Hi everyone,
Thank you so much for returning to my blog. I am so sorry that I have not posted much recently, but that was because I was in America for two weeks. After my holiday ended, I decided I would like to write some travel blogs up about where I went and what to do there, as I had an amazing holiday! Today's blog post is all about Washington D.C. The beautiful capital of the United States of America. However, later, I will also be posting blogs on: Charleston, LA and Santa Barbara, where I also visited. If you are interested in any of those next blogs then please check out my Instagram page - @bethlucyblogs - as I often share posts of my travels and also updates on new blog posts!
Before I begin my travel blog and accounts of what I did in Washington, I just want to explain that in the two full days we spent in Washington D.C. my family and I visited many museums and historical monuments as my sister wanted to visit them to help her with her history course. I hope this blog helps you understand which museums are the best to visit and what I enjoyed doing!
WASHINGTON D.C.
I arrived in Dulles Airport with my family, after a long plane journey. Immediately, we got a taxi to our hotel and we checked in. For dinner we ate at our hotel's restaurant and then we went to sleep as it was already late.
On our first full day in Washington, my family and I walked to eat our breakfast in the city centre. From there, we then walked to the White House. We had walked to the back of the White House. Here, behind the large barriers, we could get a good glimpse of the beautiful back of the House. It was not very busy and so it was easy to get some great photos of the grand House, as we were also quite close to it. At the back, there were some security and policemen to prevent any trouble happening. We also then passed the back of the White House, to see the Treasury department, which is beside it.
We took a few photos next to the railings of both these buildings and then we decided to walk to the front to get some better views of the White House. It was only a short walk to the front of the White House and there it was harder to get good photos, as the long driveway and gardens at the front mean you cannot get as close as you can at the back. Also, it was very busy there as majority of the tourists want a glimpse at the front! I would recommend going inside the White House (If you are American) as I am sure it is incredible to visit, however you do have to arrange this before your visit. I would have loved to have got the opportunity to go inside, however because I am not American I couldn't unfortunately.
I then went to the WWII memorial where there was a beautiful fountain which you could dip your feet into. There were two pillars showing the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean to represent the war throughout the World. The wreaths along the wall of the fountain represent each state that fought. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place which is mind-blowing to stand beside. It was such an incredible memorial and it really made me think about the impact that the War had on the USA, despite the fact that they became involved later than the Allies.
After visiting the War memorial, we walked past the George Washington monument so we could walk down to the Abraham Lincoln memorial. Unfortunately, we could not go into the George Washington monument as it was under work construction. However, we could walk down to the Lincoln Memorial and admire the large sculpture of Lincoln in his chair. Also in the memorial, there is writing on the walls which was interesting to read. After I had spent a while in the memorial, my family and I went to the museum (which is at the bottom and to the left of the steps) it is only two rooms so it didn't take a lot of time to walk through. The museum shows quotes and paragraphs from famous speeches and debates which Abraham Lincoln would have been involved in during his presidency. Lincoln argued against slavery in several debates in front of huge crowds of people. Some included up to 10,000, which was a huge number during the late 19th century! Abraham Lincoln in 1863, before his death, issued the Emancipation Proclamation which ultimately led to the abolition of slavery.
After learning about Abraham Lincoln and visiting his memorial (which I would really recommend going to!) We then walked back past the Washington Monument. We walked across the road and we passed the Korean War Veterans Memorial. We didn't get a lot of time to read any of the information on it as we walked quickly passed it to reach a pret where we would stop for a well-deserved lunch.
Later in the afternoon, my family and I queued up for our tour in the US capitol building. You can get tickets for a tour in the building, however we had already booked ours. The start of the tour began in a cinema room where you watch a ten minute clip on the history of America and the establishment of the United States congress and Senate.
The tour was really good and our tour guide explained the history of the magnificent building and why it is so important. The rooms you visit are beautiful and they display pieces of artwork as well as significant historical people (statues of course!) Some of the people included Rosa Parks, George Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.
The dome and ceiling of the US Capitol is amazing and honestly the architecture of the building is worth visiting for. Moreover, the Capitol, which was built in 1793, has been housing the meeting chambers of the House of representatives for over two decades now! The building itself also contains its own history, after it was built it was burnt by the British in a war in 1812. It was then rebuilt and now is restored. The building today is a symbol to America of its history and the establishment of the Senate.
I learned so much from my visit to the US Capitol and so I would really recommend visiting if you are in Washington. It was probably my favourite thing that I did on my first day in Washington, as after walking from each site of interest (we did about 10 miles of walking!) My family and I went back to our hotel where we ate and rested until our second and final busy day in Washington.
LAST DAY IN WASHINGTON:
We woke up early, ready for another fun-packed day. If you count visiting museums as fun... Firstly we visited the National Museum of American History. Admission was free (for most museums admission is free for everyone) we looked around for a bit as it was a very interesting and big museum! We looked around displays on the independence of America after winning the war against the British and also the abolition of slavery.
Later, we passed a beautiful building, which we found out was a museum. We had not known this as it was not in our guide book. The building had been made in December, 2003 and was opened as a the National museum of African- American history and culture in 2016 by the American President of the time (Barack Obama) We then queued for almost 2 hours outside the National Museum of African - American history and culture. I would really recommend visiting early if you want to go to this museum, or booking fast pass tickets online as this will mean you have a very short wait until you are allowed in. The museum itself was very interesting and started from around the 15th century and takes you through time to the 21st century. You go down an elevator at the beginning and you feel like you are actually travelling back in time. The museum has films and interactive displays to make it a great place to visit.
After lunch we then visited the National Air and Space Museum which was very impressive! It contains the real Apollo 11, as well as the space buggies and astronaut outfits and equipment. It had so much information on aircrafts and space, as well as Charles Lindbergh's incredible 33 1/2 hours flight from New York to Paris in his plane (St Louis) in 1927. Personally, I loved the Virtual Reality rides and simulators they had on their ground level. I would recommend visiting the museum just to have a go on the simulators!
In the afternoon before going back to our hotel, we enjoyed a walk in the sunshine through more famous sites in Washington. We passed the National archives of the United States of America. As well as Washington's library. We then got a taxi to Georgetown where we ate at one of the many restaurants there. We also discussed all the museums we had been to and how we wished we could go to more, as believe me, there are so many more! But unfortunately our time in Washington D.C. had come to an end and we were ready for our next part of the holiday in the historical city of Charleston! That blog post will be up soon!
Thank you so much for checking this out! I hope you liked this blog post and understand more about what to do in Washington D.C. If you liked this blog then please tap the heart in the bottom right corner or share it on one of the social medias below. Thank you and have a great day!
Beth Lucy