I learned a lot from culture-enriched Washington DC, from history to anthropology to biology, interdisciplinarily.
I remembered the last time when I visited Washington DC, it was a frozen Christmas season, and the national capital was covered by white snow and looked solemn. This time, I missed the cherry blossom in early spring, but in the mid-spring days, the weather there was still a bit chilly, local people wore different types of clothes from winter jackets to T-shirts and pants. There were sunshine mornings and there were also gloomy rainy afternoons, providing a diverse view of this capital city.
The giant architecture buildings stood there with their own purposes, making the capital look grandeur, but you couldn’t see lots of shops or restaurants, there were fewer people walking in the streets, which also made the capital look cold. Compared to other large metropolitan cities across the globe, the hospitality industry here still needs to boost up to attract more global tourists for visiting.
I was impressed by so many great museums and felt a little bit saturated as I visited about a dozen of them within only a few days. The national arboretum is greenery and spacious but lacks enough tourists to boost excitement.
Pennsylvania Ave and Whitehouse: It was drizzling in the afternoon of the first day I arrived. I strolled through Pennsylvania Ave in the city center, I thought I was heading towards the Capitol Hill building, but when I navigated again, I headed in the opposite direction instead. It was not so far away from the White House. There were quite a few grand architecture buildings on the way. I followed a few other tourists, passing the green meadow and watching over the White House building that was circled around by the fence. The view was not so clear on the rainy day. A few days later, I hung around nearby on a sunshine day, watching this architecture building more clearly. There were fences outside, and quite lots of people came out of the building, you need to set an appointment to tour around, I skipped it this time.
It was raining heavily, and it seemed there were no cafes or tea shops around, perhaps those facilities were perhaps hidden somewhere inside the grandeur buildings, Isn’t Washington a bit cold this afternoon?
Capitol Hill tour: On the second day morning, I strolled over Pennsylvania Avenue again but headed towards the Capitol Hill direction. It took me about twenty twenty-minute walk from the 7th street to walk across broad Pennsylvania Ave and reached the Capitol Hill building. It was an early morning, and the multiple signs on the streets showed clear directions on how to get to the visitors' center. They would open at 8:30 am. It was almost the opening hour, and I decided to visit the Capitol Hill building that morning.
It was not so crowded in the early morning, and the staff were friendly. On the first floor, there were videos and photographs demonstrating the US political system hierarchy such as senator, house, congress, and business ecosystem. There were sculptures of a lady of freedom and a few other statues of legendary ladies and gentlemen. There are statues of notable historical figures from each state located throughout the building, some of which depict influential female leaders such as Rosa Parks, Helen Keller, and other female leaders. The exhibition was educational. In about half an hour, hundreds of local school kids came with their teachers to learn politics and economics. The audience also saw a movie about US history and government framework in the theater.
Then, we lined up and followed the tour guides to walk through the gallery and the President's Hall on the second floor. The exhibition was elegant but there were just too many male president statues in the hall, but lacking visibility for female ancestors. There are lots of artworks adorning the corridors and chambers, which look elegant. I also visited a few souvenir shops that sell different gifts and clothes with local sightseeing.
After that, I passed through the long hallway that led to the famous Library of Congress. There were already lots of people there watching introductions videos, photographs exhibition and walking around the library hall. Obviously, at the moment, the library was more functioning like a museum.
It took me about a few hours in the morning to visit the Capitol Hill building, I also took lots of photos of its unique doom from different angles in both sunshine and rainy days. I walked back and forth quite a few times at Constitution Ave, Pennsylvania Ave, and Independence Ave in the city center.
Surprisingly I saw the sign of National Botanical Gardens. It has some flower blossoms on the road and a clear lake near the garden. Getting inside the garden, there were lots of different flowers and plants of all colors and sizes, roses, orchids, narcissus, cactus tulips, bamboo, etc.
After smelling the flowers, I continued walking forward. Unbelievably, there were quite a few large museums and art galleries scattered around the city center, which would be an eye feast for tourists, I would write another blog about them.
On a cloudy day, I also visited the national arboretum in the further part of the city. There were very few visitors on a weekend day, but the garden looked great. The 22 Corinthian columns stood there, making the park look solemn and grand. There was a cultivation garden with different colors of flowers blossoms near the gate. However, there was a lack of lovely creatures or other stunning views to keep me stay longer. On the way back to the city center, it took me about an hour to catch the bus to head back. Public transportation is not very convenient in certain areas of DC compared to some other large metropolitan areas.
What a trip, I learned a lot from culture-enriched Washington DC, from history to anthropology to biology; the national capitol city had its grandeur architecture, and unique charm, making us feel warm because all those exhibitions enriched our spirit. But the chilly weather, fewer pedestrians, hidden restaurants, and some dirty streets make tourists feel cold as well. I believe it needs to keep reinventing itself, truly becoming a great city with coherence for people worldwide to visit.
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