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Post by htmb on Mar 3, 2013 3:46:14 GMT
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Post by htmb on Mar 3, 2013 4:37:04 GMT
Unfortunately, I was unable to take photographs during the most interesting part of the tour. In fact, I had to surrender both my cell phone and my camera before entering the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives. Other than a few VIPs down on the House floor, there was nothing going on, but it was interesting to be able to see the inside of the room.
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Post by mossie on Mar 3, 2013 8:51:47 GMT
A pity you had to give up your camera etc. The paranoia by the authorities about "security" is just a smokescreen. America seems to be the worst offender, my youngest son is going on a trip which requires changing aircraft in LA. He is required to buy a visa FFS just to sit in a crummy airport. No wonder the politicians cannot agree.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2013 11:43:52 GMT
The American Indian museum looks like one of the ones that I would find the most interesting, and I like the architecture of it very much. History was one of my least favourite subjects in school, basically because too much of it was crammed down my throat just as statistics and dates. Since obviously back in those days, Native American culture was hardly skimmed over at all, that at least stays much more mysterious and interesting to me.
Those dark court and Senate chambers do indeed look very gloomy, and I'm sure that it is nothing compared to the days where they were lit by candles and oil lamps.
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Post by htmb on Mar 5, 2013 2:59:38 GMT
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Post by htmb on Mar 6, 2013 0:04:01 GMT
Today a Whitehouse spokesman announced that tours have been indefinitely suspended in an effort to save money.
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Post by lugg on Mar 8, 2013 20:13:34 GMT
I really enjoyed this thread and your others about this area Htmb and ....thank you ... I have learnt so much about Washington . I can quite understand your thoughts about this.... I do believe this is my favorite photograph of the Mall area. I happened to turn around and look behind me as I was approaching the Korean War Memorial. The afternoon light seemed to catch the Washington Monument and make it shine. What a stunning photo.
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Post by htmb on Mar 8, 2013 20:16:40 GMT
Ohhhhh, thank you, lugg. I appreciate your kind words.
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Post by htmb on Mar 8, 2013 20:39:39 GMT
For a special treat, I was taken to tea at the Willard Hotel. A most celebrated historic Washington DC hotel, the Willard InterContinental Washington, has been the focal point for elegant dinners, meetings, and gala social events for more than 150 years. An institution, this grand Washington DC historic hotel has hosted almost every U.S. president since Franklin Pierce in 1853. On August 28, 1963, the Reverend Martin Luther King finished his famous “I Have A Dream” speech while a guest at the Willard. Other notable guests have included Charles Dickens, Buffalo Bill, David Lloyd George, P.T. Barnum, Lord and Lady Napper, and countless others. Walt Whitman mentioned the hotel in his works; and Mark Twain penned two books here in the early 1900s. Source
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Post by lola on Mar 9, 2013 4:40:32 GMT
Nice, htmb.
I love Washington. Never got to go to those hidden Senate and Supreme Ct chambers, though. Are they reassembled from the original buildings? Nice to get a special tour like that.
I'll keep mum on the tea.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2013 6:49:58 GMT
Just a little insignificant comment, but one thing that strikes me is the constant use of heavy drapes everywhere. That is one traditional touch that I would not at all mind to see abandoned.
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Post by mossie on Mar 9, 2013 8:08:50 GMT
The high tea is the real deal. Trust you enjoyed it.
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Post by htmb on Mar 9, 2013 14:18:04 GMT
Mossie, I have to say it wasn't my idea, but I tried to go with a very open mind. I actually found it to be very relaxing. The food was really wonderful, the tea delicious, and the service outstanding. The whole experience was a real treat, though certainly not inexpensive.
Kerouac, the draperies across from our tea table were used to cover a type of service entrance. They weren't covering a window to the outside.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 9, 2013 15:35:44 GMT
This tour of Washington is a real feast, Htmb, and I'm certainly learning from it as well as enjoying it very much.
I think I mentioned somewhere that in the summer of 1966 my family toured the (hellishly hot) Fort Sill landmark & museum. At that time I "knew" as much about native Americans as most American kids -- that they were the mean people who came yodeling over the hills to shoot arrows into the nice settlers. Seeing the tiny cell where Geronimo was held marked a leap in my young consciousness. And seeing your photos here enriched that long-ago experience.
Love your exterior shots of that museum -- what a wonderful building.
And you show us the proverbial (erstwhile) smoke-filled rooms! Keeping them dimly lit makes them seem so much less like museum pieces, doesn't it? The rotunda is quite beautifully done. Any idea on the various eras & artists?
Of all your excellent photos in this thread, I have to say the first one of Arlington got to me the most. There is something about any huge military cemetery that is sobering & heartbreaking. You captured that perfectly.
