Friday - Memorials and Museums

On our last full day in Washington we decided to walk around the memorials and monuments that we haven't yet seen in the morning, and then head to a couple of museums in the afternoon. The unseasonably hot weather was due to end in the afternoon so we thought that we would do the outdoorsy bit in the morning. 

We took the Metro to Smithsonian and noticed that we had the most upbeat conductor in the world! As well as announcing the stations in a very enthusiastic manner, he kept shouting "it's Friiiii-day!"

We then proceeded to circumnavigate the tidal basin in a leisurely fashion. I won't make a list of all the memorials that we saw, but it was interesting to see how different they were in style. The Jefferson Memorial was very imposing, however I noticed that unlike Lincoln sitting relaxed in his big chair, Jefferson was standing up for all eternity. I mentioned to James that if there is ever a statue to be built of me, I would like to be sitting down. James assured me that he will design a statue that has me lying on a couch surrounded by sweetie papers with a television remote control in one hand and my phone in the other, and a couple of cats lounging around nearby! 

It was a most beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky and at the wee George Mason memorial there was a gorgeous flower garden which was full of butterflies. Round at the Franklin D Roosevelt memorial I particularly liked the statue of his wee Westie dog. We arrived back at the World War II memorial with its lovely fountains and then past the Washington Monument towards the Smithsonian museums.

By this time it was 2 pm and hotter than ever so we had a quick but tasty lunch in the cafeteria of The Museum of American History. Our timing couldn't have been better - just as we sat down the weather finally broke and torrential rain started lashing down outside. We had a look round the museum. It was interesting in parts - it was good to see the original flag that flew over Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the heavy bombardment by the British in September 1814. When it was still flying the next morning Francis Scott Key saw it and was inspired to write a poem beginning:

"O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?"

which of course became the song "The Star Spangled Banner" and eventually America's National Anthem.  

And I did enjoy seeing Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. But I felt that the museum was a bit of a jumble and could have done with some stronger historical links and themes.

When we went outside the rain had stopped and the sun was back out; it was distinctly cooler though, which was a relief. We went to the Museum of Natural History briefly and then back to the Museum of Air and Space for an hour before it closed.

In the evening we strolled along M Street to bustling Georgetown and had an absolutely fantastic meal in Clyde's, which was a sort of mix of French and American cooking. It was by far the best meal that we have had all week (first equal with our Brunch in the Rockefeller Centre!)