Washington DC

I have just spent a few days in Washington DC. I was very impressed and so glad to have had the opportunity to visit. I actually didn't go to the White House but only saw it from a distance. I was more interested in the Smithsonian Museums and the monuments to Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington. I found the monuments especially compelling after recently watching the TV series John Adams. Coming from New Zealand and only having a fairly basic understanding of American history I found the series wonderful. It was very well acted and really bought the personalities to life for me.

The Smithsonian Museums are fantastic. I am envious of the people who live in the area and can go and visit them whenever they wish. I was able to see some wonderful art in the many museum galleries and in the Newseum, a building that is a work of art itself.

I also checked out an art festival that was on over the weekend called "Arts on Foot". It was very disappointing. Most of the booths looked very amateurish in presentation and the art was much the same. There was a lot of crafty stuff and an abundance of jewelers, a couple of whom had very nice work. I thought that an art festival in downtown DC would be of a high standard so I was suprised to find otherwise. The tents provided by the city were good looking and the entry fees were very reasonable so all in all a great pity. The vendors in the show did look to be selling though so perhaps other people liked it more than me.