But the tea! I may not be able to forgive you for the teeth-gnashing covetousness that inspired. And what a perfect setting for it.
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Post by htmb on Mar 10, 2013 1:33:25 GMT
Thank you very much for your kind words, bixa. Here is more information about the Capitol dome: The Apotheosis of Washington in the eye of the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol was painted in the true fresco technique by Constantino Brumidi in 1865. Brumidi (1805-1880) was born and trained in Rome and had painted in the Vatican and Roman palaces before emigrating to the United States in 1852.
A master of creating the illusion of three-dimensional forms and figures on flat walls, Brumidi painted frescoes and murals throughout the Capitol from 1855 until his death. The canopy fresco, his most ambitious work at the Capitol, was painted in eleven months at the end of the Civil War, soon after the new dome was completed, for $40,000.
Suspended 180 feet above the Rotunda floor, it covers an area of 4,664 square feet. The figures, up to 15 feet tall, were painted to be intelligible from close up as well as from 180 feet below. Some of the groups and figures were inspired by classical and Renaissance images, especially by those of the Italian master Raphael.US Capitol Rotunda
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Post by htmb on Mar 10, 2013 1:37:00 GMT
Nice, htmb. I love Washington. Never got to go to those hidden Senate and Supreme Ct chambers, though. Are they reassembled from the original buildings? Nice to get a special tour like that. Thank you, Lola. I may be wrong, but it was my impression that the Supreme Court and the Senate used the exact rooms in my photos during those particular dates.
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Post by mich64 on Mar 10, 2013 3:12:26 GMT
I too have been enjoying this tour of Washington, DC. It is a city that my husband and I would love to visit some day. So much to see and do.
When in our Capital, we have on many occasions visited the Parliament Buildings but have never gone inside the buildings, next time it will be a certainty.
Thank you for including your photos of your Afternoon Tea, such elegance and the food looks sumptuous!
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Post by nycgirl on Mar 24, 2013 4:22:40 GMT
Great stuff here. The Native American museum looks really interesting. I like the variety of the displays and the building itself is really cool.
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Post by htmb on Mar 24, 2013 11:36:38 GMT
Thank you, nycgirl. There is so much to see in that museum that my photos barely scratch the surface. It's well worth a long visit.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 1, 2013 16:51:18 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 1, 2013 18:42:40 GMT
Hmmmm....maybe I can get some photos from the front lines.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 1, 2013 21:45:34 GMT
Seriously?! That would be wonderful!
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Post by mossie on Oct 2, 2013 14:18:50 GMT
When are they going to stop acting like 5 year olds
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Post by htmb on Oct 2, 2013 18:03:06 GMT
That's a good question, Mossie. I understand there's to be a meeting of the "leadership" later today.
I am waiting to board my flight for a planned trip. While I am disappointed the places I like to visit are closed, I hope that tomorrow when I go to the National Mall area I will be able to get some photos of "local color." However, if they were to end the shutdown early and federal employees were allowed to go back to work, and be paid, I would be even happier.
I have written to my congressional representative, a Tea Party member, and expressed my displeasure at the state of things. Nothing much else I can do at this point.
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Post by htmb on Oct 3, 2013 2:52:46 GMT
As I was getting off my plane in Washington, DC tonight I passed a group of at least fifty WWII Honor Flight veterans and their younger, veteran escorts. They were waiting to board a plane back to Kansas City after spending the day touring the city. I spoke with the young veteran sitting in the foreground and asked if they had been able to visit the WWII memorial. He told me it was a really wonderful experience because at least sixteen US Senators escorted the veterans to the memorial, and the barricades were moved out of the way for the group. I took this picture with my phone so it's not very good. What you don't see are the several veterans off to the left who were dancing and singing.
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Post by mossie on Oct 3, 2013 15:09:32 GMT
It is good to see your veterans are looked after and given special treatment.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 3, 2013 17:30:04 GMT
Thank you for the report from the trenches, Htmb. SO glad the veterans weren't cheated out their trip highlights. If they were en route to Kansas City, that's obviously not the Mississippi group. Lovely to know that at least a couple of the honor flights weren't curtailed.
I'll be most interested to hear how your visit to a "gone fishin'" capitol works out.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 3, 2013 20:27:06 GMT
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Post by htmb on Oct 3, 2013 20:33:20 GMT
Yes. I was there about 45 minutes after it all started. I've got lots of pictures of civilians standing around not knowing what was going on, along with very nervous police officers. Friend heard the shots near the Capitol, but they were apparently fired by police, not the woman.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 3, 2013 20:44:57 GMT
Well, as long as we know you were in no danger, I guess it's okay to admit that I was hoping for some anyporter news photos.
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