Today my aunt and I headed into DC via the Metro, of course! We rode the Red Line in from the Wheaton station. At the Wheaton station we got to ride the longest single escalator in the Western Hemisphere. It was pretty high and steep- I felt like I was going to fall forwards when I was riding it down.
Anyways, once we got to DC we had some lunch near the Capitol. We ate at a pub called Bullfeathers, and the food was pretty good. After that we walked to the US Botanic Garden, also near the Capitol. There was on orchid exhibit that seemed pretty "pretty." I have to say that the Botanic Garden might be the best place to visit during the winter! When we walked through the door, we were instantly hit with a fresh, sweet, flowery smell and we felt the warmth of the greenhouses that we were walking through. It was perfect. The orchids were really beautiful and we saw many different colors and varieties. The place really wasn't very big but also had a nice jungle room and some cool cacti in the desert room. The orchids were definitely the best part though!
I would love to grow orchids. Too bad that I have no green thumb and that Baxter would eat them.
After walking through the gardens, we ventured over to the Library of Congress. We went on one of the tours through the building which describes its art and architecture. It is a really beautiful building.
This is where Stephen Colbert (of the Colbert Report on TV) persuaded them to hang his portrait a few years ago. I wish I could have seen it! I also wanted to see the now iconic Obama/change poster but it was being restored as it was painted on newsprint. 
Abraham Lincoln's portrait in the US Presidents section. I was confused because many of the same portraits are hanging in the White House, so which one is the real one? The presidential portraits were painted in many different styles. Some of my favorites were JFK's and Nixon's.
Anyways, once we got to DC we had some lunch near the Capitol. We ate at a pub called Bullfeathers, and the food was pretty good. After that we walked to the US Botanic Garden, also near the Capitol. There was on orchid exhibit that seemed pretty "pretty." I have to say that the Botanic Garden might be the best place to visit during the winter! When we walked through the door, we were instantly hit with a fresh, sweet, flowery smell and we felt the warmth of the greenhouses that we were walking through. It was perfect. The orchids were really beautiful and we saw many different colors and varieties. The place really wasn't very big but also had a nice jungle room and some cool cacti in the desert room. The orchids were definitely the best part though!
I would love to grow orchids. Too bad that I have no green thumb and that Baxter would eat them.
After walking through the gardens, we ventured over to the Library of Congress. We went on one of the tours through the building which describes its art and architecture. It is a really beautiful building.
It was burned down once and then Thomas Jefferson sold his extensive collection of books to the Library. Then it got burned down again during the War of 1812. The Library is still trying to retrieve some of his books that were lost in that fire. It is a really cool place though. Whenver someone publishes something new in the US, they are required to send a copy to the Library to be archived, so the collection is always growing. The art in the building is focused upon the different types of knowledge that a young America wanted to focus upon such as science, poetry, religion, medicine, and many others. Another overlying theme was that this library was for all people to use so the art inside is supposed to encompass and speak to all peoples. I liked the idea because knowledge shouldn't belong to one person. That was another theme- that knowledge is power and that everyone is entitled to that.
We also got to look into the large rotunda/reading room that Nicholas Cage ran through during the movie, National Treasure. We weren't allowed to go inside because people were actually using the space, but it was cool nonetheless.
We also got to look into the large rotunda/reading room that Nicholas Cage ran through during the movie, National Treasure. We weren't allowed to go inside because people were actually using the space, but it was cool nonetheless.
After the Library of Congress we took the Metro to the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian of American Art. I wanted to go to the Portrait Gallery, and my aunt wanted to go to the Smithsonian. As it turns out, they are the same place so it worked out perfectly. Prior to going there, we hit up my favorite store H&M.
Even though I don't understand it, the painting features bacon. I like bacon, and so do many Americans so I think it is fitting that it is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum!
When we got married, kraig picked a picture of "wheat" to go in our bedroom. I thought.. of all the possible pictures, he picks wheat? well, here is one showcased in the Smithsonian, so apparently kraig has very refined tastes!
I liked the couches the most in the Modern Art section!
This is where Stephen Colbert (of the Colbert Report on TV) persuaded them to hang his portrait a few years ago. I wish I could have seen it! I also wanted to see the now iconic Obama/change poster but it was being restored as it was painted on newsprint. 
Abraham Lincoln's portrait in the US Presidents section. I was confused because many of the same portraits are hanging in the White House, so which one is the real one? The presidential portraits were painted in many different styles. Some of my favorites were JFK's and Nixon's. I am not too much of an art museum type of person, but I still enjoyed walking around being surrounded my beautiful paintings. I have decided that I prefer abstract and impressionistic art as opposed to naked angels (like renaissance art). All is beautiful though.
Before heading home we went and got cupcakes! My aunt and I both enjoyed it, and the place has become a bit of "must stop" kind of a place for me. We had a really fun and busy day and got to see and visit a bunch of places that we had never been to before.
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