Kisses From Washington D.C.

There's something odd about visiting a place you remember from your early childhood memories. A faint corner here and there, a painting, a lake... but truly, it's all a blur, and realizing how incredibly warped your memories are only confuses you further. I can't say I remember much about my visit to Washington D.C. ten years ago, but I do remember some odd instances. One of these was trick-or-treating in the city of Georgetown. Now, back ten years later, I'm planning on not collecting candy, yet rather minimizing the size of my wallet in the wonderous shops that line the street and wandering about the campus of Georgetown University.
Yet another thing I remember is the incredible sadness I felt when I realized that the National Mall was not in fact, as I had hoped and imagined, the nation's biggest shopping center. I mean, as a 6 year old, walking for what seemed liked hours upon hours down a cement path in between two patches of grass was not the most appealing form of entertainment, especially since that morning, when I had been told where we were going, I was already imagining all the dresses and toys I could beg out of my parents to buy for me.
But today, as I walked down the National Mall, my first day in Washington D.C., everything appeared to be so much different. Smaller, definitely smaller, but also so much more intriguing. I guess that's owed to a mixture of being 10 years older, but also the crazy lectures of my AP U.S. History teacher this year. And as I walk through the nation's capital, I get overwhelmed with joy when someone mentions a tiny fact about a part of United State's history and I can expand upon it for a good couple of minutes. Well, enough text. Let's look at pictures.



In front of the U.S. Capitol

 After missing the tour of the Library of Congress we were planning on taking, we wandered down to the U.S. Capitol which is located right below the Library so to venture on to the National Mall. Interesting fact, if you didn't already know this, there is a law that in the District of Columbia, no building can be taller than the base of the capitol. So when you see high-rises, they are all in Maryland or Virginia.

The heat and humidity were suffocating us, so as soon as we spotted the U.S. Botanical Gardens, we ventured in. For those who read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, this is where Bellamy is taken when blindfolded to be questioned by Sato.



Entrance to the gardens.

Standing in the Garden Court





Flowers and a butterfly in and around the gardens.

Following our exploration of the gardens, we were famished, so we crossed the Mall and walked to the National Gallery of Art to eat in their underground café. Following that, we quickly ventured through the West Wing of the gallery to see da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci and some other works.





The Ginevra de' Benci by Leonardo da Vinci



Two Women at a Window by Bartolome Esteban Murillo

Edgar Degas' Ballerina

Outside of da Vinci's work, I also very much enjoyed Murillo's, a Spanish artist's, painting (hence the photograph above). Finally, you see Degas' famous sculpture of a ballerina. Going back to what I was saying about remembering my trip ten years ago, I also distinctly remember seeing this ballerina. At this time, I was still an active ballerina myself and felt obliged to be interested in all of Degas' paintings of ballerinas. When I saw this sculpture in the sculpture gallery, I did not hesitate one second and simply bolted towards it, to the horror of the security guard in the room, of course. But here it is, 10 years later, and this time, I casually walked into the room, I promise.

The Old Post Office

On our way to the bus stop, we passed by what is called the Old Post Office. I'll probably be coming back because I was told the view from the tower is incredibly pretty.

So that was my first day in Washington D.C., ten years after I left. It was quite an odd day, refreshing the dusty corners of my mind that saw the same place through a 6 year old's eyes. I'll probably post something else after I follow more of the landmarks mentioned in The Lost Symbol, but until then, I guess... kisses from Washington D.C.