Cars

There are no skyscrapers in Washington DC. I guess I knew that already, because you never see pictures of skyscrapers in DC, but I never really thought about it. It’s not until you get here, particularly straight after being in the middle of Manhattan, that you realise how strange it is to be in an American city without a single skyscraper. There’s a law restricting the height that buildings can be, and it ensures that the Washington Monument is the tallest thing here. I think perhaps this law should have been used in New York before the stupid MetLife building was constructed, seeing as it now blocks what would otherwise be a great view of the Chrysler building from the top of the Rockefeller Center. But I digress. The point is, it makes DC feel really different somehow, not having a skyline defined by huge towers.

Moseying to museums

While it may not have skyscrapers, one thing DC certainly does not lack is museums. People talk about the Smithsonian as if it is a museum, but it is actually about 12 museums. And then there are plenty more museums, galleries and various other public buildings. Basically, there’s a lot to do.

I’ve been here for just over 24 hours and I have not wasted that time at all. I’ve visited the National Archives, where I saw the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. If you don’t have an idea of how happy I am to have seen these things, you don’t know me at all. One of the other displays in the National Archives is of letters written to presidents over the years. These letters include such gems as the impassioned plea from some Elvis fans to not make him shave off his sideburns when he was in the army. But my favourite letter was written to John F Kennedy in 1963, from a “disgusted” schoolboy complaining about how teachers tell children to exercise but many of them are fat themselves. It ended with the best sentence I’ve read in a long time: “PS – Even some of the Scoutmasters have midriff bulge.” Amazing.

Read more...