I hope you enjoy the following snapshots that passed muster!!!
Saturday, June 16
I somehow managed to get up in time to catch the early tour at the Kennedy Center. We started off in the Hall of Nations:
A flag is displayed for every country with which the U.S. has diplomatic relations.
We then entered the Grand Foyer:
The sixteen gorgeous crystal chandeliers were a gift to the United States from Sweden. The mirrors, likewise, were a gift from Belgium.
At either end of the Grand Foyer is a Millennium Stage:
There is a free theater performance on one of the Millennium Stages EVERY day. How cool!
We then saw where George gets to sit when he goes to see a performance at the Opera House:
Pretty cushy. I photographed JFK's bust, located in the Grand Foyer:
We then entered the Hall of States:
Guess what? Each state (annnd the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, and Northern Marianas) has a flag displayed.
We got to go on the roof to conclude our tour:
Bye Bye Kennedy Center:
I also took a picture of THE Watergate Building while I was on the roof. Oddly enough, I frequent the Safeway located in the basement of the complex:
After my morning at the Kennedy Center, I met up with Ariel at U Street. We got lunch at Busboys and Poets and wandered around the U Street/Shaw neighborhood.
U Street/Shaw is the "historic heart of the city's African-American community." Duke Ellington grew up and started his jazz career here:
The two of us did some window shopping as well as real shopping at Home Rule and Go Mama Go!. The latter is one of THE COOLEST stores I have been to in a long, long time. It has a very hippie, Coventry-like feel and sells beautiful plates, cloths, art, etc.
We passed the Freemason's "House of the Temple" during our stroll:
We eventually reached Dupont Circle:
We chatted for a while and enjoyed the shade before walking down Connecticut Avenue. We peered in more shops and restaurants before reaching the Metro station:
I got home just in time to catch Ted Gup on TV and engage in more fun and frivolity with my roomies. We headed up to Adams Morgan for a hot Saturday night! We started off at Asylum, where Saurabh shot this vibrant photo of Emily and me:
Chris was (again) meeting some of his 80 billion friends at another bar down the street. After pushing through crowds of people to reach our destination, Emily and I decided that this bar was too packed and too trashy for us. Being WISE girls (ha ha ha), we headed to Tryst, where we snagged prime people-watching seats and enjoyed the best sangria ever. We eventually met up with Saurabh, and the three of us rode the Metro home at the early hour of 2am.
Saturday spending total: $21.00 (Home Rule purchase, garage sale purchase, and assorted alcoholic beverages)
Sunday, June 17
I realized early in the morning while taking the Metro to Church that so many of my loyal readers have never seen the inside of a Metro station:
Did I mention that I like the Metro? Anyway, I went to Mass at St. Joseph's on Capitol Hill. This church reminded me a lot of Cleveland's Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. The concrete "beams" criss-crossing the ceiling were eerily similar, as were the blue backdrop and stars painted in between them. The music was a lot better than last week, and I sat behind a very official, politician-looking type. (I came home and flipped through my guidebook containing photos of each and every member of Congress hoping to identify him. No such luck.)
I snapped this photo of the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building on my walk back to Union Station:
I chilled at the dorm before venturing to Arlington National Cemetery with my roomies. This is the view approaching the main entrance:
Behind the main gate structure, you can see Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial.
Here is a view inside the cemetery:
After passing numerous graves, we reached the resting place of President John F. Kennedy (along with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the couple's two infant children):
Quotes by JFK were engraved in stone to create an observation deck of sorts near the gravesite. I photographed the slab containing the Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country quotation, which I feel to be his most famous and poignant:
We then visited the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy. I photographed the slab of stone containing my favorite quote by my favorite politician:
Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.
This quote actually has been credited to the Greek tragedian Aeschylus but not found in any of his works. RFK made this remark in his famous speech following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. Many say that his words prevented the people of Indianapolis from rioting that very night.
RFK's grave was simple (per his wish): a plain white cross and unadorned white stone.
Not all of the graves at Arlington are uniform; this shot shows some more ornate headstones:
We visited the Tomb of Unknown Civil War Dead, containing the remains of 2,111 Union soldiers:
I snapped this photo of Washington, DC from the front lawn of Arlington House:
We proceeded to tour Robert E. Lee's home and the adjoining slave quarters. I learned two most interesting facts:
1. George Washington was Martha Dandridge Custis's second husband, and
2. Robert E. Lee was NOT an evil man.
Growing up in the North, every history textbook I encountered made Robert E. Lee out to be the biggest bad guy EVER. I never knew that his loyalty to Virginia simply trumped that of his loyalty to the Union. He lived a fruitful life and served as the president of Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in his later years.
We then reached the Memorial Amphitheater, where official ceremonies are held:
On the other side of the amphitheater is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We sat in silence and witnessed The Changing of the Guard:
Finally, we visited the memorials to the astronauts aboard space shuttles Challenger and Columbia (pictured):
Chris, Emily, and I decided that four hours wandering around the cemetery just wasn't enough for the day. The three of us proceeded to visit the United States Air Force Memorial:
I snapped this photo of Washington, DC and the Pentagon from the base of the memorial:
We walked right by the Pentagon on our way to the Air Force Memorial. I'm pretty sure that the side pictured above is where the plane crashed into the building on September 11. The coloration of the stone in the middle varies from that on the extreme right and extreme left. Adding further validity to my hypothesis is the fact that the Pentagon Memorial is being built adjacent to this side of the building.
Finally, a cute photo of Emily and me at the Air Force Memorial:
My roomies and I came home, rehydrated, and CRASHED. The end.
Sunday spending total: $29.00 (CVS run and a present for Puppy Wuppy)
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And there you have it. My weekend in precisely 33 photos :)
