Washington remided us a lot of Canberra, so much so that at times Rob was expecting to see familiar people or landmarks. Again there was an excellent subway (the Metro) which transported us around. It was built in the mid 1970's and was a lot further underground than the NYC subway which we could hear and or feel at street level. The main attractions in Washington surround the Mall, which is a large grassed area 2miles (3.2km) long running East-West and a couple of hundred metres wide. The Capitol building is at the eastern end and is the centre of the city (the exact centre of the District of Columbia).

Friday 2nd January
We flew to Washington, DC on the 2nd. We stayed in a hotel (Capitol Hill Suites) a couple of blocks from the Capitol, close to a Metro station, and across the road from the Library of Congress. We flew from New York, arriving at Washington National Airport. Given the hightened level of secirity at the time, we were not permited to stand up in the aircraft for the last 30min of the flight. The airline was kind enough to warn us of this before we boarded so that we could use the facilities.

After checking into our hotel, we headed to the Mall to look around. We then went to the Smithsonian "Castle" to find out about the different Smithsonian Museums (many of which surround the Mall).

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum complex and research organization. It is composed of 14 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and 2 museums in New York City. The Smithsonian's exhibitions offer visitors a glimpse into its vast collection numbering over 142 million objects. Admission to all but one of the Smithsonian Museums are free.

We discovered that there was jazz playing at a restraunt in the Natural History Museum later in the evening, so we headed there to look at dinosaur skeletons, lots of rocks and minerals, and some very expensive rocks i.e. the Hope Diamond. Jo decided that it was a little big for her finger, which was good as it was set as a necklace and hey, Rob couldn't afford it this week. They had heaps of jewelery, but it was the huge crystals, and other minerals which were most impressive. We even saw some Crocoite from Tasmania.

After the Museum closed we went down to the restraunt and over a glass of wine listened to the Jazz group. We then had a dinner, in our now common American style - sharing a single serving - a large plate of pasta.

Jo's sister Liz had told us that the monuments were great to see at night. We knew that the weather was going to get colder later in the week and so we thought we'd better do the outside things early. So we walked down the Mall to the Reflecting Pool to discover it to be empty due to the World War II memorial currently being built at the Washington Monument end. The Lincoln memorial looked great in the night. The monuments are kept open late into the night, which is excellent. The Korean War memorial was very moving - a group of soldiers sculptures made of stainless steel which looked ghostly in the dark.

Saturday 3rd January
We took the train to the Mall, and then walked up to the White House. The layout of Washington is fascinating (see map) - the White House sits at the end of a lawned area running at right angles to the Mall. There is the White House Christmas Tree in the lawned area, surrounded by a tree for each state. Unfortunately it wasn't lit up at night as it would have looked a lot prettier. The White House looked smaller than we thought it would. Given we couldn't do a tour (we needed to ask for tickets months in advance, and this trip was planned barely weeks in advance), we went to the visitor's centre and watched a video about the White House. It was interesting to learn what the West Wing actually is - where the President works.

We then tried to find some lunch, but we were in amongst government offices. We followed signs to a food court, and discovered the whole security thing again - yes, to enter a food court. Nearby was the old Post Office tower, a National Monument. From the top of the tower there were great views of Washington. Funny history - once the US Post Office had stopped using the building it stayed vacant for many years. The Government could't afford to tear it down but they wanted to becuase it didn't fit with all of the other huge Roman looking government office buildings in the area. Anyhow, now the tower is run by the National Parks Service and the rest of the building is full of shops and eateries.

In the tower was also a set of bells which were a gift from the United Kingdom for the US Bicentennial. They are replicas of the bells in Westminster Abbey, and were made at the same foundry, though 4 centuries later.

We went to the Capitol Building to have a look around the outside, but it was around 5pm and they were clearing people from the grounds. The sun was starting to set and the Christmas tree outside the Capitol building looked pretty. The reflecting pool near the Capitol kept us busy with the camera until the sun had completely set.

Sunday 4th January
Our fifth wedding anniversary. Never thought we'd be in Washington DC. The plan was for New Zealand, but we're not good planners...

Arrived at the Washington Monument just before 9am, and were fortunate to be given two tickets that someone had just returned. The entry was free, but we needed to get a ticket, which they start giving out in chronological order at 8.30am.

The grounds of the monument were being renovated and so were surrounded by huge white fences.

The monument is 555ft high. After the usual security stuff we got in the lift and went to the top floor where there was a viewing platform - this was at 500ft. We took copius amounts of photos, taking it in turns with all the other tourists to look out the windows on each of the four sides. Great Views!! Its position means that looking west we saw the Lincoln Memorial, north the White House, east the Capitol and Mall, south the Potomac River and other memorials. The lift then took us down to the gift shop at 490ft. There was a tour starting which we thought about going on, but the prospect of walking down 50 stories of stairs was not really enticing, so we did what most people did and took the lift back down. The lift stopped at different stages to see the memorial stones which were presented by the states to pay tribute to George Washington, which had been placed on the inside wall of the monument.

Then we walked down to the Vietnam Memorial. It is very simple but fitting design, two shiny granite walls with the names of the deceased and missing inscribed on them. The walls are sunk into the ground and are at a wide angle to each other, looking like the ground has been cut away and then names engraved on the face of the small cliff. It was designed by a 21 year old student from Yale University.

The Franklin D Roosevelt memorial is very large. Because FDR was elected president for four terms (the law has been changed since so this will no longer happen), the memorial was divided into sections commemorating the milestones of each term - the Depression, Fireside Chats, World War II. Quotes from his speeches were also enscribed on the walls, including Rob's favorite "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." (First Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., March 4,1933). There were lots of fountains/waterfalls and the whole memorial was constructed from blocks of granite. There were also many bronze sculptures telling stories of FDR, the country and his impact. The memorial gave the impression of a great man who had looked after the downtrodden and forgotten people of his country. We had a great chat with a National Parks guide about FDR, current politics, and Australia.

Next on the Memorial list was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. We'd seen this one at Legoland - the statue of Jefferson can be seen from the front, rear, and sides of the building. Famous speeches of his were inscribed on the inside of the memorial using bronze letters. On on wall was the well known section from the declaration of independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
-- Taken from the Declaration of Independence, 1776.

From the grounds of the memorial we could see the Washington Monument (the oblisk) and its reflection in the water. In spring this area is said to be beautiful due to the Japanese Plum trees which line the tidal basin.