Friday 28 September 2007

Lone star

I feel very lucky that there are so many places/people I feel at home and at ease with. I am traveling great distances at times and finding the company of old friends so soothing and comforting. They are my real destinations. Maybe am finding out what happiness is in its infinitely small unassuming quiet appearance.

It is not the long journey that makes the destination more rewarding. The journey brings about the physical challenges, the time for reflection and retrospective, the rest that awaken the eyes. It makes me consider the value of what has been left behind, and what is worth coming back to.

I often feel anonymous on a journey, a blank slate ready for any imprint. New faces, attitudes, emotions that reflect or clash against my own. I bask in adventurous foods, dances, beliefs. I often find beauty that give me faith in life and people. But I don't stay because there is more elsewhere to live.

Wednesday 26 September 2007

The men that make the law and those who die defending it

I did not see the Congressmen in session but I visited the Library of Congress where they do research and consult previous cases.

Then in the afternoon I went to the Arlington National Cemetery where I shed a tear at the tomb of the unknown soldier, hearing the lament of the lonely bugle at the changing of the guard.

I have never been surrounded by so many dead people before!

Monday 24 September 2007

Traditions and progress on the Mall

Of course I hit the Mall! I stuck to the Smithonian building, the Space Museum and the new Museum of Native Americans.


I tried to join a guided tour in the Smithonian, but all the participants were over 80 year old, so I felt a bit too young. Besides, the inside of the castle wasn't that exciting..beauty was truly only outside for this one!

I know I have been into the Space Museum on the Mall before but somwhow I cannot find any picture of it. So this time I snapped away and listened carefully to what Billy said (that's the dguide's name). And once again I touched the moon.

And the control module that held the astronauts that flew the Apollo 11 mission and walked on the moon.


And then I got lost in the Universe!

The tour lasted about 90min, and because there was no restaurant nearby, just museums, I was forced to eat at Mc*Ronalds...happy meal for me.

Next to that hall full of powerful engines and amazing feats of engineering sit the new museum of native american. It's a beautiful building. I cuold look at it forever and feel so peaceful.

It's a very nice museum that gives lots of information on the beliefs, customs and way of life of Native Americans, from the tribes in south america to the ones living in Alaska. There are loads of workshops and hands on activities as well to discover the crafts and music.



This is what the conquistadores were after though: GOLD

Hello Baltimore!