A Day for the Museums of Washington DC

I was up bright and early, to walk down to the National Mall, which houses the Smithsonian Institute, the National collection of museums in Washington. I firstly called at the Castle information centre http://www.gosmithsonian.com/museums/smithsonian-institution-building-the-castle/ to gather more information on where I wanted to go, then walked further up the National Mall, in the hot morning sunshine, going to The Hirshorn Museum outdoor sculpture garden, whilst waiting for the main museums to open , although liking outdoor sculpture I would have gone anyway …http://siarchives.si.edu/history/exhibits/pictures/hirshhorn-museum-and-sculpture-garden ,there were some fine bronzes from English sculptors Moore and Hepworth, and a tricky reflective piece !

Then it was off to the huge Air and Space museum http://airandspace.si.edu/  , where I was able to see original aeroplanes and spacecraft, with loads of exhibits on flight, it’s origins,and travel through space, really interesting, taking me over 4 hours to view – and that was rushing it !

From there, a really quick visit to the Museum of the American Indian, http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/  and I decided that there was far too much to see, so didn’t stop..

and moved across the Mall to the National Gallery of Art http://www.nga.gov/collection/index.shtm where ,again the collections were superb, although far too much to take in properly, although I did manage all the highlights, including Rodin’s The Thinker, always reminds me of  ?  

By now, it was almost 5 p.m., so I staggered back to the Hotel, for a short rest, and wash down, before going back out to Chinatown http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_%28Washington,_D.C.%29 and a quick Chinese meal, before returning to the Hotel…to collapse, and prepare for tomorrow, where I’ve been invited to the U.S. Capitol !! They must realise I’m famous !

Goodnight