Bethesda

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was a family outing day.Meghans family, Christophe, his mother Laurence and me were all off to Baltimore. I hadn't seen anything of the city when I had arrived and so this would be another new place to me. Then again everything is new to me in this country, this being my first trip and all! We went to the American Visionary Art Museum, which is by the bay. The museum displays art by self trained artists, people who have had mental health issues and imprisoned criminals etc.. The outside of the museum is decorated with glass and glitter, it's really cool. The museum has a special exhibition at the moment titled Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Some of the art I didn't like, I guess because I didn't understand it. On the other hand there were some pieces that really touched me. Most of the artwork seemed to be questioning what is going in America right now. The whole tone of the exhibition was questioning rather than being blindly patriotic. Having a deep abiding love for your country might be difficult when your country has imprisoned you for your whole life.
Also on display were some works by Saddam Husseins former doctor, Ali Bashir. He also happened to be visiting the museum as well, he had a film crew and photographer following him around.
I didn't get to see anything of Baltimore other than the harbour area and the football stadium. We went back to D.C. as we had plans for the early evening. Meghan had been invited to a hot chocolate and Smores event at the Ritz Carlton. I could never say no to a nice hotel. We all went, the hotel was lovely, but then what would you expect. Michel,Christophes father, joined us. Afterwards he took Meghan and I to his restaurant Citronell in Georgetown. We got to sit at the chef's table. I don't think that this is a big deal for Meghan, for me however, it was amazing. Michel had to go and fix a wedding cake so we sat,drank champagne and ate a white truffle risotto.The day finished off with dinner at Christophes house. It had been a busy day. Sunday was a lot more relaxed. We raked leaves in the morning and took a walk in the afternoon. I got to see the Great Falls on the Potomac river. What I hadn't realised before I arrived in D.C. was that was created by taking a diamond shaped piece of land along the Potomac river. So it is really easy to travel through two states and one district in the space of a few minutes.
Jim very kindly gave me a lift into the city on Monday morning. He would make an amazing tour guide, he has so many facts at his finger tips. We drove down Massachusetts Ave, what they call embassy row. I got to see the British embassy, it has a statue of Churchill outside, one of the statues feet is on British soil and the other is on American soil. There is also a red telephone box there but I didn't see it. The weather was really nasty, cold and wet and I didn't want to walk around in that. I spent the day in the National Gallery. A lot of the museums on the Mall are part of the Smithsonian and they are free. This is a major bonus. I saw the only Da Vinci painting in America, it is also the only double sided Da Vinci. It is also not very big, like the Mona Lisa which I have never seen. They had a Salisbury Cathedral painting by Constable, it was one of the few paintings in the collection by a British artist.The afternoon I spent in the modern east building of the gallery which houses the contemporary art collections. I don't understand contemporary art and so generally don't like it. I spent a lot less time in the east building. Jim picked me up from outside the gallery and headed out of the city. If you don't leave the city at a decent time you'll be stuck in traffic for hours.
Tuesday was my big sight seeing day, I really packed it in. Jim dropped me off in the Mall and I went straight to the Washington Monument. I hadn't fully appreciated that this was a memorial to George Washington. For me the name Washington generally just indicates the city or the state, I had kind of forgotten that he was also the first president of America. That of course is why so much is named "Washington". I can be such an idiot sometimes. So the huge stone needle in the middle of the Mall is a monument to the man and not to the city. It is a hollow stone needle, it's run by the National Park Service and again is free to go into. The views from the top are great, especially as the weather had cleared up today and it was sunny. I walked down the Mall to the World War II memorial. It's a huge fountain surrounded by white stone arches, each arch is dedicated to a state. Inscribed on the stone is parts of speeches from various presidents. I didn't get any special feeling from this place. Its devoid of emotion and character, very impersonal.
The reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln memorial is empty at the moment. I think they are cleaning it up and repairing the pool sides. The Lincoln Memorial is beautiful.And instantly recognisable. It has played a huge part in American history and is a natural place for demonstrations to be held. The flight path to Ronald Reagan airport goes over the Potomac river directly behind the memorial. You can see the planes flying over the memorial, or it appears that way. The statue of Lincoln is flanked by two of his most famous speeches inscribed on the walls, but again it is really impersonal. It doesn't seem to be the reason these things are built, but if they are not celebrating the man what are they celebrating. In this case bigger is not always better. The statue itself was everything that I had expected it to be, having seen it so frequently on film.
I saw the Vietnam war memorial. I wasn't touched by it and I am not sure why. The Korean war memorial did affect me. It is made up of several statues of soldiers in wet weather combat gear. The bases of the statues are set in foliage, it brings to mind the jungle. Very cleverly done. To the side is a black wall, one of the phrases that is inscribed on it is "Freedom is not free". I have to agree. I walked across the Potomac river to Arlington National cemetery. The cemetery is set in gentle,rolling green hills surrounded by trees. It could be a city park. I went to see JFK's grave, again really impersonal. What was sad and did touch me was the two graves of his children on either side of him and Jackie. A four month old boy and an unnamed baby girl. I walked from here to the tomb of the unknown soldier and watched the changing of the guard. This was touching. The tomb is set on top of a hill over looking D.C. and is made of white marble, it's very simple. I then walked through the cemetery and saw the Marine Corps memorial, a bronze representation of the famous photo taken by Joe Rosenthal. It is amazing and everyone should go to see it.I am so glad that I did.
I rounded out my day with the F.D.R. and Jefferson memorials. It had been a packed day. I went home on the metro and bus, courtesy of Jims amazing directions. I was glad to get back to the house and relax. When I did get back Meghans uncle, Craig had arrived. He lives in Pittsburgh and had driven down to see Meghan.Again I hadn't realised how close Pittsburgh is, I really do need to work on my geography. None of us wanted to leave the house again so we ordered in pizza. Unfortunately the deal they were offering was only valid if you collected the pizza. Meghan and Craig did the honours. It pays not to have a car some times. Not often.