After checking in at our hotel in Alexandria, Virginia (see this entry), we went to Washington D.C. to visit the capital of the United States. We went there as a group. But when we got there, we had our own agenda. Our hosts allowed us to have our own itinerary, depending on what you want to see in the district. For my group, our priority was to visit and see the White House, the house of the President of the powerful and influential country in the world, the United States.
Washington D.C., formally known as the District of Columbia, and commonly referred to as Washington, the “District”, or simply “D.C.”, is the capital of the United States. It was on July 16, 1790 when the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital of U.S.A. as permitted by the U.S. Constitution. The city is surrounded by the states of Maryland to the southeast, northeast, and northwest and Virginia to the southwest.
We went to the National Mall, a large, open park area in the center of the city. Given its prominence, they say that this area is often the location of large-scale political protests and demonstrations which we saw a few when we were there. The Washington Monument is located near the center of the mall, south of the White House. Also located on the mall are the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorialat the east end of the Reflecting Pool which is interesting because they have one for Philippines, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The famous Smithsonian Institution houses and maintains most of the nation’s official museums and galleries in Washington, D.C.. The U.S. government partially funds the Smithsonian, thus making its collections open to the public free of charge. We had a short visit to the National Air and Space Museum located on the National Mall. And this place was really huge!
Other Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries located on the mall are: the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum Museum of the American Indian, the Sackler and Freer galleries, which both focus on Asian Art and Culture, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Arts and Industries Building, the S. Dillon Ripley Center, and the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as “The Castle”), which serves as the Institution’s headquarters.
The next day, since we still have a lot of time before our return flight to Manila, a few of us went back to Washington D.C. to visit more places. It’s not hard to commute going there. Although we had one miss when we were returning to Alexandria because we ended at Pentagon instead. But no regret, at least we get to see up close the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense located in Arlington, Virginia.
It was memorable because I finally saw significant landmarks in the states which are also known in the world. I was happy to see the White House, Smithsonian Institution, Memorial Statue, the U.S. Congress, Lincoln Memorial, U.S. Capitol and a lot of things. And the cute squirrels that are just roaming and playing around at the park. You’d see a lot of tourists and visitors around that’s why it’s so comfortable to tour around even if you’re not familiar with the place and streets. Awesome experience!
– Washington, D.C. was visited last October 2007
“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”
vonviajero 