TRAVELS WITH HENRY A WASHINGTON (USA) Washington - USA, 05/10/2007 to 09/10/2007
Washington DC is the capital city of United States of America and is by itself District of Columbia (DC). Named after the 1st United States President George Washington , the city covers 177 square kilometers, with more than 4,400,000 inhabitants, is the 10th most populous metropolitan area in the nation.
It houses the White House (home of President ) and Capitol (seat of the federal Congress), and near the Pentagon (site of the knob army). In addition to government headquarters, is also a major tourist spot, with attractions such as the memorials to Presidents Lincoln , Jefferson and Washington , and the War Memorial in Vietnam (all in the National Mall). It also has important collections of art (museums grouped under the Institution Smithsonian and others like National Gallery of Art (National Art Gallery).
was designed by French architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant in the late eighteenth century, was the first planned city especially as a center of government.
Washington DC is located in the District of Columbia , along the Potomac River is the capital of a federal union of 50 states. When U.S. declared its independence of Britain, the July 4 1776 of , there were 13 states, each sovereign and autonomous. The states sought to preserve its sovereignty and independence within a loose confederation, but given the counterattack by Britain joined forces in 1789 and adopted a new constitution that established a federal union subject to a strong central government.
We arrived at the Greyhound station midnight and there we took a taxi to the HI Washington DC was at the center of the monumental capital of U.S. . The hostel had a great location because it was just five blocks from the White House and has easy access to the museums of the Smithsonian Institution and Capitol. This hostel was not working the elevator and we were with 2 suitcases each, then we hope to be fixed, and then we went to sleep, because the next day we hoped one day pass to tour Tokyo thoroughly National Mall.
the second day in Washington DC , after breaking the mouth at breakfast, we went sightseeing. First we passed the Plaza de Libertad, in the diagonal 14 and Pennsylvania, where you could see the Capitol background. Pennsylvania Avenue entered the visitors center White House, where a museum that displays different aspects of the White House, including its architecture, furnishings, first families, social events, and relations with the press and world leaders.
presidential Then we went to the park where we spent by the Treasury Department and then back to the White House . Can not access your forehead. The White House is the oldest building in the District of Columbia , and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is the most famous address in the United States . Here, every president except George Washington has led the government of the Nation. Since 1792, the White House has become the symbol of the American presidency throughout the world. While the Capitol represents freedom and ideals Nation, the White House represents the power and capacity of government chief executive.
In front of the White House saw a protester who is showing since 1981 here, against the Bush administration and nuclear war, and peace. It seems you have to website. There was another protester who was running for president and called for the vote. This website also had .
In front of the White House is Lafayette Park lies and there was the statue of Jackson, claiming that the Federal Union was preserved.
Then we passed the Old Executive Building, named Dwight D. Eisenhower. From here we pass the monument to the First Division, dedicated to the first American expeditionary force, consisting of a granite column with a gilded statue on top, reprsentando an angel with a banner flamenando.
Later we went through the World Bank but could not enter. Then we headed for the School of Law George Washington University .
It was created by Congress in 1825, and is the largest education institution in Washington DC . After touring, the lecture hall, classrooms, a library, its reading rooms, study, the computer lab, etc., seemed to have much more amenities to study here in our school. Here you have everything, do not lack anything.
Then we passed the Federal Reserve United States, which was attended to Uruguay when was the economic crisis of 2001/2002.
here and we enter the National Mall which is the most important tourist spot Washington DC, monuments and memorials to presidents Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington , and the War Memorial in Vietnam . It also has important collections of art (grouped under the museums of the Smithsonian Institution and others like National Gallery of Art (National Art Gallery).
Here first we were at the memorial to the 11,000 American women who performed military service in Vietnam. The same was placed there on November 11, 1993.
Then we were inside the memorial to Abraham Lincoln , who fought to abolish slavery in the Civil War between North and South of U.S. . They say he was the man who gave meaning, honor and purpose to the nation. Defended the unity, equality, and dedication.
From here we visited the War Memorial in Vietnam . They said a plaque as follows: "The memorial inspires a contemplative experience and gives a human face divided by conflict. Veterans, their families, and others are in the memorial a place of reflection and healing. " I was shocked to read this sentence, because after having lived through the Vietnam experience of knowing and seeing the state it was there and how they could endure and win the war, with the effects or consequences that they have until today I can not accept such memorials in the U.S. where shown as the victim and calls for reflection on its people. It seemed unfortunate that both lied to the people. I heard the two versions of the war, the Vietnam and the United States , which is what I learned in Uruguay , and the truth that I am not affiliated to any of the two anyway.
