Hello!
Up this morning about 6:30 am and ready to go downstairs by
7:30. Much less crowded than yesterday,
so I think in this case, earlier is definitely better. Food was still plentiful and good!
Our plan was to go to Ford’s Theatre first, and do the tour
and museum there.
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| National Archives |
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| Metal Tree! |
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| Reminder of Paris! |
We had done this some
years ago with Mom, and wanted to see it again.
However, while the box office opened at 8:30, and we were the first in
line, it turns out that the only things available to do today are the museum
and the house across the street, where Lincoln died.
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| National Archives from Pavilion Cafe |
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| Hope Diamond |
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| More "national" diamonds |
The theatre was closed all day today for
rehearsals.
So … we’ve decided to come back
tomorrow to get tickets, as the theatre itself is very interesting, and we
wanted to see it again.
As it was still early, and I needed to get rid of my hoodie
– too warm!
Really!
We walked back to the hotel to drop it off,
and then headed back out, this time, to a bus heading to the National
Archives.
Got there a few minutes to 10,
and joined the queue of people waiting to get in.
Very different from the last time we visited
– absolutely
NO photography allowed
anywhere inside! (Could this be as a result of “National Treasure”? we ask
ourselves?)
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| Truly, an Aquamarine! |
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| Stunning diamond necklace! |
The Rotunda was very crowded,
but we were able to see the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of
Independence.
Really neat.
They had several other interesting exhibits
that we also walked through – including one showing old photographs from the
Archives collection.
Can you imagine how
you’d feel if you walked into the exhibition and there was a photograph of one
of your ancestors?
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| Lots of people in Georgetown! |
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| At Clyde's Bar in Georgetown |
From the National Archives, we walked across the street and
into the Mall and towards the Natural History Museum. Along the way we had to pass through the Art
Museum’s Sculpture Garden, so we stopped for a sit down and something to drink
at the Pavilion Café. Very nice garden,
with some rather awful sculpture. We did
like the metal tree (photographed), as well as a sculpture of the entry to a
French underground, from 1902. Just a
bit odd seeing it there!
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| Crab cakes |
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| Wonderful lobster! |
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| We did make a mess... |
We then went into the Natural History Museum, and up to the
second floor – where the gems are! We
saw the stunning Hope diamond, as well as quite a collection of “national”
jewels! Who knew we the people of the
U.S. even HAD a collection of gems! Do
you think if I call and request the use of a necklace or bracelet, that they’ll
say YES? Hmmm… probably not… They’ve put
together a really sensational collection, but boy, was it crowded with people
everywhere!
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| Our starter |
After this, we decided that it was time to head back to the
hotel for a bit of a rest, before we decided what to do about dinner. Found the Federal Triangle metro stop, and
were soon back at the hotel. Good to put
our feet up; we walked a lot yesterday, that’s for sure!
Have decided to make use of the Circulator bus system, which
goes right by our hotel. It’s $1.00 a
ride (less for Seniors, and we can use our cards!) and there are four or five
different versions, all connecting to each other at various points. The concierge gave us directions to get to
both the east and west bound buses, as we’ll be taking it to Union Station
tonight when we do the Monuments by
Moonlight tour.
So … hopped on an west bound Circulator to head to
Georgetown. Wow, what a difference a
mile or so makes! Georgetown was
literally bursting with people, and all the shops and restaurants on both sides
of the streets were open – and we got caught in a traffic jam as well! Got off right after crossing the canal, and
walked a block or so to Clyde’s of
Georgetown. We were able to be
seated immediately, right by the front door.
What a very pleasant and busy place to be!
Over lovely glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, we
ordered to start, a tray of three starters – hummus, baba ghanoush and a ground
white mozzarella cheese. Have to admit
that the cheese was pretty bland, but the other two starters were wonderful –
served with warm pita bread triangles.
For mains, R ordered the lobster dinner (for $16.95!!!) and I ordered
the crab cakes, and we split them. The
lobster was fabulous, as was the crab cake!
Way too full to even think about dessert, but great service and a very
enjoyable meal. Georgetown has such a
young/fun/relaxed vibe to it – very different from where we’re staying!
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| Union Station |
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| Inside Union Station |
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| Capitol Building with Moon |
After Clyde’s, we
headed down the block to Dean &
Deluca, the luxury grocery emporium.
Had a good walk around, and picked up a few samples of things. R really wanted the capocola, but not really
practical, so he had to do without … bummer!
Then, back to the Circulator, and in a few minutes we were back at the
hotel again! Resting and watching the
U.S. Open at the moment, before we head out and over to Union Station and our
evening tour!
More later!
m
xxx
Whew! No, I did not
finish the blog yesterday. WAY too tired! At our friend Hilary’s suggestion, we
scheduled a Monuments by Moonlight
driving tour of DC. Our driver and
guide, believe it or not, had a Ph.D. in Constitutional Law, among other
degrees, but he is unable to find an appropriate teaching position. He calls himself “Mr. History” and he was so
knowledgeable about so many things, and it was an exceptional tour! The tour advertises itself as “2 ¼ hours”
long. We, however, left the front of
Union Station at 8 pm – and got back at 11:25 pm!
So … to start at the beginning. We took the Yellow Circulator bus from right
behind our hotel all the way to Union Station.
[I’m thinking this is what we may do (if it starts early enough!) on
Wednesday, when we train to Philadelphia.]
It wasn’t hard to find our “spot” at Union Station, although the area
was a bit crowded. There were several
bus companies and their tour groups, a dozen or so taxi cabs waiting in front
for passengers, and an ambulance and fire truck responding to some emergency at
the train station. Definitely made for
an interesting start! We boarded our
large, open bus and we were off!
We were scheduled for three stops, but actually made four.
We drove around the Capitol and learned about
the senate (SOB’s) office buildings vs. the ROB’s (Representative Office
Buildings).
We stopped at the Jefferson
Memorial, FDR & ML King Memorials, the Lincoln Memorial and finally, the
U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, which neither of us had seen before.
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| Lincoln Monument |
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| Lincoln |
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| U.S. Marine Corps Memorial |
All very interesting, and we are so glad that
we did the tour!
It was night, though,
and the lighting at some of the places wasn’t really all that good, so we’ve
decided to go back to a few places, like the Vietnam Memorial, if we have
time.
(We have both seen it multiple
times before, but it’s still nice to revisit!)
Finally got back to Union Station, where we jumped into the first cab in
line (the Circulator Bus stops running at 9:00!), and in just a few minutes
were back at the hotel. Upstairs for a total collapse!
Today – Happy Labor Day! – we’re heading to the National
Geographic Museum this morning and a baseball game this afternoon!
More later!
m
xxx
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