I bet you thought the rest of our vacation in Washington D.C. would never see the lights of this blog, eh? Well, you were almost right, you were wrong! When we planned our vacation to D.C., we knew that a large majority of our time would be spent exploring the National Mall. The National Mall is where many well-known museums, monuments and memorials are located that people often associate with our Nation’s Capital.
Since I’m still recovering from my long weekend in Kansas City (and my brain is outright with focusing on our big move this weekend), I’m going to keep the narrative short and sweet and let the “lights and sounds” below speak for themselves.
Enjoy!
LINCOLN MEMORIAL
WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL
The World War II Memorial was breathtaking. I posted photos of this memorial earlier this month on the Fourth of July (I also added a fun photo of me holding the Washington Monument in this post, check it out if you don’t believe me).
THE WHITE HOUSE
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
That’s an elephant’s left hind leg standing next to Mike. Just an FYI, Mike’s a little over 6 feet tall…if that doesn’t put the actual size of an elephant into perspective for you then I don’t know what would!
The Hope Diamond is a 45.52 carat diamond that is currently on display in the museum. It’s GORGEOUS.
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
On our second full day in D.C., we decided to take a little break from the National Mall by visiting the animals at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. The zoo was awesome and only a cab ride away from the National Mall which made it very easy to head back to the mall when we were ready.
Our next stop at the mall was the National Gallery of Art. Understandably, I was only allowed to take photos of a few of the exhibits, which was unfortunate because there were a few modern art pieces in the museum that I really enjoyed. Thankfully, I was able to capture a few of one of my favorite artists from the Impressionist period; Claude Monet. Halfway through the art gallery, I let Mike take the reins over the camera.
Above is one of the photos he took. The expression on the statue’s face seemed to be a real focal point for my fiance, couldn’t quite tell you why, but it kept him laughing for days (he’ll also be happy to know that his work of art made the blog).
Have you ever been to Washington D.C.? What was your favorite museum or memorial?
That is a pretty amusing expression on the statue’s face!
Haha! Isn’t it? He’s such a clown!
I haven’t done the museums in DC in such a long time!! This is making me want to plan a trip back!!
We hadn’t been since we were kids, either! I would say D.C. was more interesting visiting as an adult; you just appreciate the history so much more!
I love DC! I haven’t been there in about 4 years but I fell in love the first time I went. My favorite museum that I visited there is the holocaust museum. It was so sad but so interesting.
The Holocaust museum was one of the first museums we went to on our trip and it was a real eye-opener. Although many of the exhibits were emotionally hard to look at, I also felt it was one of the best museums, and history lessons, that D.C. had to offer.
I really want to visit DC throughly and see all the sights. I havent been since I was a kid. Looks like you guys had a great time!
Thanks, Nikki! D.C. was a great spot to vacation! There are TONS of activities to do and none of which involve spending money either. The zoo and museums are all free of charge!
Washington DC is such an interesting place. That diamond , OMG!
I KNOW! Imagine getting that rock as an engagement present?
Great post, thanks for sharing your travels! Those Monet pieces are absolutely stunning! I travelled a lot through Europe but have never come across any Monet for some reason. Next time I’m museum hunting I will keep an eye out for seeing an exhibit with his work I bet its spectacular in person.
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I’ve always had a soft spot for Monet’s paintings. They’re so soft yet vivid at the same time, simply beautiful!
My sister lived in dc so I visited her a few times and fell in love with the city and the smithsonion!!!