In the great wall of black granite Memorial are over 58,000 names of those listed as missing or killed in action in Vietnam. They are listed in chronological order, according to the date of his death or disappearance.
Here in the wall were all sorts of offerings, but one that impressed me was a letter from a wife to her deceased husband's widow, a letter from some friends of a soldier, telling him about his brother he never knew.
Then we went to the National Memorial to World War II . This was the national tribute to Americans who teamed for the victory and against tyranny and oppression. It was built in 1993.
From there we walked to the memorial in Washington , which is a large obelisk, far higher than ours and that of Buenos Aires.
Then we passed the National Museum of American History , but did not get and went to HI Washington DC to get some rest.
On Saturday night we did a free tour through the neighborhood Dupont Circle which lies between the districts of Georgetown and Adams Morgan , and say it is the area of \u200b\u200bWashington DC Gay . The tour only lasted an hour and saw the main parts of the neighborhood as the area of \u200b\u200bembassies and Dupont Circle Square . After the tour guide took us to a bowling alley with pool tables, which was full of people watching football games. It was fun and then we went to dinner at Mc Donald's. In fact we saw that this neighborhood has bars for all tastes. Here we must bear in mind that most dance places are closed on Fridays and Saturdays at 3 am. As at 12 am back to HI Washington DC and went to sleep.
Washington DC is a city \u200b\u200bthat has a special nightlife. Much of this environment focuses on different areas of the northwest of the city, although there is a small area of \u200b\u200bbars around Capitol Hill. Besides Dupont Circle, next are two more neighborhoods nightlife:
Georgetown, which is an area of \u200b\u200buniversity life thanks to the university of the same name. In addition to restaurants with exquisite cuisine and high prices, there are a lot of bars with great activity throughout the night.
Adams Morgan: Area bars on 18th Street NW. Less exclusive as above, but here there are many live music.
the third day in Washington DC did another free tour through the region Arlington, Virginia and the historic Georgetown neighborhood called .
We went meters from the Metro Center Station to the Arlington Cemetery station to know the region Arlington, Virginia. This region is one of the few U.S. regions linked with the history of the nation. It is located across the Potomac River from Washington DC . Arlington was once part of the original Federal City. From its inception until today, the geography of Arlington , buildings, and its citizens have played a role in shaping liderzgo Washington DC. First we visited Arlington National Cemetery, where we visited the grave of John F. Kennedy (1917 - 1963) who had lit an eternal flame. His grave is located at the midpoint of an imaginary line between the memorial to Abraham Lincoln and Arlington House. We passed the monument to the strength pathetic air (it was only three points of concrete floor as bird), and witnessed the solemn changing of the guard of the tomb of the unknown soldier.
climbed a hill near the cemetery, where he was the Arlington House IXX century. It seems that the united troops crossed the Potomac River entering the State of Virginia and occupied the region Arlington. The officers lived in this house, while hundreds of soldiers camped in the fields. From here we had a view of the Pentagon (headquarters of the army command), the Washington memorial to and Jefferson memorial .
Then we went for a carillon in the Netherlands which was presented "the Dutch people the American people" in gratitude for the assistance provided during and after World War II .
Again we passed the memorial to the Navy. Is dedicated to all sailors who gave their lives for the defense of U.S. since 1775.
Then we also visited the district of the metropolitan area of \u200b\u200bthe District of Columbia called Rosslyn, which is a district office. After crossing the Key Bridge, where you saw the Watergate building (the one where the Nixon administration found a spy), and Theodore Roosevelt Island. We passed the bridge that passes over the historic Route 66 (the original route of the interstate was 3,000 km from Chicago to Los Angeles). After crossing the bridge we Georgetown.
We stayed in Georgetown University, the oldest in the District. Founded in 1789 by John Carroll and is the largest Catholic university oldest in the country. Also the first black college president of the United States went to Georgetown .
seems
Washington DC, despite having the character of the administrative capital, has a large university community. And met the George Washington University and Georgetown University and we need to know the University District of Columbia, which is the city's public university and is among the oldest universities for blacks. Near the university there are several student housing and we spend the house they lived John F. Kennedy and his wife for two years when they had a son.
