A sunny Sunday in Washington

So after Mass I came out of the Church and Drew was waiting outside. Our plan of action today was to see bits of Washington we had not seen last time. Back in 2002 when we were here last we tried to get in as many monuments as possible. So we started with the Lincoln Memorial and walked the length of the Mall seeing all the war memorials, the Washington Memorial and on up to the Capital Building and the Supreme Court. So this time the focus was on other parts of the City.

We decided to start where we were i.e. Pennsylvania Avenue, where our Hotel is located. So we began to make our way up the Avenue. This was a lovely walk. The weather was excellent, last night it had been a bit overcast but today we had a sunny sky with cloudless skies. 

We walked across Washington Circle and on to Foggy Bottom from there we came upon the IMF building, this was a lovely building and a great water feature. From there we came to the World Bank which is also pretty impressive.

We had been planning to stop for breakfast as we walked along, but many of the cafes were not open on a Sunday. One that was had a queue, sorry line, going out of the door and down the street.

At 11.30 we spotted a place called Cosi, which is evidently a chain, but not one we had come across before. I opted for a Sante Fe wrap which was a tortilla filled with egg, bacon, cheese and pico de gallo. I had the option of white or wheat tortilla and I chose the wheat. Drew went for the Sausage & Pepper Frittata Squagel Sandwich (apparently squagel is slang for a square bagel!!) he had a choice of five types of bread for his sandwich and opted for the one with Asiago cheese, I'm not sure why Asiago is suddenly a common cheese in America, but this is the second menu in two days with Asiago on it.

After our late breakfast it was time for serious site-seeing. Right opposite the restaurant was the Old Executive Building, the official office of the vice-president. Then we went around the corner a little and we were at the White House. As it happened today was the president's birthday, and a lot of people were outside the gates with best wishes for the birthday.

We walked through Lafayette Park, which was a first for me, and had some great views of the White House as well as some fascinating statues - see my Flickr feed for more photos.

We then walked past the Treasury building and past the Commerce Department and a whole other range of Government offices, including the IRS.


The Washington Monument was being renovated, as you can see. Drew also liked the environmentally friendly tool called The Big Belly bin, you can decide from the picture which is the bigger belly :-)

Following the recommendation of a friend, Geneen, we went next to the Smithsonian Museum,  this museum, or selection of museums (there are 17 in all) provides all you ever wanted in a museum. 

We opted for two of the 17, the Air and Space Museum and the American Indian Museum

The first of these include a mix of real and replica items. For example the Apollo 11 command capsule, see me beside it on the left, was real. The Sputnik was, on the other hand a model, though a model made in the same factory in the then USSR as the original. There were a lot of explanatory items to see and explore and quizzes to engage the young and not so young. Next time you are in Washington, add it to your list of things you must do.

The American Indian Museum on the other hand had a very different feel. It was emotive and designed to indicate the harm Europeans did to an ancient, rich and vibrant culture. That being said the architecture is spectacular and some of the exhibition was more positive, from the perspective of one of those perfidious Europeans than others. It was again well worth a visit and included the Mitsitam Cafe a native foods cafe that serves foods for the wide variety of regional American Indian cultures. I had a bowl of chilies  beans and maize with a native south western American Indian bread.

There was still lots more to see, the FBI building, Freedom Park, the Old Post Office - all represented on Flickr. We had walked almost all day, it was 5.45 when we got back to the hotel, 9 1/2 hours after I left it this morning. Yes I am tired but really pleased at such a brilliant first full day of this year's holiday a busy but fulfilling one.