Part 2, Washington DC tour...

As well as being the seat of the Federal Government, Washington DC is also a centre featuring a number of memorials, honouring a diverse range of people. On our first stop after lunch we visited the memorial to soldiers who served in the Korean War. It was quite eerie...the memorial consists of figures of soldiers in an open grassed space. They are fully kitted up and are arranged as the infantry would have been, standing in a spread-out formation as though they were sneaking up on the enemy. To me it was so life like! There is a path around this area and then a shiny marble black wall beside the path. In the wall you can see images of service personnel looking out at you. These images also include nurses.

The images in the wall



Some of the figures on a night patrol

At this stop we were able to walk a short way to the Lincoln Memorial. I have 3 words to say about this memorial...big and grand! It has the white marble and the columns and a massive set of marble stairs at the front. In the main hall inside is a huge plinth, on which is a huge chair. Sitting on this chair is a statue of Abraham Lincoln worked in white marble. It was awesome! (the old meaning of the word..i.e. filling with awe) Now when you stand at the top of the stairs at the front of this memorial, you can see in a continuous line the Capitol building, the Washington monument and the Pool of Reflections. (the latter is being dug up and refurbished at the moment)

The Pool of reflections in the foreground is being dug up and refurbished

The Lincoln Memorial

Lincoln's statue inside the memorial