Yesterday we spent the day seeing a few of the sights we hadn't seen. Most of them were war memorials. I don't get the whole American tendency for fighting wars and then building memorials. They say they're fighting for their freedom, I'm not sure if all of it is actually real. And they all honor their war veterans.
The Vietnam War Memorial, three young soldiers face the two walls with the names of all the dead and missing soldiers from the war.
The reflective walls with all the names of the soldiers who are dead and missing. Relatives come by everyday to look for the names and leave memorabilia. One of the most touching, was a letter written by a soldier to his brother saying how he hopes he isn't a changed man when he comes back from the war and how hard it was to leave his wife.
The Lincoln Memorial by day from across the reflective pool.
The newest memorial in Washington: The World War II Memorial. There was a large group of veterans visiting from Minnesota. They were really old, most of them were in wheel chairs.
This is the Freedom Wall in the World War II Memorial, it's covered with 4000 yellow stars, one for every 100 Americans who died during WWII. These are replicas of the stars mothers were given and wore when they lost a son in the war.
A bridal party was taking pictures on the Mall.
The National Natural History Museum. Night At The Museum is set here.
The Hope Diamond: 45,52 carats. This diamond was found in India in 1668 by Jean Baptiste Tavernier and it was originally 112 3/16 carats. It was sold to King Louis XIV of France and stayed in the collection of the French Royal Jewels until the French Revolution when it was stolen and went missing for years before resurfacing much smaller. It went between jewelers and rich families until it eventually was bought by Harry Winston, a New York jeweler, who donated it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1958. Since then it has been for the people of America.
At the end of it all, I can't decide which city was my favourite! Coming back to Washington after being in New York felt a bit like coming home. And I think it's a beautiful and clean city. (Did I mention that many New York subway stations smell very bad, and all of them are dirty? We saw rats running along the tracks many times.)
But New York has such a vibe. While in Washington all clubs close at 3h00 (Eric the DJ, Mr E, says it's cos Barack and Michelle live just down the road and they need to run the country, so they need their sleep) in New York you can find a place to party on a Monday, that will stay open at least until 4h00 and the subway runs 24 hours a day- perfect if you can manage to figure out the right subway to get you home when you're inebriated.
Boston was just so classy and modern, but still a place where you wouldn't mind bringing up your children. Who wouldn't want to be in an environment where most people are above average intelligence? Where you can walk through the park and decide what kind of music you'd like to sit on a bench and listen to and where there's a bakery which makes the most amazing cheese cake!
The USA is just so vast and diverse. We only visited three cities (and 4 towns: Amherst, North Hampton, Sunderland, Springfield) and we're confused. We haven't even thought about the West Coast: Las Vegas, San Francisco, Los Angeles. What about Miami down south east? And Chicago in the middle? The Grand Canyon?
We're fortunate to have seen and done so much in such a short time, but the overwhelming feeling is that there is so much we haven't seen and we wish we had had more time!
But now we're heading back home, and I'm feeling happy about that. I'm starting a new job and I'm excited about giving people the gifts I got them! Lots to look forward to.
I'll post one last time after we've landed and settled, just to let everyone know we're back home safely. Thanks for following our trip, it's been a pleasure sharing it with everyone!
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