Washington DC: the capital of the famous monuments (I)

Hello people and pinmapplers!

This time it is a great trip, this time we visit a big and important city, the capital of the United States, Washington DC. There we realize that there is a lot to see, much more than we thought, not a simple bureaucratic city but much more.

It is a key city, interesting, full of history and with famous places that will seem familiar to us in some way, because we have seen some of them in many movies and suddenly, we are in that setting.

As I say, there is a lot to see, although even having little time but a lot of energy we can get a good idea and get to know many of its must-see points and most relevant monuments. But what surprised me most is the number of museums there are, many, and all with interesting themes, easy access and with unique and even iconic things.

So I have decided to do two parts because there is a lot to tell and many photos to share: on the one hand all the monuments, on a great tourist route, and another day I will tell you about some of those museums, not all of them, but the most popular and well-known. The route with all that museum part was long, intense but really impressive.

We begin. From the beginning. Very early in the morning we went out to discover Washington DC, the famous capital of the USA, on a beautiful radiant day. In the distance we see a large dome that guides us on the way to the central and most important area.

But as we approach we already see imposing nice buildings, almost all of them seem important, everything in this city seems important, like the National Trade Center or the United States Department of the Treasury. Yes, important.

Curiously, on the way, almost without thinking about it, we came across what is definitely one of the most important buildings in the world, yes, do you know which one it is? The White House.

But I was struck by the lack of security (at least visible), simply the fence through which I could put the camera and the tranquility, even a squirrel walked calmly and in the surroundings we were surprised by a celebration (I think it was China, for the dragon) already reaching an esplanade. A famous esplanade.

There is the Washington Monument, a huge obelisk on that esplanade that is the National Mall, where many people gathered at one time or several, for famous and mythical rallies of great figures in history... but also in its surroundings other buildings such as the Old Post Office, or the most famous museum of all, among the many others that are here on this esplanade, is indeed the Smithsonian, but more about museums, in the next post. (Or we don't finish this post!).

And we see the largest dome, every time bigger and bigger, we are close. This is the very famous dome, the Capitol, the one we have seen so many times on television, in movies and especially in the news. And we already know that politics is closely linked to money and that is why we have the Treasury Department, nearby. Important too, right?

We look the other way around now, all that esplanade, with so much to see around it, so many museums above all, but we jump in time, to after all that visit a more relaxing nearby place.
It is a lake (artificial I think) joined to the Potomac River that usually offers beautiful views, and even more so in the afternoon, and there stands out a white temple, the Jefferson Memorial, and its statue inside. While we continue seeing the obelisk.

We are getting late, and the afternoon is going away, we have to hurry to visit the famous Arlington Cemetery with tombs of famous people and many soldiers before it gets dark. We arrived after a lot of walking there and there, but it is worth it, in addition to the tranquility especially at the last minute and the place, we see the tombs of the Kennedys (JFK and Jackie Kennedy, perhaps the most important among many others). Well, and the tomb of the unknown soldier, in tribute to so many soldiers, all those souls who fought...

We look into the distance, again we think about the city and all those great monuments.

It's already night and we have to go back because we can't see much else, but we can't leave without seeing the Lincoln Memorial, one of the most iconic figures we can visit, now with lights and fewer people. And it is truly of tremendous size.

As we finish, nearby is the World War II Memorial, and of course there at that end of that immense esplanade is the Washington Monument again, now illuminated. Flags of the United States, and also the FBI itself! Now, we say goodbye to this mythical and important city.