Travels around the World – Washington DC

View from Washington monument

Washington DC is a place that has always sounded like a place I would like to visit and when I arrived there I was a little disappointed. We found ourselves in the outskirts of the city at night and it wasn’t really what I had expected from the capital but I realise now that all big cities have to have an area that feels a little rough around the edges. Once we found our way into the main part of the city things were much more like I had imagined. The first thing you notice is that there are monuments everywhere. The Washington Monument and the reflecting pool is an impressive feature and I stood for ages trying to get the best possible picture of this. I didn't actually realise that you could go inside the Washington Monument but once I did it was something I had to do. The views are incredible. From the Washington monument there are several places worthy of a visit within easy walking distance, We visited the Vietnam Wall which displays the names of all of the soldiers lost in the conflict. Even though I was young when the war was taking place it is still an incredibly emotional place to visit as the rows of names seem to go on forever.
The Lincoln memorial is an amazing structure with its columned entrance and hugely imposing statue of the seated president you cannot fail to be impressed but for me it was the Thomas Jefferson Memorial that I favoured. I am not sure if it is the design of the building with it’s columned front and domed roof or the fact that you can see it in the distance for a long time before you are able to get to it that made it the most intriguing. On first sight the building actually appears to be standing in the middle of the lake, it is only as you get closer that you can actually see the pathway leading to the entrance. As we were only in

Jefferson memorial from Washington Monument

Washington for a limited time we had to decide what we really wanted to see, there were loads of museums we could have visited but opted for a trip to Arlington Cemetery as the White house tour was not available at the time so we had to make do with an external view only. It took me a while to get used to the idea of a cemetery being used as a tourist attraction and finding out that there was a guided tour really made my head spin but it turned out to be fascinating. We visited another monument, this one was dedicated to the seven crew of the space shuttle that exploded just after take off, an event I remember seeing on the TV all those years ago. We were then guided to the resting place of John F Kennedy and the ever burning flame that is by his graveside. Shortly before our visit Jackie O had

The Jefferson Memorial

passed away and had been interred in the family plot next to her late husband. Although there are many more famous or inspirational people buried in Arlington we were then lead to the top of the hill where we took a tour around General Robert E Lee’s home. This is a grand old building that goes back to the time of the Civil War with views that seem to span for miles and miles. As we made our way back to the airport I could not help but marvel at how my first impression of this amazing city had changed from when I first landed. I would love to go back and spend a little more time there as I feel like I hardly saw any of the many things this place has to offer.