Saturday, Mar 18, 2017: Washington
A Day for
Memorials:
As it turned out, the weather improved
considerably today. The deep freeze, in which we seemed to have been stuck,
lifted, much to our relief, for we had ear-marked this day to explore the
outdoor memorial monuments scattered around the Mall and the Reflecting Pool.
It would involve a great deal of walking and, indeed, by the end of the day, we
had walked 7.5 miles. Yes, I do have a pedometer app called Moves attached to
my phone and that is how I know exactly how much I walk each day. (My daily average
is 4 miles while my record is 25 miles on a single day.)
Marian
set us off on a way with a substantial breakfast that included bagels and
croissants with butter and preserves as well as good coffee. She dropped us off
at the metro station from where we boarded a train to the Smithsonian stop. We
emerged on the Mall itself. It was the first time we were setting foot on this
broad green expanse which was recently so much in the news as the debates raged
on regarding the real crowd size for Trump’s inauguration which took place on
it.
Viewing the Washington Monument:
We
took a series of pictures of the Capitol in the background on one side and the
tall obelisk of the Washington Monument on the other. It is no longer possible
to climb up to the top of it—security restrictions are rife. Across the street
we saw the Museum of African-American
History and Culture, the newest addition on the Mall. Unfortunately, it is
so impossible to get tickets to enter it as demand is overwhelming. Despite the
fact that we awoke at 6.30 am on two consecutive days to get tickets online, we
were unsuccessful. We have simply decided to wait for another occasion.
The Jefferson Memorial:
From
the Washington Monument, we walked for quite a distance until we arrived on the
banks of the Tidal Basin across which is my favorite monument in the city—the
Jefferson Memorial. This Neo-Classical Rotunda, modelled entirely on the
architectural drawings of Italy’s Andrea Palladio, is a recreation of
Jefferson’s beloved home, Monticello
(which we visited a few years ago). Since both Llew and I have been inside this
lovely place, we avoided the long walk to actually get inside it and instead skirted
the Tidal Basin. In doing so, we walked under the famed cherry trees for which
Washington is renowned and which give the city a spectacular appearance in the
spring. Hundreds of cherry trees were gifted to the United States by Japan as a
symbol of friendship—ironically just before the onset of World War II. We had
arrived in the city just shy of the blooming weekend—for the arrival of the
blossoms is greeted in Washington, just as it is in Kyoto, Japan, with
exhilaration. We arrived at the spot where the first two trees were planted
(marked by a plaque and a Japanese stone lantern) and too pictures.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Monument:
Our
next monument of discovery was the Dr. Marin Luther King Memorial which is a
new addition to the cityscape, having been installed long after we were last in
the capital as tourists. It is an immensely interesting piece of work: A
towering sculpture of a very stern-looking Dr. King emerging out of a massive
piece of granite. The bottom quarter of the sculpture is left unfinished. The
piece of marble containing the sculpture seems to have detached itself from a
larger stone block at the back—indeed, Dr. King’s portion of the sculpture
seems to have stepped forward to dominate the spot. He stands solemnly with his
hands folded on his chest. The following words are engraved on the side: “Out
of the Mountain of Despair, A Stone of Hope.” I thought that the entire conception of this
monument was ingenious. All around the location, there are quotes from the
various speeches of Dr. King. They evoke quite vividly the huge struggle for
civil rights in this country through the turbulence of the 1960s.
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Monument:
On
foot we continued as we made our way to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial
Monument on another side of the Reflecting Pool. I was especially keen to get
there as we had seen Lawrence Halperin’s designs for the venue at the National
Building Museum, a couple of days ago. What we found was a vast plot of land
devoted to recounting the achievements of four Presidential terms in office
enjoyed by this one individual. (There has since been an amendment to the
Constitution that permits no more than two terms). As you walk through each
term represented by an individual ‘room’ created by delineating rocks, you are
presented with a sculpture denoting the salient historical feature of that
period. There are the long bread lines of the Great Depression, for instance.
There is also a sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt, his loyal companion, who played
one of the most effective roles of First Lady in the 20th century. As
you move through each ‘room’, you are completely impressed by the glorious
achievements of this man.
