Indian Talent, Global Content
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Indian Talent, Global Content |
January 2009: What's in the breeze |
10 Places in 2 Days: Touring Washington D.C.
I was in Washington, D.C for an official training. Though I had a rather busy and tedious schedule, I seized the first opportunity to tour the great city at the beginning of my first week-end there. Though I’d originally planned to catch at least a glimpse of the beautiful Niagara Falls, the exhausting travel and strenuous work environment, changed my mind. I finally settled down to the idea of taking a short trip within the city. I was so excited about seeing the city on my own; I left my hotel room in Alexandria, Virginia, without even having my breakfast! Being ‘well conversant’ with the “Metro Bus” routes on the nearby roads, I was able to land myself at the Pentagon Metro Rail Station to catch a blue line train to the heart of the city. With a Metro System Map in hand, even a fresher will not find it difficult to get through any of the 5 lines of the “Metro” to the city. For the last 5 days I’d been taking the yellow line to the L’Enfant Plaza Station – a junction of yellow, orange, blue, and green lines. However, this day I continued through the blue line via the Arlington Cemetery, Virginia and got down at the Metro Center Station, which is a junction point of blue, red, and orange lines. L’Enfant Plaza is named after the famous architect of the same name who planned and designed the city of Washington, D.C. Since Metro Center is a transfer point, and centrally located, one can visit quite a few great places either on foot or by taking the metro. First, I caught a glimpse of the FBI office and then, took a turn to the Federal Triangle to visit the National Aquarium. I spent a good time here, almost two hours—clicking pictures of sharks, turtles, starfish, and sponge colonies. I then walked ahead towards the Smithsonian Institute. The red-brick building and its beautiful garden were a sight worth beholding. Inside the Institute, I viewed a magnificent painting of a small building that gave a 3-dimensional effect. I was reminded of how in the Mahabharata, the ‘Kauravas’ while touring the magnificent, newly built palace of Indraprastha, confused the portrait of a lake and took it as being a real one! My next stop was at the Washington Monument. I took the high speed elevator to the top most floor and ‘visited’ the entire city through my binoculars! I watched many attractive and peculiarly shaped kites in the sky… I was also able to see the Lincoln Memorial building easily and clearly across the Potomac River. It was a quiet and neat place, nestling amidst lush green lawns. Then, I turned left to reach the L’Enfant Plaza, which by itself is a most happening place. I also paid a brief visit to the “Capitol,” where the US Senate is housed. It was a magnificent and breathtaking view—towering towards the sky, flaunting the mighty US strength and power! The Library of Congress nearby has 3 buildings –Jefferson, Adams, and Madison. The famous Reading Room and Museums are housed in the Jefferson building, while various divisions of the Library make use of the others. My next stop was at the Air and Space Museum, which is famous for the hanging model of the first aircraft invented by the Wright brothers. The statues of the brothers are seen in the cockpit. I then walked past the famous White House – the official residence of the US President – an unimpressive building, I felt, when compared to our beautiful ‘Rashtrapati Bhavan!’ By this time, I’d been roaming around for nearly 8 odd hours and a feeling of extreme tiredness engulfed me. I took a yellow line train from the L’Enfant to the Pentagon. Fortunately, I had a charming view of the late afternoon Potomac River, the setting sun’s rays reflecting on the dark water. I came back to my hotel room in the evening and decided that I’d continue the sight-seeing marathon on the next day, which was Sunday. The next day, I followed the yellow line and reached the Gallery Place at Chinatown. As the name suggests, the area is populated by the Chinese. It is an extremely busy and crowded place. I saw a huge replica of a gate built in the Chinese architectural style with statues of dragons built on it. From there, I took the metro to reach the Woodley Park-Zoo and had the chance of viewing some unusual species. It took me around 4 hours to take a complete tour of the Zoo. Near the Zoo is the Dupont Circle, whose Metro Station is the deepest amongst all. There are many US Govt. offices like Social Security Number Registration Office and Diplomatic Missions nearby. I also took a walk around the Indian High Commission. From there I reached the Union Station – the largest of all the Metro stations for long distance train companies like VRE, MARC, AMTRAK. A work place for approximately 5000 people, the station building with its big eating joints, huge book stores, bars, jewelry stores, gift shops, toy stores, camera shops, and even a huge cinema hall is a place worth seeing. Just in front of the station is a huge bell, adjacent to which is an impressive statue of Columbus. The Philatelic Museum is also situated nearby. The road leads to the Greyhound Bus terminus from where long distance/inter-state buses leave. After viewing the US Treasury and Supreme Court from the outside, I came back to my hotel room determined to visit the Niagara Falls during the next weekend. Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.
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