Hello, I am glad to greet you, I am Yael Yancelson and it will be a pleasure to take this tour with you, to a place full of history and at the same time a vibrant modernity. Come with me to Washington DC in the United States, with the power of imagination and the 5 senses we will make a really interesting tour, full of museums and historical monuments. So breathe, close your eyes, give me your hand and let yourself be guided through this wonderful city, let’s begin.

Founded on July 16, 1790, Washington, DC is unique among American cities;it was established by the United States Constitution to serve as the nation’s capital. President George Washington chose the exact site along the rivers Potomac and Anacostia, and the city was founded after Maryland and Virginia ceded land to this new “district”

It was Pierre Charles L’Enfant who designed this city on a grid system, in which the center would be the Capitol building.

Rich in international cultures, heritage and African American culture. Post-war Washington underwent substantial expansion, eventually absorbing nearby Georgetown and surrounding rural areas.

And since we have a lot to discover, what do you think if we rent a scooter and  pick up some speed.

The first obligatory stop is undoubtedly the National Mall, the most visited national park in the United States, where the past, the present and the future come together. Honestly, there is nothing like arriving at the National Mall for the first time – you feel a very special emotion being  here don’t you think? Watching the Washington Monument rise majestically into the sky, surrounded by the Capitol Building on one end and the Lincoln Memorial on the other, it’s hard not to think about America’s history.

I was reminded of the scene from the gorgeous, award-winning Forest Gump movie when Jenny meets up with Forest in the middle of a tumultuous peace manifestation

right here on the water mosaic we’re looking at- do you remember?

The monuments and memorials in this park honor American ancestors and heroes. From the “I Have a Dream” speech to the AIDS Quilt, the Mall is the national stage where movements and celebrations take place, where people come together to make their voices heard.

I really feel that standing here is a history lesson through the monuments made of stone. East of the Washington Monument are world-class museums with something for everyone, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which we’ll visit next.

Built to honor George Washington, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the first President of the United States, the Washington Monument was once the tallest building in the world at just over 555 feet. The monument to the first president of the United States still holds the title of tallest stone structure and obelisk in the world. The great Lincoln Memorial towers over the Reflecting Pool, located at the western end of this site,gradually get bigger. From the front, contemplate the beautiful marble columns surrounded by vegetation, it looks like an ancient Greek temple. If you look closely there are 36 columns, each representing a state in the US on the date of President Lincoln’s death. The monument itself is 190 feet long and 119 feet wide, reaching a height of nearly 100 feet.

Let’s go up these stairs and uff we take a breath because between so much walking and the heat we have to regain strength and go inside and look up. There, etched into the wall, is a memorable quote: “In this temple, as in the hearts of those for whom he saved the Union, the memory of Abraham Lincoln is enshrined forever.”

Beneath the quote is a 19-foot-tall, 175-ton statue of President Lincoln, himself looking out over the National Mall of the country he fought so hard to preserve and unite. It’s awesome, don’t you think?

We now walk through the wide, pedestrian and tree-lined boulevards and we can see the white house hidden there, honestly it is difficult to approach because of the security that surrounds it but we find a strategic point to take a picture.

And now let’s pause to remember and learn about the fragility of freedom at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where the truth impacted me a lot and the part of the children’s exhibition touched my heart, I think it is really very emotional.

Let’s head out to Capitol Hill which is one of the most popular places to live in the city, with 19th century row houses and a market, as well as a vibrant nightlife and upscale dining scene. Here we see large government buildings such as the US Capitol and the Supreme Court. Let’s enter the Capitol, where friendly guides lead us under the dome of more than 180 feet painted in a somewhat complicated way in my opinion, do you like it? and further on we see the old room of the Supreme Court that seems to me to have very little light, don’t you feel it is dark?

Nearby, we pass the Library of Congress and the impressive Thomas Jefferson Building with Italian Renaissance-style architecture and gilt murals, plus the impressive circular Main Reading Room with its 160-foot ceiling. Everything here has extremely high ceilings that make the buildings even more monumental and impressive.

We arrive at the east market, a brick building from 1873 that houses bakers and pasta makers, as well as a lively bazaar with produce, crafts, and antiques. Let’s do a little shopping.

I really liked the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture which is right here on 14th Street and Constitution Avenue. The four-level museum opened on September 24th, 2016, becoming the only national museum dedicated solely to documenting African-American life, history, and culture. This Smithsonian Institution Museum is an architectural marvel that has many interactive exhibits. I find it to be a very interesting building that addresses almost every aspect of the African-American experience, covering the arts, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, athletics and much more. The building’s exterior, conceived by Ghanaian-born architect David Adjaye, is artfully composed of a three-tiered bronze-colored screen. This lattice pays homage to the intricate  iron work forged by enslaved African Americans in the southern United States.

Since I really like music, I can’t miss the El Encrucijada musical. The exhibition details the history of Afro-American music, from the arrival of the first Africans to the present day. From jazz to hip-hop, African-American musicians gave birth to new forms of expression that lit a candle for freedom, justice, and change.

A hilarious and very interesting museum for both adults and children is the Newseum. Wow, we really  have a great time here. What do you think if we enter the interactive newsroom of NBC News and make our own newscast from a teleprompter? The surrounding exhibition is impressive, look; reviewing archives of the first publications I found a newspaper in Yiddish a dead language, it gave me a lot of emotion since it was the language of my great-grandparents in Poland.

This site is dedicated to upholding the five freedoms of the First Amendment.

I know there are many museums but one must-see is the Smithsonian Air & Space so let’s quickly take a look at the 1903 Wright Flyer, run our hands over the moon rock that feels very rough and hard and experience the exciting world of aviation and space travel.

Did you know that since its opening on the National Mall in 1976, this center for all things flight has educated and inspired future generations of pilots and astronauts from around the world as it contains the largest and most significant collection of space artifacts and world aviation. All the components of human flight are on display including related art and archival materials and I found there are scholarships available for students interested in these topics and you can support and find out much more at the link below we may possibly support a student with low resources that will soon be a great astronaut. https://airandspace.si.edu/support

Now to rest from so many museums and monuments, how about if we go to relax at the Southwest & The Wharf, what fun these giant swings overlooking the washington channel, when we swing you feel the delicious breeze with salty touches of the sea and I’m going to buy a delicious vanilla ice cream and with my scooter I am going to go around this pier, along the entire pier we are going to see little shops, bars, restaurants and at the end we see the longest continuous open-air fish market in the country. Barges stocked with crabs and oysters have been serving up excellent seafood here since 1805, making it one of the most revered landmarks in the Southwest Quadrant. Head to Jessie Taylor Seafood, The Virgo Fish House or Captain White’s Seafood City for ready-to-eat treats and if you’re interested in learning how to cook I’ve got the ingredients for some delicious lobster rolls ready, join me.

IF YOU LIKE TO COOK, CLICK THE BUTTON OR IF YOU PREFER YOU CAN CONTINUE TO TRAVEL