We tackled peak hour ridership on the Metro this morning along with thousands in business suits. Our first appointment of the day was a tour of the Capitol building. It is necessary to pass through security before entering any of the national galleries, museums and government buildings. Disappointingly, there were no sightings of any political figures during our tour but we did see a lot of dead people statues! Each state is allowed to send two statues for display in the Capitol building. The only regulations are that the statues be in bronze or marble and that the person be dead!! The tour was limited to an explanatory film and a walk through the Statuary Hall and the Rotunda.
From the Capitol tour we crossed over to the Library of Congress housed in the Thomas Jefferson building. The interior decor is very impressive in this Italian Renaissance building. From a balcony we were able to look down into the main reading room with its 236 reference desks. This library holds the world's largest collection with over 150 million items. It is a beautiful space.
Next door to the Library is the Supreme Court building designed in a classical corinthian style. Unfortunately the court doesn't meet until October so we weren't able to observe a session. Fortunately they have a great cafeteria that offers inexpensive lunch options so we took a break and enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches.
Using my trusty pocket map we took a post-lunch, circuitous route to the Postal Museum. My navigational skills must have been on hiatus because we walked in circles before asking for directions. Located next to Union Station, the museum was a yawn! Apparently we were in the wrong place. It was really The Old Post Office building that we wanted to visit…so, back on the Metro followed by yet another navigational disaster (not my fault this time) we arrived at The Old Post Office which is currently leased for 60 years to Donald Trump. He is planning to convert the office levels to a hotel. The 360 degree view from the tower was amazing.
There is never a reason to be uninformed in Washington. A plethora of free news media can be found on every street corner, extolling the virtues of left, right and centrist viewpoints.
What a day! Time to head for the comfort of our hotel room, put our feet up and plan for tomorrow!
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