Washington D.C.

I woke Saturday morning to a snow storm, a wet snow storm. The ideal thing would be to stay home and hibernate for the day, especially as I haven't bought a winter coat yet. I "girded my loins" i.e. got dressed and caught the bus to the metro station. The bus stop is at the end of the road and only a three minute walk so is really convenient, but it was bloody cold. There was no question that I would be walking around D.C. today, the weather was really against me. I went to the National Archive, which simply put is a library for documents. The first document I saw was not American but British, they had one of the Magna Cartas on display. This is the second Magna Carta I've seen, there is one on display in Salisbury Cathedral. There wasn't a queue so I was able to walk straight into the rotunda of the National Archives building. This is where the Declaration of Independence, the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights are on display. I didn't know what the difference was between the constitution and the bill was and if asked I would probably have said that there were one and the same. It seems to me that the constitution sets out the framework for the U.S. government, the existence of three separate branches of government and that all three should operate independently of each other. The bill is where the rights that Americans have, are actually listed and are a kind of amendment to the constitution. I now know how the constitution can be amended and new rights added or existing rights changed. I was in the presence of history, the founding of a nation. I have said before that I think sometimes that the word "historical" is thrown around very casually here but in reference to these three documents it is so valid. And not just in reference to the age of the documents but to their importance and what they meant to the establishment of America and the country it is today. As a sort of footnote the Emancipation Declaration is also on display, the document signed by Lincoln freeing the slaves.These four documents are the big hitters of the collection but there is a lot more held in the archives. The archives store letters sent to the President, there was one on display asking that the then President not to let the army give Elvis a G.I. haircut, and other things like that. The archives are open for people wanting to research their family tree among other things. I am not sure if there is an equivalent institution in the U.K., I think the two functions are done by two separate bodies, the British Museum and Somerset House.
I braved the weather, it hadn't improved any, crossed the Mall to the Museum of Air and Space.
The entrance is taken up with rockets and space capsules, I got to touch a moon rock. Among the many, this reminded me of something that Darren and I differ on. He doesn't believe that the moon landings took place, but I do. It was cool to see the vehicle that took Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to the moons surface. There is also an exhibition that shows the flight path of the capsule and how they get on and off the moons surface. Something else that I hadn't known before. I also saw Amelia Earhart's plane, the Kittyhawk Flyer and some World War I planes. The exhibits at the museum are really well done, they don't just have a load of planes lined up. They will have a plane at the centre of the exhibition and then around the outside they have information about the era in which it flew, the people and how it came about. This includes personal items of the builders/pilots and more general items like the music, what was going on the world at large. Very cool and really helpful to put these planes in context. I also got to go in a part of the international space station. I really liked this museum. The only downer was that is that the museum has two locations, the one I went to on the Mall and the other is at Dulles airport. Unfortunately Dulles airport is not currently served by public transport and so it costs about $20 to get out there. They have a Concorde there, but I didn't want to see that. I wanted to see the Shuttle they have and the Enola Gay. Having been to both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, seeing the Enola Gay would have been like completing the circle. So far I have only been exposed to the Japanese side of the atomic bombing. Although what happened to these two cities was horrible and hopefully will never be repeated it is just one part of what happened at the end of World Ward II. I would like to think that no country would ever take lightly the decision to bomb another, let alone cause that amount of death and destruction with two bombs.
I finished the day with an amazing dinner cooked by Jean at home. It was a much nicer, warmer end to the day than the start.
The next morning I didn't have to face public transportation, Jim dropped me off town. Today was the day I ventured into the Natural History museum. Initially I hadn't planned to come here, there is so much to do in D.C. that I thought my time would be better spent elsewhere as there is an amazing natural history museum in London. And generally I was right. The museum isn't bad, but it just doesn't measure up to my childhood memories of the one in London. You're not greeted by a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex, there is no huge Blue Whale in the mammals room and no huge hall filled with thousands of insect specimens. What there is, the Hope Diamond, is very beautiful. I want. The gem exhibit behind it, is also pretty great. The mineral exhibition failed to hold my attention. They also have a forensic science room, you get to pretend you are "Bones" and have to solve a case. Each table has a set of bones on it, with some information and you have to work out what happened to that "person". very cool and something the London museum probably doesn't have. Although if you are into that sort of thing you could do a lot worse than go to the Black museum at Scotland Yard. I've never been there but from what I've seen on t.v.,it looks pretty amazing.
