Hamlet - Shakespeare's Globe

Hamlet

On Friday 6 May, we met up at London Bridge tube station and headed along London's South Bank to Shakespeare's Globe to see Hamlet. We popped into Gourmet Burger Kitchen on the way for a quick dinner.

Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan open-air playhouse on the banks of the River Thames, first built in 1599 and destroyed by fire in 1613. The original Globe was where Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays. The modern reconstruction was opened to the public in 1997. Each year the theatre season runs from April to October, with productions of work by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, as well as modern writers. Over 350,000 people visit the Globe every year, either sitting on the "wooden O" gallery or standing in the yard, just as they would have done 400 years ago.

Luckily Megan was thinking and she brought some cushions from home with her, so the rather uncomfortable wooden seats in the gallery were slightly more comfortable. Hamlet went for nearly three hours, including a lenghty interval, so we had slightly sore backs and legs by the end of it - not built for comfort really.

For those not familiar with the story of Hamlet, here goes... Learning of his father, the king's death, young Prince Hamlet comes home to find his uncle married to mother and installed on the Danish throne. At night, the ghost of the dead king visits Hamlet and demands that he avenge his "most foul and unnatural murder" at the hands of his brother, the new king. Hamlet first seeks proof of the murder and then plots his revenge. However, as is often the way, a mixture of political intrigue, sexual obsession, wild humour, philosophical reflection and violent action culminated in tragedy, as almost everyone in the play was killed.

We really enjoyed another visit to Shakespeare's Globe and Hamlet was brilliant. The actors were all amazing and, while the seats were not super comfy, at least it didn't rain on our parade! Pictures below are borrowed - not our own work!

New York, USA

Monday

Our train from Washington DC arrived at New York Penn Station at around 9.30pm. We checked into the Chelsea Savoy Hotel, which was pretty decent, and headed straight to Brother Jimmy's. Our good friend Daggy had told us about Brother Jimmy's - the "greatest place on Earth" - so we just had to try it out. Brother Jimmy's is a chain of bars in New York that serve real American food. It just so happens that Monday night is "All you can eat wings and ribs" night at Brother Jimmy's. So we figured it would be rude not to! For just $19.95, you get as many ribs and wings as can stuff into yourself AND as much Budweiser you can drink. The wings and ribs were delicious and we definitely got our money's worth (photo below)! It was a really good bar and we could almost sense the spirit of Daggy lurking there.

Tuesday

The last thing we felt like on Tuesday morning was food, with our bellies still full of the finest ribs, wings and beer you can imagine. But nevertheless, we were booked into a food tour in Greenwich Village on Tuesday morning. It was a lovely, sunny morning, so we walked from our hotel on the corner of 23rd Street and 7th Avenue down to Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, where our tour began.

Greenwich Village is a largely residential area on the west side of Lower Manhattan. A large majority of the district is now home to wealthy upper class families (and a sprinkling of celebrities). However, the area was originally crammed full of poor immigrants and was known from the late 19th to the mid 20th centuries as the home of American bohemian culture.

The first stop of the tour was at Joe's Pizza, a very popular pizza parlour, made famous by appearing a number of movies and TV shows, including Spiderman II. We each had a slice of Joe's delicious pizza (and we could see what all the fuss is about - definitely worth popping in for a taste!). We then visited a specialty olive oil shop (where we had bread and oil tastings) and a local favourite restaurant called the Home Restaurant, where we had a little taste of macaroni cheese. Across the street from the Home Restaurant is the Cornelia Street Cafe. We popped inside and went down to the basement, where they have live music, poetry and comedy routines every night. It is also the place that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick had their first date (photo of Megan there below)!

For lunch we went to a vegetarian Asian fusion restaurant, where we had had "vegetarian pork", a dumpling and salad. It was surprisingly tasty! After lunch, we continued to wander the pretty streets of Greenwich Village, learning about the history of the area and the celebrities that frequent the neighbourhood. We passed the Cherry Lane Theatre, where many famous actors have 'cut their teeth' and got their break and we also saw the apartment block used as the exterior view of the main apartments in the "Friends" TV series (photo below). After a few more stops for chocolate chip cookies at a milk and cookie store, a selection of cheeses from Murray's Cheese Shop and some other delights from an Italian delicatessen, we were really full!

There was one more stop, however, for a delicious cannoli (Sicilian pastry dessert and New York favourite) at an amazing cake / pastry shop on Bleecker Street. The tour was brilliant. We learned a lot about the historic area and we tasted some amazing food. We decided it's probably best for our waist-lines that we don't live in New York!

