Sharp's Travels

Here we go again. We caught the 9:30am bus to the Metro. We took the train all the way to the U.S. Capitol today. We walked through the Cannon House Office building U.S. and by the Supreme Court building and then made our way to the U. S. Capitol Visitors Center. We were lucky and got tickets that were good for a tour of the Capitol Building leaving in just 1 minute. What timing!
Our guide took us into a theater to watch a short movie that describes how the U.S. Congress established a new form of government, tells the role Congress plays in the daily lives of Americans, and introduces us to the building that houses the U.S. Congress.
We were taken into the National Statuary Hall. Congress invited each state to contribute two statues of its most notable citizens. Today some of these statues are displayed in this room. Next it was into the Rotunda. It is the heart and center of the Capitol. It serves as no legislative function; it is a ceremonial space where state funerals have been held since the time of Abraham Lincoln.
We were shown the Senate Chambers and the House of Representatives Chamber. It was a neat tour.
We walked the underground tunnel from the Capitol over to the Library of Congress, but did not exit the building; we turned around and went back to the Visitors Center for lunch at their restaurant.
We checked out the Exhibition Hall and then headed outside and walked around the Capitol and got a few more snapshots.
We got pictures of Ulysses S. Grand Memorial, Peace Monument, and Garfield Statue.
We strolled on into the U.S. Botanic Gardens. It’s one of the oldest gardens in North America. They have more than 60,000 plants for exhibition, study, conservation, and exchange with other institutions. The collection includes economic plants, medicinal plants, orchids, carnivorous plants, cacti and ferns. Historic specimens include original 1842 founding collection. All the flowers were so pretty.
Another day in Washington D.C. and still much more to see!
Gay has uploaded pictures of the day. See album U.S. Capitol