At
the very end of the monument, you come upon a massive bronze sculpture that has
weathered to a green verdigris patina. FDR is seated in a chair wearing a vast
cape around him to hide his wheelchair. A few feet away sits his dog, a Scots
terrier. As was well-known, FDR was physically handicapped (having suffered
from polio which made it impossible for him to walk). He was, therefore, always
confined to a wheel chair. The disabled in America were deeply offended by the
fact that the sculpture hid his disability and they insisted on the installation
of a second sculpture that would portray him on the wheelchair he designed
himself. Hence, while the original sculpture is to be found at the end of the
monument in front of cascades of cooling water, the one in which he is depicted
on his wheel chair is right at the beginning of the monument. Inside, in the
gift shop, the visitor can see one of the actual wheelchairs that FDR used and
which he designed and fashioned himself using a wooden kitchen chair. We found the
entire visit deeply moving for we have visited FDR’s home at Hyde Park on the
Hudson and were quite familiar with his stupendous achievements during World
War II, his New Deal that give us Medicare and Social Security payments during our
retirement and his Fireside Chats.
Lunch at a Local Kiosk:
Being that our day was steeped in Americana,
it was about time we stopped and filled our bellies with the typical great
American meal: cheese-chilli dogs with fries and sodas. And that was exactly
what we found in one of the kiosks run by the National Park Service on the
Mall. We found ourselves seats in the sun and took a much-needed rest as we
enjoyed our very tasty but very casual meal. Lunch done, in the shadow of the
Neo-Classical Lincoln Memorial, we got up and continued our exploration.
More Memorials to Peruse:
The Korean War Memorial:
The Korean War Memorial was very
close to the lunch kiosk and it was there that we went next. In a most interesting
composition, a couple of dozen Americans are seen knee-deep in tall vegetation,
draped in the long, loose rain ponchos that they wore while in Korea fighting
the least-known of the American wars. They are seen trooping towards the
American flag in a curving single file. The entire vignette is deeply engaging.
Alongside them, there is a black granite wall that has been engraved with the
faces of Americans who served in Korea. Since it was a coalition war, fought
with the assistance of UN troops, the names of the many countries that
participated in this war, are also engraved on low stone markers. Overall, a
most moving portrayal of courage in the face of danger.
The Lincoln Memorial Monument:
Right across the street stood the
marble edifice of the Lincoln Memorial—so that was our next stop. It sits high
on a hill overlooking, in arresting symmetry, the Reflecting Pool that
stretches in front with the Washington Monument at the other end of it. This
time, we did climb the stairs to enter the monument and to take in Daniel
Chester French’s magnificent sculpture of the seated Lincoln (a Marquette is in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York) as well as the engraving of the
entire Gettysburg Address. The interior of the monument was simply swarming
with people--indeed, it was the most crowded of the memorial monuments. It was
also about 2.30 pm by the time we arrived there. The day had warmed considerably
and it was very pleasant to be out in the sunshine that seemed to have sneaked
into the city after a particularly frigid week. Needless to say, we took a number
of pictures before we carried on.
The Vietnam War Memorial:
The next memorial we saw was the
Vietnam War Memorial—both of us had seen this before on previous visits to the
city. The rather stark monument was designed by a young architecture student,
then at Yale, named Maya Lin. She won the competition for a monument that would
comprise a black granite wall that would be engraved with the names of the thousands
of Americans who perished in that most notorious of recent wars. On past
occasions, we have found mementoes of the visits made by war veterans in honor
of their lost comrades. This time, there was not much to be seen. But again,
there were hordes of people everywhere. Not far away, is a newer monument that
recalls the role played by women in the Vietnam War—non-combative in those
days, but nevertheless, deeply significant.
The World War II Memorial Monument:
And finally, we arrived after a nice
walk alongside the Reflecting Pool, at the new World War II Memorial Monument that
is the newest addition to the Mall. It is composed around another pool with
fountains that play constantly. Tall granite columns rise up, each representing
one of the American states. They are crowned by wreaths and carry the name of
the state. There is also a Wall of Gold stars, one star for each thousand
soldiers that died. There are friezes designed and created by Ray Kelsey that
encircle one side of the monument (we had seen the Marquettes of these at the
National Building Museum). Overall, we were left feeling deeply subdued by the
amount of American blood that has been spilled through the dreadful wars that
checker the country’s very short history.