When the tour finished at around 2pm, we walked to the nearby Chelsea Food Market. Sadly we discovered that Eleni's cookie shop no longer makes the most delicious cookie the world has ever seen (the "Cranberry Everything Cookie"). We were disappointed, but our wallets were relieved. We wandered around the Chelsea Food Market and had some gelato, before Megs decided to do a spot of clothes shopping, while Tim wandered the streets of Lower Manhattan.

In the evening we caught the subway up to The Bronx and the shiny new Yankee Stadium to see our third baseball game in New York. This time the Yankees were hosting the Chicago White Sox. We loved the new stadium - we had a great view from our seats and there were so many excellent food and drink facilities. We had the obligatory hot dog and beer for dinner and some crackerjacks to keep us going late in the game! Word of warning though - the Yankee merchandise stores inside the stadium are a massive rip-off. You can buy the same stuff in Times Square for much lower prices!

Sadly the Yankees lost 3-2, although it was an exciting game throughout and the Yankees were so close to pinching it off the last two plays. A White Sox outfielder jumped high at the fence to haul in an Alex Rodriguez shot that seemed destined to clear the fence for a 3-run home run. Then off the very last play, Robinson Cano drilled a shot out to the same side of the outfield and the same guy sprinted to his left and dived full stretch to just hang on to the catch to end the game. Had the ball snuck past him, both Yankees on base would have easily scampered home for the win.

Wednesday

After a quick stop at the not-so-delicious breakfast room at our hotel, we kicked off Wednesday with a trip to Wall Street to see the famous New York Stock Exchange building and get close to a very large bull. Allegedly, Wall Street started off life as fertile soil for Dutch farmers, before it became apparent that they really should have some protection against the pesky English colonialists. Hence, a wall was built, eventually giving way to the street that now runs in its place. Fighting the briefcases and pinstripes on a sunny Wednesday morning, we found it hard to imagine that farms ever existed on the same patch (and if they still did, how much they would be worth today...).

Our first stop was the famous Bowling Green Bull, a 3,200 kg bronze sculpture which symbolises the financial prosperity that New York's fortunes have been built on. We hurried towards the bull, as our peripheral vision had warned us that danger was afoot. Sure enough, we were just beaten to the bull by a large (but surprisingly fleet of foot) group of Japanese tourists, so we had a short wait until their photo shoot was completed. Luckily, they were soon distracted by the back end of the bull (a 3,200 kg bull has some rather impressive...um....symbols of prosperity) and Megan was able to jump in for a photo (see below).

We then meandered towards Wall Street itself, where we admired the stock exchange building and took a short walk through the surrounding streets before continuing on to our next destination - Brooklyn!

You see, last time we were in Brooklyn, we had wanted to go to Grimaldi's - famed for its award-winning pizza, which many call the best in New York - but we were put off by the ridiculously long queue. This time we were not to be deterred, even if it was 11am and (as we were shortly to be made aware) Grimaldi's didn't open for until 11.30am. Luckily, we have been in Britain long enough to know what to do in such a situation: initiate an orderly queue. And so we stood at Grimaldi's door, watching crates of tomatoes and mozzarella being unloaded, and feeling smug to have beaten the large crowd forming behind us. First through the door, we loaded up at our red and white checked table and got our pepperoni pizza order in quick smart...because yet another tour (this time a bus full of octogenarians) were bearing down on us. Turns out, Grimaldi's was worth it. Best pizza in NYC indeed.

Next up was one of our favourite things to do in New York - a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge towards Manhattan. It's also a great way to work off some of the Grimaldi's pizza! We then split up for a couple of hours - Megan heading to Soho for some shopping, Tim going uptown for Yankee merchandise and bulk buys at the Hershey's chocolate store. However Tim wasn't aware that a massive celebrity (we're talking A-list here) was hanging out in Times Square waiting to meet him - see photo below!

After the triple excitement of purchasing a Yankee jersey, visiting the Hershey's store and meeting Elmo in the flesh, Tim needed a beer to calm down, so we met up and headed to Blind Tiger, a bar on Bleecker Street renowned for its large selection of foreign beers. We had a couple of beers there and then returned to the hotel for a change of clothes before heading out for cocktails and dinner at another one of Daggys' recommendations - DGBG Kitchen.

