Walking through Washington D.C.

This week we arrive in Washington DC, the capital of the United States of America.

Washington was named after George Washington, first President of the United States and Founding Father and governs the good course of US domination over the West since 1790. It does not belong to any state, has the status of an independent federal zone what is called the District of Columbia or simply DC.
The city is also one of the most visited cities in the world, with more than 20 million tourists annually.

A city full of elegance and refinement of tranquility and stylish people. The place where you can learn and deepen the history of this highly patriotic people.
White House, Lincoln Memorial, The Capitol are just some of the sights you can visit and from where you can find a lot of interesting information. What is even more wonderful is that monuments and memorials are open 24 hours a day and visiting it is free of charge.

Unlike New York or LA cities that are always full of tourists and they are agitated and noisy, Washington is full of tourists and yet it is extremely clean and quiet.
I think that simply the vibration of the place and the way people are inspire the tourists and make the behave differently. I was glad to see people riding a bike in a suit, everything is so stylish and full of taste there, from streets to cycling. Haha.
The architecture of Washington varies greatly. Six of the top 10 buildings in the American Institute of Architects’ 2007 ranking of “America’s Favorite Architecture” are in the District of Columbia: the White House, the Washington National Cathedral, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the United States Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The neoclassical, Georgian, Gothic, and modern architectural styles are all reflected among those six structures and many other prominent edifices in Washington.
It is such a pleasure to walk through this city and enjoy the landscapes and the surroundings.

This is what we saw and done during our trip here.

1.White House
The famous White House which it is the main role of several films and TV Series.
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States. It was built between 1792-1800 in Georgian style. The building is it 224 years old and at the beginning was called the Presidential Palace, until the president Theodore Roosevelt named it the „White House”. I was so happy that I had the opportunity to be there!
Fun fact: The white House has 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms.

The National Mall
We walked through the National Mall, which is one of the biggest public parks of USA.
Spread out across two miles from the US Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial, The Mall is in the heart of downtown and home to the country’s most famous monuments and memorials.

2.U.S. Capitol Building
The domed U.S. Capitol building is where the business of Washington – and America – happens, and is a massive network of buildings, offices and meeting rooms.
Construction of the U.S. Capitol began in 1793. In November 1800, the U.S. Congress met in the first completed portion, the north wing. In the 1850’s, major extensions to the North and South ends of the Capitol were authorized because of the great westward expansion of our nation and the resultant growth of Congress. Since that time, the U.S. Capitol and its stately dome have become international symbols of their representative democracy.
It is just amazing to walk through that building. It is really impressive when you think that the world’s faith it is decided there. It is a law in Washington that no other building should be higher than the Capitol!

3. Lincoln Memorial
It was built between 1915-1922 in the memory of the 16th president of USA. A white stone building with 36 columns and featuring a solitary 19-foot-tall statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting in contemplation, flanked on both sides with inscriptions of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address and his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address. The 36 columns represent the 36 states that where part of the US during Lincoln’s term of office. Later on, the wall of the monument was written 12 other states that joined the Union. After the admission of Alaska and Hawaii to the Union, a new plaque was added with the manes of these states.
The statue was carved by the Piccirilli Brothers under the supervision of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and took four years to complete. The statue, originally intended to be only 10 feet (3.0 m) tall, was, on further consideration, enlarged so that it finally stood 19 feet (5.8 m) tall from head to foot, the scale being such that if Lincoln were standing, he would be 28 feet (8.5 m) tall. The widest span of the statue corresponds to its height. Of Georgia white marble, it weighs 175 short tons (159 t) and was shipped in twenty-eight pieces.
The Memorial is the place where Martin Luther King Jr., deliver his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
This is the perfect place to contemplate, it is so inspiring and that’s why More than 7 million people visit the memorial annually.

4.The Pencil
Otherwise known as the Washington Monument, is one of the nation’s most recognizable structures, it was built to honor George Washington.
The obelisk-shaped memorial is made up of marble, granite and blue stone gneiss. It’s the world’s tallest structure made of stone and the tallest obelisk, at 555 feet tall.
Construction of the monument began in 1848 and was halted from 1854 to 1877 due to a lack of funds, a struggle for control over the Washington National Monument Society, and the intervention of the American Civil War. Although the stone structure was completed in 1884, internal ironwork, the knoll, and other finishing touches were not completed until 1888. A difference in shading of the marble, visible approximately 150 feet (46 m), shows where construction was halted and later resumed with marble from a different source. The original design was by Robert Mills.
It was the tallest structure in the world from 1884 to 1889, when it was overtaken by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

5. The reflecting pool
It has this name because of its strategic position. Depending on where you are, you will see in the pool the reflection of the Lincoln memorial or the Washington Monument. The pool has a length of 681 meters and a width of 51 m. It is a great place to relax and admire everything that surrounds you.

6.World War II Memorial
At the east end of the Reflecting Pool sits the World War II Memorial, which honors all 16 million people who served the American armed forces, including more than 400,000 who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
It contains 56 granite columns that symbolize unity among the 48 states, seven federal territories and the District of Columbia. And the two 43-foot tall structures highlight America’s victory on the Atlantic and Pacific fronts during World War II.

7. In the Mall area are SMITHSONIAN museums.
The Smithsonian Institution, founded on August 10, 1846 “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” is a group of museums and research centers administered by the Government of the United States.
The Institution’s thirty million annual visitors are admitted without charge.
You can see 19 museums and galleries:
Gallery Arthur M. Sackler
– Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum
– Freer Gallery of Art,
– Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,
– National Air and Space Museum,
– National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center,
– National Museum of African American History and Culture,
– National Museum of African Art,
– National Museum of American History,
– National Museum of the American Indian,
– National Museum of the American Indian’s George Gustav Heye Center,
– National Museum of Natural History,
– National Portrait Gallery,
– National Postal Museum,
– Renwick Gallery,
– Smithsonian American Art Museum,
– Smithsonian Institution Building,
– National Zoological Park,
We visited the National Museum of Natural History which is the third most visited museum in the world. Its total collection sums up over 126 million copies of plants, fossils, fallen animals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, human cultural artifacts and not only.

We also visited National Air and Space Museum which houses the largest collection of historical aircraft and spacecraft in the world. Set up in 1946 this museum with a total area of 14,970.9 m2 it had about 6.7 million visitors in 2004. This fact placing it in the fifth of the most visited museums in the world.

Washington experience was one full of culture, history, interesting information and amazing places. One of the world’s capitals that worth to be visited and discovered to find out more about one of the greatest powers of the world.