Strolling in the National Mall

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Vietnam Memorial

We stopped over in D.C. for a couple days and checked out our nation's capital. After all the towering skycrapers of NYC, the National Mall was as refreshing an antidote as Central Park. The symmetry of the Mall is reminiscent of Parc du Champ de Mars and both sit next to famous and historically significant rivers. In Paris the Seine, in D.C. the Potomac.

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Vietnam Memorial, National Mall

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Within a shady area and razor-cut into the cool grass near the Lincoln Memorial is the poignant Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Beyond its grave significance, the stark design of this monument is actually very brilliant and revolutionary. As obsidian as death, its reflective surfaces inspire contemplation and reverence.

Taking Pictures

The National Mall

So here we are, strolling about on some sunny days, looking at monuments and eating Chinese food, as tourists often do. We walked up and down the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol, wondering where all the stores are. What kind of mall is this? Where is Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret or Macy’s? No, it’s not that kind of mall.

The Smithsonian Castle stands out as a rather appealing bit of architecture compared with the classical Senate building or the stark white Washington Monument. Directly across are the Smithsonian Museum and National Gallery of Art, which stand as formidable fortresses guarding scientific information and artistic achievement from pillage and plunder.

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Mirror Architecture

Washington Monument

The tall white obelisk of the Washington Monument stands at 555 feet 5 inches, directly in the middle of the National Mall. You can see it for miles around, which is why it shows up in so many photos of the National Mall. The main purpose of this spiky monument is probably to prevent giant spaceships like those in Independence Day from landing behind the White House.

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Washington Monument, National Mall

Abraham Lincoln’s Cushy Memorial

And finally we get to the man with the best view in the whole town. Not only does he get to sit down for centuries while Thomas Jefferson has to stand, but his pad is spacious and looks out across a vast tree-lined pool towards the Capitol. Abe’s got it made!