Dinner was great, the highlight being the huge range of sausages we could choose from as a "side" or "entree". We got a cheese number for a shared entree, which was cracking. We couldn't go past the burgers for mains or a completely unnecessary chocolate brownie sundae for dessert to round off another excellent day in the Big Apple.

Thursday

Our final day in New York started off fairly bright but soon turned grey and wet. Thankfully, we had planned to do some shopping anyway, so the rain was not a big inconvenience. The first stop of the morning was Trader Joe's supermarket, not far from our hotel. They had some amazingly fanciful treats in there! We bought some cookies and some almond butter (just like peanut butter, but made from...yeah).

Then we wandered up to Penn Station and bought train tickets for our journey out to Newark airport later that day. While there we bought some brunch at a bakery and ate it outside Madison Square Garden! The it was onward to Macy's - the massive department store. Tim bought a couple of casual shirts and we enjoyed sifting around the enormous shop while it was pouring outside! Sadly Macy's was our first experience in USA of poor customer service. Everywhere else we had been had spoiled us with friendly and helpful service...whereas Macy's was more akin to UK "service".

We caught the subway down to 5th Avenue - probably the most famous stretch of shops in the world - and we visited Nike Town, which was also insanely large. Megs bought some new running gears and then we decided it was time for a late lunch. On previous visits to NYC we had eaten at the Tick Tock Diner and Megan was kind enough to bow to Tim's desire to make a repeat visit. Tim had the best vanilla milkshake on the planet and an awesome bacon and cheese burger, while Megs went for the cod fillet burger. Good old Tick Tock Diner - solid as ever.

The rain had really set in by mid-afternoon, so we decided to head off to the airport a little earlier. We grabbed our luggage from the hotel and caught an earlier train out to Newark airport. Despite a slight delay to our flight, we had a very comfortable trip back to London, just in time to catch the Royal Wedding on TV! It was most likely our last trip to the States for a while, but we had a brilliant time - it really is a magical place.







Tim at
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ELMO!!!

















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Washington DC, USA - Part 2

Sunday

We slept a bit later on Easter Sunday and when we left the hotel, we grabbed breakfast at a different bakery just along from the hotel, a place called Au Bon Pain. It was solid. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day, so we walked down to The Mall and started a self-led tour of Washington's famous monuments at the Constitution Gardens. We wandered through the beautiful and peaceful gardens and around a lovely pond, which showed off a magnificent reflection of the Washington Monument and we shortly arrived at our first stop, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The two triangular black walls sinking into the earth, one end pointing to the Lincoln Monument and the other to the Washington Monument, are inscribed with the names of the Americans who died in the Vietnam War, in chronological order, from the first casualty in 1959 to the last in 1975. The memorial was designed by a 21 year-old architecture student from Yale University. To appease those who are not fans of the controversial abstract memorial, a statue of three soldiers was added in 1984. Further lobbying led to the Vietnam Women's Memorial, erected close by in 1993.

A short walk from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is the famous Lincoln Memorial. Many proposals were made for a memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. One of the least promising was for a monument on a swampy piece of land to the west of the Washington Monument, yet this was to become one of the most awe-inspiring sights in Washington. Looming over the Reflecting Pool is the colossal seated figure of Lincoln in his Neoclassical temple. Before the monument was completed in 1914, architect Henry Bacon realised that the original 3-metre tall statue would be dwarfed inside the building, so it was doubled in size. Engraved on the south wall is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, below a mural depicting the angel of truth freeing a slave. This was the site of Martin Luther King Jr's famous address "I have a dream".

Sadly for us, the Reflecting Pool had been drained for cleaning, so the view from the steps of the temple was not as impressive as it would normally have been. But we loved the Lincoln Monument itself - it is truly awesome.

Next we carried on to the Korean War Veterans Memorial, a controversial tribute to a controversial war. Although 1.5 million Americans served in the conflict, war was never officially declared. It is often known as "The Forgotten War". Nineteen larger-than-life stainless steel statues depict a squad on patrol, moving towards the American flag as their symbolic objective. The soldiers are wearing ponchos because the Korean War was notorious for being fought in miserable weather conditions. We both liked the memorial - it's a bit different and creative and shows the soldiers in a realistic and unglorified light.

