Washington DC
Today the lovely Erica drove up from Philadelphia, braving DC traffic on our behalf to tour the National Mall with us.
We met up at Woodley Park metro station and travelled in to the Smithsonian Museums.
First the so-called Castle (it has a turret), where James Smithson's remains are kept. I'm not saying every home should have a funerary urn in the lobby, but it is rather striking.
From the Castle we moved on to the National Museum of the American Indian, a rippling yellow sandstone (or perhaps limestone?) building surrounded by waterfalls and native garden beds. The exhibits inside made me feel as though Western Civilisation should be categorised alongside pigeons and rats as not the best option, merely the most adaptable.
The food court on the ground floor of the museum was unusual: it was divided into five sections, each inspired by a different Native American region, such as Meso-America and Northern Woodlands. Deciding what to eat was a challenge. Yucca fries? Frogs legs? Buffalo chilli? I added beets and peach salad, and smoked duck with currants to the Nashi pear-the-size-of-your-head that Erica had brought up from the orchard.
Bones aplenty awaited us at the Museum of Natural History: the T-Rex, Canadian hockey dinosaurs (Albertosaurus and Edmontosaurus), ungulates and monotremes and bears (oh my).
The skeletal remains of the people of Jamestowne and Chesapeake were intriguing yet uncomfortable. The amount of wear done to the teeth of people my own age was staggering. Remind me I'm due for a dentist's visit.
Dental appointment notwithstanding, we completed our rain-spattered survey of the Freedom Plaza with two bags of candy corn. (Who knew it came in chocolate too?)
To round out the day, we headed out in Erica's soccer mom car along the DC Beltway out to Silver Spring, Maryland, to eat like pirates. Arr! The Piratz Tavern supplied us with spicy chicken bits, garlicky veggies and a smoky stew called Salmagundi. The waiters were dressed in pirate gear but it being a school night I think we missed out on some of the more theatrical aspects of the pirate theme.
We farewelled Erica at the station and caught the metro back into town.
We met up at Woodley Park metro station and travelled in to the Smithsonian Museums.
First the so-called Castle (it has a turret), where James Smithson's remains are kept. I'm not saying every home should have a funerary urn in the lobby, but it is rather striking.
From the Castle we moved on to the National Museum of the American Indian, a rippling yellow sandstone (or perhaps limestone?) building surrounded by waterfalls and native garden beds. The exhibits inside made me feel as though Western Civilisation should be categorised alongside pigeons and rats as not the best option, merely the most adaptable.
The food court on the ground floor of the museum was unusual: it was divided into five sections, each inspired by a different Native American region, such as Meso-America and Northern Woodlands. Deciding what to eat was a challenge. Yucca fries? Frogs legs? Buffalo chilli? I added beets and peach salad, and smoked duck with currants to the Nashi pear-the-size-of-your-head that Erica had brought up from the orchard.
Bones aplenty awaited us at the Museum of Natural History: the T-Rex, Canadian hockey dinosaurs (Albertosaurus and Edmontosaurus), ungulates and monotremes and bears (oh my).
The skeletal remains of the people of Jamestowne and Chesapeake were intriguing yet uncomfortable. The amount of wear done to the teeth of people my own age was staggering. Remind me I'm due for a dentist's visit.
Dental appointment notwithstanding, we completed our rain-spattered survey of the Freedom Plaza with two bags of candy corn. (Who knew it came in chocolate too?)
To round out the day, we headed out in Erica's soccer mom car along the DC Beltway out to Silver Spring, Maryland, to eat like pirates. Arr! The Piratz Tavern supplied us with spicy chicken bits, garlicky veggies and a smoky stew called Salmagundi. The waiters were dressed in pirate gear but it being a school night I think we missed out on some of the more theatrical aspects of the pirate theme.
We farewelled Erica at the station and caught the metro back into town.