From the Mall I walked to Pennsylvania Avenue and to the old Post Office building. The building has a tower that you can go up for free, so I went. Unfortunately for me the lift wasn't working, so you had to climb the stairs. The climb was well worth it, it gives you the best public view over the Mall since most of the other buildings that line the Mall are government buildings and/or museums where you don't have access to the higher floors. The viewing deck is open to the elements and on this particular day, absolutely freezing. The views were great and well worth it. I returned to ground level and Pennsylvania Avenue was completely closed off to traffic and there were police everywhere. Then I saw a line of motorcycle outriders coming from the direction of the White House. The President was going to the Capitol. I saw his car, but have to be honest I don't know if he was inside it, I could make out three guys. As far as I am concerned I saw the President. And since I haven't arranged a tour to go into the White House and I don't own a red sari, this is the closest I am going to get on this trip! It's close enough for me.
I went to the Corcoran Art gallery next. They had an exhibition of paintings by Sargent, it was really comprehensive and included some of his personal paintings. The art was fine, I understood it but I don't like it. It doesn't speak to me and I don't want it hanging on my sitting rooms walls, when I get a sitting room. One thing I did like was an exhibition of photographs by a guy whose name I can't remember and can't find on the Corcoran website!! His subject was urban landscapes from a helicopter, which gave an unusual perspective on things we see everyday from ground level. It was just a different way of looking at things and we all need that sometimes. I finished the day with the walk to the metro station and train home.
Monday was the day for the big three, the Supreme court, The Capitol building and the Library of Congress. I left the house early so I could be at the court by 08.30 to queue up for tickets. it was a cold day and we all had to queue until 10am when we hoped that we would be let in. 10am came and went and then the guards gave us an option of going in and watching the proceedings for five minutes or waiting for another hour and potentially going in for an hour at the 11am sitting. I chose to go in for the five minutes, actually once inside the building I didn't leave the court building after I had had my five minutes and went back for another five! The court was in session and hearing oral arguments on something to do with the FCC boards discretion to appoint commissioners. I didn't hear or understand any more than that. Then it was across the street to the Capitol building, where it was a lot easier and quicker to get into, there were no queues here. That made me very happy, I wanted to be warm again. I got to sit in on a debate going on in the Senate about health care, it was actually really interesting and I could have sat there all day. I then took a tour of the building, we started in the crypt, which is directly under the rotunda. Boy, do they love their rotundas in this country. George Washington was supposed to be buried here, but he wanted to be buried at his family home in Mount Vernon, so the crypt lies empty. In the hall above there are a few statues, each state gets to send two statues to be sited in the Capitol Building, Illinois sent a statue of Lincoln of course. But it can be anyone and so in all there are 102 statues, two for every state and two for the District of Columbia, which basically means Washington city. The statues are scattered all around the Capitol building so some of them are not on display to the general public.There are also four paintings depicting great moments in American history, one of these great moments being the defeat of the British at Yorktown and surrender by General Cornwallis. However he wasn't there to surrender, he let one of his underlings do it for him. Above the four paintings there is a frieze showing key points in American history to the present day, which was done by three Italian artists. You can go into the dome but not if you're a foreigner. Only Americans who are accompanied by their member of the House can go and since there are four hundred steps to the top, apparently not many members are willing to make the trip. That made me feel a little better about being able to go. I spent a little time in the House of Representatives, but there was only one guy speaking, so it wasn't a debate. And I have no idea what he was talking about, so I didn't stay long. I walked through the tunnel to the Library of Congress. Can't have your representatives having to walk outside just to get a book.
The Library of Congress is exactly what it says on the label, a library for the members of congress,i.e. the senators and representatives from each state. And it's interior is one of the most beautiful buildings I've been in since I arrived in the U.S.. The entrance hall really takes your breath away, there is a split staircase decorated with cherubs,each cherub represents a continents people. We couldn't go into the reading room, I had to settle for a quick look from the balcony and a postcard as I couldn't take photos. The next day was a total contrast, I went to the Holocaust Museum and spent pretty much the whole day. It was my first Holocaust Museum, I don't think there is one in England. I guess that there is no real reason for there to be as the German army never reached the English coast and England was a refuge for many Jewish families. It is a sobering place and my first instinct after seeing it was "never again" but of course it has happened again and is still happening. So much for learning the lessons of the past. The propaganda exhibition was just as hard hitting if in a different way. With the world in another recession right now could the conditions be right for the rise of another political party like the Nazis. In England the British National party has been increasing their share of the vote, the white working class feels disadvantaged by newcomers to the country. There is a perception that new immigrants are claiming a larger share of our social housing and health service. I don't know if this is true or not, but it doesn't really matter if it is. What matters is the preception, that's what the majority of people will base their decisions on. If you don't know an immigrant family, a Muslim family, a Jewish family etc. you won't realise that they all have the same concerns as British families. They want to be safe, their children to have good health and a good education. Isn't that what everyone wants?