Went on a day trip to Washington DC a coupla days back, must say it’s a reasonable experience. To be honest, I’m not really a touristy person who goes gaga over “must-see” national monuments and believe me, Washington DC is like the grandaddy of collections of national monuments in the US.
I saw the White House, it really isn’t that big, a fat let-down that was nowhere near the grandeur of its tragically beautiful scene from Independence Day.
Compare with
Maybe it’s just me, but the lawn doesn’t seem like it’s been mown or trimmed in a while. The grass isn’t even the nice grass you see on golf courses. It’s like the same grass you see along sidewalks, not very sublime, that’s for sure.
I would say, brazenly so, that the White House is probably the place least worth visiting in DC. The museums prove more engaging and fascinating, I believe most, if not all are free, which is incredible considering the museums are not the dinky little museums you find along popular tourist areas built to earn a quick buck, these are huge, beautifully constructed buildings housing multifarious exhibits of specific themes.
I particularly loved the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. They had everything from dinosaurs to mammals to mineral ores to diamonds, and a very very opportune time for me, because they had some of the most famous diamonds on display - Hope Diamond, Tiffany Diamond, Steinmetz Pink Diamond. Amazing.
And their mammalian exhibit had some of the most realistic animal models I’ve seen, not sure if they were real stuffed carcasses, see for yourself.
There are a lot more photos from the trip, but wordpress isn’t very picture friendly, so check them out on my facebook profile sometime soon, when I take the time to upload all of them.
chew my cud