And
by this time in our rambles, it was just past 4.00 pm. We had been almost
entirely on our feet since 10.00 am and had already walked about 7 miles. We
were more than ready to return to McLean and when we received a text from Marian
telling us that she was headed for the 5.00 pm Mass at her church, we decided
to try and get there in time to join her as we would be on the road, the following
(Sunday) morning and would probably not be able to get to Mass.
Mass in McLean:
Marian’s church is one of those
modern amphitheatrical affairs with the altar in the center of a pit that offers
views from every part. It was quite packed for a Saturday evening and the
congregation was composed mainly of Filipinos and South Asians. It is these
communities that seem to keep Roman Catholicism alive and worshipping around the
world! It was a good mass with a very traditional bent—far more formal that our
masses in Connecticut.
As soon as it was done, Marian drove
us home to her house. We stayed long enough to enjoy bowls of tasty ice-cream
provided by her daughter Anjali who works for Coldstone Creamery and who is
entitled to a tub of ice-cream every so often. It was our last chance to chat
with Marian and Anjali before we said goodbye to them, piled our overnighters
into our own car and made our way to our next port of call—Reston, Virginia—for
we were switching home again for the last night of our visit.
Arrival at Reston:
Reston is the residence of my cousin’s
daughter Carol, her husband Ajit and their kids, Nick and Dia. We had spent two
nights with them quite recently en route
to and back from Charlotte, North Carolina, and since they thought our time
with them was too brief, they insisted we return. However, this entire week
they were busy with a professional move—Ajit is an orthodontic surgeon and
Carol is his Office Manager. The moving of the premises of their own family-run
business (with Ajit’s sister Mala, who is also an orthodontist) had consumed
their week, but they were keen that we spend at least our last night in the
area with them. We were delighted to do so as we really do enjoy their company
tremendously.
We arrived in Reston at 7.00 pm to
an uproarious welcome from their dog, Duke, who is the friendliest fellow you
ever did see! He greeted us like old friends and it was only after he had
calmed down and we had a chance to chinwag for a while that the Brittos
suggested dinner outside. We were ravenous and quite ready to leave in two
cars. We would follow them as they took us back into downtown Washington DC for
they had made a reservation at Jaleo’s,
a very high-end restaurant whose chef Jose Andres, has developed a sterling reputation
as one of America’s most note-worthy, at the moment.
Dinner at Jaleo’s on our Last Night in
Washington DC:
Ajit and Carol are foodies—so we
found eager partners in crime as we sat ourselves down to enjoy the very
interesting tapas-based menu on offer. But first, drinks. At Ajit’s suggestion,
we ordered a pitcher of sangria for the table. It was surprisingly bracing and refreshing
at the same time with citrus fruit floating in it.
As for the meal, in a word, wow! Going
slow and pausing between orders, we had a variety of tapas items that went down
a treat—from chorizo sausage with mashed potato and cider sauce to salmon, from
bacon-rapped dates to Spanish omlette, from a Brussels sprouts salad to garlic
shrimp (which was awesome)—between the six of us, we tasted about nine of the
tapas dishes and each one was better than the other. For dessert, we chose to
share the Basque cake which was served with cinnamon ice-cream—a real
palate-cleanser, after what had been an astounding meal. It was the most
unexpected and truly ritzy end to our meal for the space was huge, the décor modern,
the service impeccable and the company exuberant (just as we expected). It was
a fantastic way to catch up with the Brittos and their kids and we had a truly
grand evening: the crowning glory to what had been an incredibly exciting week
in Washington. We thanked out relatives profusely for their generosity for they
insisted on treating us and made us promise that we would return again soon to partake
of a meal at the famed Little Inn in
Washington, which all of us had wanted to try at some time or the other.
Until tomorrow, see ya...
No comments:
Post a Comment