The shiny new National World War II Memorial sits in the middle of the Mall between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Sixteen million Americans served in WWII and 400,000 of them died. The Freedom Wall is packed with 4,000 gold stars, one star for each 100 victims of the war. After years of debate about the location and scale of the memorial, work finally began in September 2001 and was completed in April 2004. Two 13-metre tall pavilions stand either side of the Rainbow Pool (complete with pretty fountains) and mark the Pacific and Atlantic theatres of war. Fifty-six granite pillars dotted around the perimeter represent the country's states and territories.

Further along the Mall, stands the imposing Washington Monument. This tribute to America's first president was originally funded by donations from individual citizens. Construction began in 1848 but when the money ran out, the building work stopped for over 20 years. Then in 1876, public pressure forced the completion of the project. A slight change in colour of stone marks the point where construction resumed. The enormous monument, which can be seen from all over Washington, is 165m high, contains 36,000 stones, including 192 commemorative stones inside the monument which mark donations from individuals, societies, states and nations. The marble capstone at the top weighs 2,000kg and is topped by an aluminium pyramid. The monument is surrounded by 50 flagpoles with stars and stripes flying proudly...once again, one for each state.

There is a viewing window at the top of the monument (reached by a 72-second elevator ride), providing staggering views all over Washington and beyond. By the time we arrived at the monument at about 11.30am, all of the tickets to the viewing window for the rest of the day had sold out. So, sadly, we could not ride to the top to enjoy the views. Perhaps another time.

After a short refreshment break, the "Monumental Tour" continued with a visit to the Jefferson Memorial. The walk around the Tidal Basin to get to the memorial was lovely. Thomas Jefferson was a political philosopher, architect, musician, book collector, scientist, horticulturist, diplomat, inventor and the third American president from 1801 to 1809. He also played a significant part in drafting the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The idea for the memorial came from President Franklin D Roosevelt, who felt that Jefferson was as important as Lincoln.

The Neoclassical colonnaded domed memorial (shaped like the Pantheon in Rome) was dedicated in 1943 and covers an area of 2.5 acres. At the time, metal was being strictly rationed so the standing statue of Jefferson had to be cast in plaster. After WWII, the statue was recast in bronze. Etched on the inside walls of the memorial are Jefferson's words from the Declaration of Independence as well as other writings. The impressive bronze statue of the man himself is six metres tall and weighs 4,500kg. The views from the steps in front of the memorial look back across the picturesque Tidal Basin towards the Mall and, of course, the Washington Monument.

It was scorching hot by midday and we were starting to get a touch of sunburn, not to mention sore legs from all the walking we had done, so we were grateful to complete the tour of monuments and head towards the air-conditioned indoors of the National Air and Space Museum.

On our way there, we passed through the magnificent red sandstone Smithsonian Castle. The castle was constructed in 1855 and served as the first home of the Smithsonian Institution. Although he never once set foot in the United States, James Smithson, an English scientist and philanthropist, left his entire fortune of half a million dollars to "found at Washington , under the name of the Smithsonian Institution, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men". US Congress agreed to use the funds to set up a government-run foundation that would administer all national museums. We should all thank James profusely, because Washington now has dozens of amazing museums, most of them completely free to visit!

On arrival at the National Air Space Museum, we grabbed some lunch in the food court and then set about viewing all of the amazing exhibits. The huge building is perfectly designed to house the aeroplanes, rockets, balloons and space capsules of aviation and space flight.

We began by checking out the exhibit on the NASA Space Shuttle programme, which included a model of the Space Shuttle Columbia. We also saw the Apollo 11 command module, which carried Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins on their historic mission to the moon in July 1969 and a spacesuit worn by one of the Apollo astronauts on that mission (see photos below). Continuing the space theme, we walked through the Skylab orbiting workshop, designed for sets of three-person crews to conduct research experiments in space.

The Milestones of Flight gallery contains some absolute gems, such as the Wright Brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer (the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight); the Spirit of St Louis aeroplane flown by Charles Lindbergh on the first ever trans-Atlantic flight; and Amelia Earhart's Red Vega aeroplane, in which she became the first woman to make a solo trans-Atlantic flight.

Other highlights of the museum included a display of a number of massive rockets, an exhibit of stunning photographs of the planets of our solar system, a hands-on scientific display showing "how things fly" and replica cockpits of commercial aeroplanes, which we were allowed to sit in and walk through. We also treated ourselves to a ride in a futuristic flight simulator, which was a lot of fun. We spent over four hours in the museum and we still did not see everything - we missed an entire section on Aviation in World Wars I and II! This was definitely one of the best museums we have ever visited.

