For our last day in Washington, D.C. we decided to go to the Museum of American History before heading to the airport for our flight. We took the metro from Dupont Circle to Metro Center on the Red Line, and then Metro Center to Smithsonian on the Orange Line. We got there early (all Smithsonian museums open at 10:00 am) and we weren’t allowed to wait inside, so we tried to find some shade close to the doors.

When we did get in, we went straight to the Star Spangled Banner that Emma really wanted to see. It is beautiful and it is astounding to see something so iconic. Then we saw an exhibit about a house. The Smithsonian took a house from Ipswich, MA and transplanted into the museum. The exhibit told the history of the house from the perspective of five families that lived there from the 1760s to the 1940s. I’ll link to the exhibit HERE. One of the docents was telling us that no one really notices the exhibit because it is tucked away behind construction. But if you are there, you should go because it is very interesting.

The most exciting thing that we saw at the museum was the First Lady dresses. I have seen this exhibit before, but it is always amazing. I love reading about the backgrounds of the dresses and looking at the individual styles of the First Ladies. In the center of the room was Michelle Obama’s red Jason Wu gown from the second inauguration. Usually they have her white one from the first inauguration because, fun fact, the First Lady’s second inauguration dress is traditionally kept in the President’s Library. The Smithsonian has it on lend for about a year and then the white Jason Wu dress will be back. While I like the white gown better, I still think that Michelle Obama can pull off most things.

After we had lunch at the museum cafeteria (I had a chicken Caesar salad wrap) and then walked back to the metro station.

We got back to the hotel and packed our bags in a cab to go to the airport. While I like D.C., I don’t know it yet. I’m excited to explore it this fall!

Thanks for reading!

Washington, D.C. Day Two | Tour Bus, Bond, and Tapas

On day two, all four of us woke up later than expected. We rushed to get showered, dressed and readied to go down to the lobby to have breakfast. We then hopped one of those “hop-on hop-off” tour buses to go sightseeing. The BigBus first took us from Dupont Circle to Georgetown where we saw dozens of quaint houses that must have seen so much history in their time. We also decided that we wanted to try and come back to Georgetown before we left.

Rainbow ribbons for Gay Pride! 

Warring households during the World Cup

Then we got off at the Lincoln Memorial and I took a photo of Mom, Dad and Emma in front of the National Mall.

The Lincoln Memorial itself is awe-inspiring. It is huge and has so much meaning to so many people. People go there because of Lincoln himself, or because of Martin Luther King, Jr., or because of Forrest Gump. There were so many opportunities to take pictures, so be prepared for a bunch.

Since we had done the Vietnam Memorial the day before, we walked through the Korean Memorial and then to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial.

 When I came to D.C. in eighth grade, my favorite memorial was the FDR Memorial, so we had to make a stop there. I do not know why I love it, maybe because of all the waterfalls or quiet places. Mom, Dad and Emma had never been there, but they ended up liking it as well!

After walking through the memorials and sitting on the top floor of the tour bus, we were feeling pretty hot and tired. We definitely needed to stop somewhere for lunch. We got off the bus by the International Spy Museum and hopped on over to Gordon Biersch for some food. I can’t describe how wonderful it was to step inside the cool restaurant; we gulped down that first glass of water in seconds. I got the crab cake appetizer with a side of asparagus that was the perfect amount of food that left enough room for dessert.

For that aforementioned dessert, Emma got the kids Oreo ice cream cake and the rest of us split the dessert sampler. It consisted of strawberry cheesecake, apple bread pudding, chocolate brownie and the double chocolate cake. They were all absolutely divine.

Then we headed to the International Spy Museum where they had an exhibition on James Bond villains. Now I love James Bond and I love James Bond villains, so I saw the posters for the exhibit and freaked. As soon as we walked in, I saw the police suit that Raoul Silva from Skyfall and I fangirled. It happened. We also an Aston Martin DB5 (the coolest car ever), Le Chiffre’s (Casino Royale villain) outfit and Silva’s prosthetic teeth. For a Bond fan like me, it was amazing.

After getting back to the hotel, resting and dressing up for the evening, we took a cab through Chinatown to get to a Spanish tapas place called Jaleo. Dad and I have been there before with Ashley and we loved it. Mom has been to Spain several times and has very high standards about tapas, and she even liked it. The only complaint she had was that some of the dishes had too much paprika on them. The names of the dishes are underneath the photos.

The interesting floors in the bathrooms . . .

Manchego Cheese

Tomato bread with Jamon 

Liquified olives

Patatas Bravas 

Gambas al Ajillo 

Rabbit Confit with Apricot Purée

Pork roll stuffed with Jamon and Cheese 

Grilled Squid with Squid Ink and Rice

Paella with Shrimp and Calamari

We got cupcakes at Red Velvet bakery across the street (Red Velvet for Emma and I, and Devil’s Food Cake for Dad). Cupcakes are my weakness and these were no exception. They were AH-mazing!

YUM! 

That’s all folks for day two in Washington, D.C.! The next two days were orientation days for my school, so there are only pictures from dinner on the second night when I was back with the family.

Thanks for reading!