Wednesday, Mar
15, 2017: Washington
(A Day for
Americana)
We devoted this day to Americana.
Awaking in Heather’s home, we were delighted at the prospect of getting a ride
into the city with her as she and Maria had planned to drive to work. But first
breakfast: Heather had toast with jam and butter ready for us and with some
coffee, we felt ready to face the day. She and Maria dropped us off at the
entrance to the Metro at Farragut West from where we rode to the Smithsonian
Metro stop. Our first port of call was the Museum of National History on The
Mall. Because we entered it from the Constitution Avenue side, we did not see
the Mall. The day was still cold and very grey—it made sense to spend it in a
museum and thankfully, the capital has some excellent ones.
Exploring the
Museum of National History:
The museum opened at 10.00 am and we
were there just after at about 10.15, when there was already a crowd and a line
outside the main entrance. Security clearance always takes ages in these
buildings--a big hassle and a real mood-spoiler. Still, better safe, I suppose,
than sorry.
When we did get into the museum, we
found that there was a highlights tour at 11. 30 am. Llew and I decided to join
it. That would leave us an hour to wander about on our own. Using the museum
brochure and the guide books we had carried, we made our way to the top floor
first and thought of finding our way downstairs to the most important items. In
total, on our own and in the company of the tour guide, this is what we saw:
1.
The
Gunboat Philadelphia which went down
in the Revolutionary War after being struck by a cannon ball. You can see the
entire boat (pulled out of Lake Champlain in Vermont) with the cannon ball
still stuck in its side.
2.
Lincoln’s
Top Hat (worn on the evening he was killed at Ford’s Theater).
3.
Jefferson’s
lap writing desk (a precursor of the laptop!).
4. Archie Bunker
(and Edith’s) armchairs and coffee table from the 1980s hit TV show, All In The Family.
5.
Mohammed
Ali’s boxing gloves.
6.
Original
puppets Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street.
7.
Julia
Child’s entire kitchen from her last home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
8.
The
original lunch counter from Woolworth’s
in Greenboro, North Carolina, where the lunch-time sit-ins had continued for
three whole months during the Civil Rights Movement.
9.
Inauguration
Ball Gowns of every American First Lady from Mary Todd Lincoln to Michelle
Obama. (Melania Trump has yet to submit hers for inclusion). I particularly
loved Hilary Clinton’s.
10. Porcelain china dinner
sets designed for the White House by every First Lady in America.
11. A ship’s
surgical set from the 1800s that contain a real saw with which limbs were
amputated (without anesthesia).
12. Clinton’s saxophone.
13. A portion of the
original Berlin Wall.
14. Dorothy’s Ruby
Red Shoes from the film The Wizard of Oz.
15. A most unusual
seated sculpture of George Washington wearing a Greek toga.
16. The Biggest
highlight of them all (and we saved the best for last), the original
Star-Spangled Banner.
The
last item requires a bit more commentary. It is the original flag that flew
over Fort McKinley during the war of 1812 when the American Revolutionaries
received a thrashing at the hands of British troops. Expecting the American ‘stars
and stripes’ to be lowered by the morning, the poet Francis Scott Keys awoke to
find (through his eye-glass) “that our flag was still there”. His joy resulted
in the penning of a poem which eventually developed into the American national
anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.
This original flag, mammoth in its dimensions, is now placed in a
specially-constructed, climate-controlled room under very dim lighting (to
ensure that the colors do not fade) and left open to the public with the words
of the entire national anthem projected on a screen at the back. Bits from it
that were cut off and given away as souvenirs, are missing and attempts are
still being made to find them. Meanwhile, the person who sewed the flag, Mary
Pickerling, with her two daughters and daughter-in-law, are revered by history
and accounts of their lives and the sewing of the flag are available in the
same room (where photography is strictly prohibited). We thought that this museum
was superb for any history buff, for anyone who wishes to know something more
about our country and for anyone who wishes to see how carefully we preserve
those items that speak to our past with all its flaws and its failings.
Needless to say,
we were starving by 1. 00 pm and decided to go in search of lunch.
Lunch at Paul’s:
I have always been a huge fan of the
Belgian patisserie chain called Paul’s
to which I had become endeared when I lived in London. In particular, I adore
their hot chocolate and their almond croissants (which I have consumed by the
hundreds during my European travels). I have always wondered why Paul has no American presence and when
they will consider crossing the pond to open a shop in the US. So, imagine my
delight when I discovered that Paul
is alive and baking in the capital! Of course, I had to get my croissant and
hot chocolate and with Llew as my partner in crime, off we went to the shop (a
short ten minute walk away) and there we found it! Eureka!!!
Sadly, Paul in the US does not sell hot chocolate! What???? I was heartbroken.
Even worse, their last almond croissant had just sold off—all they had was a
chocolate almond croissant which we grabbed and shared. We also bought a slice
of quiche each and ordered coffees instead of cocoa. It was small compensation
for the kind of meal of which I had dreamed all morning! Still, at least it was
a genuine European meal and I polished off every crumb from my plate. Fortified, we decided to move on to the
second item on our agenda on our day devoted to Americana.
A Tour of the
National Archives:
Continuing with our determination to see
places neither one of us had seen before, we crossed the street for, most
conveniently, the National Archives building stood right there in front of us. Again,
getting in proved odious, for we had to wait for a while as only a limited
number of people are allowed into the building at any given time. After what
seemed forever, we made our way through a side entrance of a handsome
Neo-Classical, marble-clad building into the interior, where we joined another
queue.
The greatest treasures of the National
Archives are just three items: The Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights. Can you imagine
building an entire structure to house just three bits of paper??? Well, there
you have it. In a grand building with a huge main hall constructed in a Rotunda
(thanks Andrea Palladio for giving us the concept of the Rotunda that is so
ubiquitous in Washington DC), we stood in line to see these three most seminal
of democratic documents. There is strict security at every turn and strict
rules prohibiting photography. This is what the guard on duty told us: “There
are three rules here regarding cameras—No Photography, No Photography, No
Photography. And for those who do not understand, no pictures can be taken at
all, of anything!” Wow!
Well, the documents are faded, to say
the least. Everyone looks long and hard for John Hancock’s signature on the
Declaration of Independence and it is a good job he wrote such a huge one
because it seems to be the only one that has survived the test of time. Even
that has suffered fading, but the grand old J at the beginning of his first
name is unmistakable. The rest are well…barely discernible at all. We moved
from one glass case to the next, braving several heads in front of us, until we
saw them all—it took us no more than ten minutes really to see the three.
And then, we were out of there. We found
some good exhibitions in other halls which also had some wonderful documents
that are part and parcel of our history—but we did not have the time or the
energy to see any of them. I was particularly fascinated to see The
Emancipation Proclamation of 1865 that set all slaves free. But there were many
important letters and edicts pertaining to Civil Rights, to Womens’ Rights,
etc. that are indeed a gold mine for any buff of American History. Llew and I
loved every moment of it all and sincerely wish we had more time to peruse them
with the attention they deserve.
We then took the metro back to Farragut
West where we to met Heather and Maria who drove us back home to Heather’s
place in Silver Spring—but not before we stopped en route at a Thai restaurant to pick up a ton of food.
Dinner was sorted as Heather put out the
take-out containers of Chilli Beef, Thai Green curries, flat rice noodles with
shrimp and Thai Fried Rice. Everything was finger-licking good and we were
pleased that we were able to eat so much Thai food (one of our favorite
cuisines) on this trip. Not long after, we decided to call it a night.
Until tomorrow, see ya...
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