Late in the afternoon we emerged from the National Air and Space Museum and wandered down to Capitol Hill and lay on the grass in the sun. We snapped some great photos of the Capitol building with blue sky background, to replace the dreary, grey shots we had taken the previous day! After investing in some sunscreen (after the horse had bolted) and freshening up back at the hotel, we had dinner at the Capitol City Brewing Company - where we can definitely recommend the chicken wings, pulled pork BBQ sandwich and crab cake sandwich. We also tried a variety of their delicious specialty beers. It was a great way to cap off a brilliant Easter Sunday!

Monday

On Monday morning we checked out of the hotel and grabbed some breakfast at the bakery on our way down to the National Museum of American History. We arrived just on opening time, so it was not too crowded. The Museum of American History is an absolute treasure trove of artifacts from the nation's past.

We were greeted in the main entrance area by C3-PO from the Star Wars movies (see photo below). We were spoiled for choice and could hardly decide where to start, but we first made our way to the third floor to the special exhibition on The Life of Abraham Lincoln, which includes many of Lincoln's possessions, such as the fine top hat he wore the night he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC.

Next up was the American Presidency exhibition. This displays objects that represent the lives and office of all of America's presidents, including the portable desk on which Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. There was also a teddy bear dating from 1903, believed to be one of the first teddy bears ever made! The term "teddy bear" was created by a Washington Post newspaper cartoonist reporting on President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt who, while out hunting one day, refused to shoot a bear cub that had been captured for him. This inspired the production of a range of bears, which were called Teddy Bears.

Moving down to the second floor, we visited the First Ladies gallery, which houses a stunning collection of nearly all of the First Ladies' ball gowns, providing a voyage back in time through women's fashions. This was a particular favourite for Megan! Also on the second floor were the Communities in a Changing Nation exhibit, which explores the ever-changing world of 19th-century America, and the Star Spangled Banner exhibition, showing the enormous (but very worn) stars and stripes flag, created in 1813, the very flag that inspired America's national anthem.

A little pocket of "pop culture" exhibits in a corner of the second floor included some amazing treasures, including Kermit the Frog himself, the Fonz's leather jacket from "Happy Days", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" black hat, the original Catwoman suit from the 1960s Batman TV series and...[drum roll]...the ruby slippers from the movie "The Wizard of Oz" (photo below)!!!

Down to the first floor we wandered through the America On The Move gallery, showing how trains, ships and cars have shaped American lives. Highlights included the locomotive that pulled Franklin D Roosevelt's funeral train, Ford's Model T and a hot rod driven by Elvis Presley. Other exhibits we saw were Julia Child's kitchen, the Gunboat Philadelphia and The Price of Freedom, which explores the nation's military history from the French and Indian War in the 1750s right through to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This was definitely right up there with the Air and Space Museum as one of the very best museums we have been to - in fact it was probably better because of the vast range of exhibits on display. A must-see if you're ever in Washington DC! We grabbed some lunch at the food court of the famous Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue and then carried on to the International Spy Museum.

This was the first museum in the world devoted to international espionage. Its massive collection includes the German Enigma cipher machine used to scramble codes during WWII, a Soviet shoe transmitter, a wristwatch camera and a lipstick pistol, displayed in a variety of themed exhibits. Different exhibits show "the tricks of the trade" - over 200 artifacts used by spies to disguise and protect themselves during operations, the history of spies from biblical times to the 20th century, the making and breaking of codes during WWII, and famous / celebrity spies.

We could have spent longer in that museum too, but we had to leave to grab our bags from the hotel and head down to Union Station and catch our train to New York City! The train ride was great - once again we had nice comfortable seats and we got great views of the countryside as we headed to the Big Apple.






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Washington DC, USA - Part 1

Friday

On Good Friday we flew from London Heathrow to New York Newark airport for a week-long trip to the USA. We arrived at Newark at around midday local time and caught a train down to Washington DC. It was a bit of a mission actually getting from the airport to the train - we had to take the "Air Train" from our terminal to the airport train station and then we had to take a six minute train ride from the airport train station to Newark Penn Station, where we caught a proper train down to Washington DC.

Newark Penn Station was a scary place - we were possibly the only people in the whole station not high on something and we seriously feared we would be mugged. But we managed to escape unharmed and our train down to Washington DC was actually very comfortable and the ride was enjoyable. We passed through the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, getting glimpses of Philadelphia and Baltimore, before eventually hitting the District of Columbia. The journey took around 2.5 to 3 hours.

The Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1788, allowed for a seat of government, not to exceed 10 square miles, which would be ruled by Congress. This area was to be independent and not part of any state. After some debate about where this seat of government should be located, George Washington chose an area that incorporated land from both Maryland (in the north) and Virginia (in the south) and included the towns of Alexandria and Georgetown. It was to be known as the city of Washington and the District of Columbia (DC).

We arrived in Washington and made our way from the beautiful Union Station to the Quincy Hotel. Many of the streets in central Washington are conveniently named by number (vertical streets) and letter (horizontal streets). Our hotel was situated on L Street, between 18th and 19th streets. We got settled in there and got ourselves looking respectable and then headed out for some dinner. By the way, the Quincy Hotel was amazing and we would definitely recommend it. They had the most comfortable and enormous bed in the world!

Unfortunately it was a wet and chilly evening in Washington DC, but we braved the weather and made our way to the Old Ebbitt Grill, one of Washington's favourite eateries since 1856. It was a really fun place. We sat on stools at the bar and we were served by a waiter called Sean, who entertained us throughout the evening. We tried a couple of local beers and a Brooklyn Lager, which were very nice, and we shared some buffalo wings for a starter. Then Tim had a "Po Boy" fried oyster sandwich and Megan had a local delicacy of crab cakes. All of the food was amazing. We were pretty knackered after a 23-hour day, so after dinner we headed back to the hotel and crashed.

Saturday

We had heard that to do a tour of the US Capitol building, you had to get down there early and queue up for tickets. So we got cracking pretty early and, after a delicious breakfast at a cafe/bakery across the road from our hotel, we headed for Capitol Hill.

The US Capitol building is one of the world's best-known symbols of democracy. The centre of America's legislative process for over 200 years, its Neoclassical architecture reflects the democratic principles of ancient Greece and Rome. The cornerstone was laid by George Washington in 1793, and by 1800 the Capitol was occupied. The British burned it down in the War of 1812, but restoration began in 1815.

One wing houses the Senate Chamber, the opposite wing contains the House Chamber. The lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, contains 435 members, who each represent a district and serve a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population in much the same way as New Zealand's constituent seats in Parliament, meaning that the densely populated states have more representatives than the sparsely populated states. However, in the upper house of Congress, the Senate, each state, regardless of population, has two senators, making a total of 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms.

The Rotunda was completed in 1865, is 55 metres high and its interior is beautifully decorated, and is capped off with The Apotheosis of Washington, a fresco by Constantino Brumidi. Sitting proudly on top of the dome is the 6-metre tall, 6,800kg bronze Statue of Freedom, which was added in 1863. Not only representing the legislative heart of Washington, the Capitol building also marks the precise centre of the city. The city's four quadrants radiate out from the middle of the dome of the building.

We managed to get down to the Capitol building visitor centre fairly early and we did not have to wait long before joining a tour of the building. The tour lasted around 45 minutes and was really interesting. Sadly, since it was a weekend, we were not able to see inside the Senate Chamber or the House Chamber, but we did visit the huge rotunda, which is decorated with statues of former presidents and other famous people.

In 1864 Congress invited each state to contribute two statues (which are often updated or exchanged over time) of prominent citizens to stand in the halls of the Capitol. It was a little odd that there were statues of presidents all through the Capitol building, since the tour guide emphasised the fact that presidents very rarely set foot inside the building once they take office, and only ever when invited by Congress to do so, as a symbolic gesture of the separation powers between Congress (legislature) and the President (executive).

After our tour of the Capitol building, we headed next door to visit the Library of Congress. Congress first established a reference library in 1800. When the Capitol was burned in 1812, Thomas Jefferson offered his own extensive collection as a replacement. In 1897, the Library of Congress moved to a new Italian Renaissance-style building, a marvel of art and architecture, with its paintings and mosaics and several exhibitions. The Library of Congress has the world's largest collection of books and materials.

We guided ourselves around the beautiful Library of Congress, visiting the Great Hall, with its grand staircases and bronze statues, the Main Reading Room, the stunning mosaic of Minerva, the display of the Gutenberg Bible, and the exhibitions on the Thomas Jefferson Library collection. It is a truly amazing building - see photos below.

We were getting pretty hungry so we decided to head down Pennsylvania Avenue and grab some lunch. We found a restaurant/bar called The Laughing Man. Tim had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich and a bottomless coke and Megan had vege burger. Good solid American food! The Laughing Man is just a stone's throw from the White House, so we rather excitedly headed there after lunch!