Georgetown Also the stairs were in an alley where they filmed the famous Hollywood film called The Exorcist. "
free tour ended here, and then we went to HI everything Washington DC M Street, which is very popular for having designer clothes shops and fine restaurants.
the fourth day in Washington DC after breaking his mouth at breakfast, we went to the ugly building FBI called J. Edgar Hoover. The building has no aesthetic grace, but seems designed to withstand attacks, because cars can not zoom in and the offices are not at the level of the floor, but the building is suspended on a column structure.
Then go through the National Archives , but saw nothing interesting to visit, then visit the Museum Air & Space of Institution Smithsonian . The Museum of Air and Space contains the largest collection of aircraft and spacecraft the world. It is also a research center on the history, science and technology aviation and space flight and planetary science, geology the land and geophysical . Almost all the exhibits are original or backup copies of the originals. This museum was most interesting, and we spent about 3 hours. I tell them what we saw there:
- The original Wright Flyer , made the first airplane flight powered and controlled in 1903 ( Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright ).
- The Spirit of Saint Louis , which Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean .
- The Bell X-1 , which Chuck Yeager made the first supersonic flight .
- A V-2 rocket rebuilt, the first human object to reach space.
- Friendship 7 capsule , with which John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth .
- The module of Apollo 11 , the first manned mission to reach the Moon .
- One of the few lunar rock samples accessible to the public (you can even touch).
- A rock Mars (a meteorite ).
- A replica of Pioneer 10, the first man-made object to leave the system Solar .
- SpaceShipOne, the first private piloted vehicle to reach space
has also built an annex, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles International Airport in the future will house about 200 aircraft and about 135 spacecraft. But today, and contains, inter alia, the following exhibitions:
- Bomber B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay , which was the first aircraft from the launch of an atomic bomb .
- The prototype of the Boeing B707 , known as Boeing 367-80 or Dash 80.
- The SR-71 Blackbird, a spy plane high-speed recognition and height.
- The Concorde Air France of famous supersonic airliner.
- The space shuttle prototype , Entreprise.
From here we went to a castle where was the visitor center of the Smithsonian Institution . We went and we found the grave of the English scientist James Smithson (1765 - 1829), founder of the Smithsonian Institution .
Then we went into the National Gallery of Art where we saw paintings by Rembrandt, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, El Greco, Renoir, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Pablo Picasso. To see the works of the latter arrived on the run because the gallery was already closing at that time.
Later we went to Capitol (seat of the federal Congress). It houses both chambers of Congress United States of America . Construct was finished in 1800 . The building was designed by William Thornton , and is marked by a dome in the middle and two sides of the dressing rooms. The north wing for the Senate and the south wing of Representatives chamber . In the upper floors are galleries for the public to observe at times. Is an example of neoclassical architecture .
not forget the importance the government United States of the Capitol , I found it very interesting how it is organized structure of the city, depending on the location of the Capitol , and how the system addresses here:
This city has a particular structure. It is divided into 4 zones: Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, Southeast. These 4 districts were created by drawing two imaginary lines intersect the Capitol from north to south and from east to west. The economic and demographic differences of the 4 areas are very large. The Southeast region is the most depressed and perhaps dangerous while the northwestern area is the most developed, with much of tourism interests, embassies and international organizations in it.
this city also has a particular address. The same is known as Cartesian Coordinate System, with its origin at the Capitol . Although the system may seem complex, once learned, allows you to pinpoint not only where you are, but how long it takes to travel from one point to another in the city. For example, if you need to find 633 A Street SE, will address reports that the place is the southeast (SE) the Capitol, with the street to a block of East Capitol Street, and the situation on the street is in the block 600, that is, between Calle 6 and 7 of the Southeast.
Capitol After, we go through DGI of United States and the Verizon Center basketball stadium formerly known as MCI Center, where the team plays in the NBA call Washington Wizards.
Here we had dinner at Mc Donald's to refill drinks, and on the way to HI Washington DC we went through Chinatown, where he was the famous Hooters restaurant, which is where the girls wait the tables very scantily clad.
the fifth day in Washington DC after breaking his mouth at breakfast, we check out the HI Washington DC. Then we connect to the Internet until we went in meters first, and then to the bus Washington Dulles Airport to take the plane return to Montevideo after 6 months of this fascinating trip.
Look
all pictures of Washington - Usa:
http://picasaweb.google.es/viajaconhenry/WASHINGTON
http://picasaweb.google.es/viajaconhenry/WASHINGTON2
big hug from Washington,
Henry.
I welcome you to my blog virtual trip I made in 2007, with the Travel Group in Economic Sciences in Montevideo, Uruguay. 