The White House is the official residence and principal work place of the President of the United States. The White House was built on Washington DC's Pennsylvania Avenue between 1792 and 1800. It has been the residence of every president since John Adams. During the War of 1812, the British burned the White House, destroying the interior. Reconstruction began almost immediately.

The White House has been expanded gradually over time, with the West Wing being added in 1901, followed by an expansion of the West Wing and the creation of the first Oval Office in 1909. In the 1920s and 1930s a new East Wing was constructed. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under President Harry Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame was constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt. Today, the White House is made up of six stories, including a two-storey basement.

We got a great view of the White House and took plenty of photos - see below. But we were eventually forced to leave by the incredibly annoying ranting of a weird guy with a megaphone. He was chanting a mixture of biblical references, well-known hip-hop lyrics and some other indecipherable jibber jabber - the price America pays for the freedom of speech...

A few blocks from the White House is the White House Visitor Centre, which contains interesting exhibits about the White House and its decor, the history of the White House, presidents and First Families who have resided there and a display of royal gifts. It also contains an excellent gift shop, where we purchased a great book on all of USA's 44 presidents.

The day had well and truly cleared from the grey and drizzly start and the afternoon was sunny and hot. We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and stay outdoors, so we caught the metro to the Arlington National Cemetery, which is south of the city centre and actually situated in the state of Virginia!

For 30 years, the Confederate General Robert E Lee lived at Arlington House. In 1861, he left his home to lead Virginia's armed forces, and the Union confiscated the estate for a military cemetery. By the end of the Civil War in 1865, 16,000 soldiers were interred in the newly consecrated Arlington National Cemetery. Since then, around another 250,000 veterans have joined them. Simple headstones mark the graves of soldiers who died in every major conflict from the Revolution to the present. The focus of the cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns, which honours the thousands who have died in battle but have no known resting place.

We slowly walked around the huge Arlington National Cemetery grounds, which were beautifully dotted with blossom trees in full bloom. Our first stop was the Grave of John F Kennedy. A flame lit by his wife, Jackie, on the day of his funeral in December 1963 burns here continually. Jackie and two of his children are buried alongside the former president. Excerpts of some of Kennedy's most famous speeches are etched into the surrounding walls.

Next we visited Arlington House, which sits on top of a steep hill in the middle of the cemetery, with amazing views over Washington DC. In front of the house is tomb of Pierre L'Enfant, the architect responsible for planning the city of Washington. From there we wandered across to the Memorial Amphitheatre, the setting for the annual services on Memorial Day. It has also hosted many state funerals.

Opposite the Memorial Amphitheatre are two memorials for the space shuttle tragedies. The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off in January 1986 and the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry in February 2003. Seven astronauts died in each disaster.

Our final spot at the cemetery was the Tomb of the Unknowns. We were fortunate enough to witness the changing of the guard at the tomb. The tomb contains four vaults, one each for World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War and the Korean War. Each vault held one unidentified soldier, until recently, when the Vietnam soldier was identified by DNA analysis and reburied in his home town.

After leaving Arlington, we caught the metro across to the Pentagon, although disappointingly, we emerged from the metro rather close to the fence surrounding the Pentagon, too close to actually get a good view of it. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the US Department of Defence. Its construction was completed in January 1943. It is the world's largest office building by floor area, with about 604,000 square metres. Approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and another 3,000 non-defence support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground (plus two basement levels), and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 28.2 km of corridors.

We rested back at the hotel for a while before heading down to a tex-mex restaurant called Tortilla Coast, in the Capitol Hill area, for dinner. Apparently it was regularly frequented by George W Bush before he became president. The food was delicious, the servings were huge and the service was superb. After dinner we walked back past the Capitol building, which was beautifully lit up, to the metro and headed to the hotel to crash. It was another huge day and we were knackered.







Capitol
building












Inside
the dome












The
dome












Megs with
Ronald Reagan
statue


















George
Washington
















Capitol












Library of
Congress











Main
reading
room











White
House!





























Old Post
Office















Statue of
Benjamin
Franklin















Arlington
House











JFK's
eternal
flame












View
from
Arlington
Cemetery












Arlington
graves










Memorial
Amphi-
theatre












Space
Shuttle
memorial
















Tomb of
Unknown
Soldiers











Capitol
by night