Washington DC (Day 2 - Part 2) - September 5, 2010

The second part of day 2 started with dinner at Grillfish.

Deep Fried Artichokes

Seafood Kabob

Seafood Alfredo

Swordfish with fingerling potato and fried onions

Once dinner was done we got ready to head to the US Capitol building. It being Labor Day weekend, the US National Symphony was having a free concert on the grounds of the US Capitol. It was absolutely breathtaking to hear and see the symphony against the beautiful backdrop that is our nation's captial.

The concert ended at around 9:00 pm and then it was off to do our 3-mile walking tour of the nation's monuments at night. Although we had seen most of the monuments during the day, I had read reviews, seen pictures, and inquired about a 'monuments by moonlight' tour. Apparently it is a totally different experience to see these monuments at night and I must agree that they were lit up beautifully.

Stop 1: US Capitol and Reflecting Pool

US Capitol Reflecting Pool

Front of the US Capitol Building

We then continued down the hill and walked over one mile past the Smithsonian Museums. It was quite scary being two girls walking in the dark at night in a pretty desolate street. But nevertheless, we  kept our eyes and ears open and continued on walking. We ended up at the Washington Monument.

Stop 2: The Washington Monument

By the time we got to the Washington Monument, there were lots of tourists and other people taking pictures. It wasn't quite as scary as our walk to get there. Our next stop was across the street at the World War II Memorial. Again, there were many people visiting this monument so we felt much more comfortable roaming the streets at night. The fountains are only lit up until about midnight, then they shut the lights and the fountains off.

Stop 3: The World War II Memorial

Stop 4: The Washington Monument Reflecting Pool

Our last and final stop on the 'monuments by moonlight' self-guided walking tour was to turn around and enjoy the Lincoln Memorial.

Stop 5: The Lincoln Memorial

After an exhausting walking tour. we headed back to our hotel to get some rest and prepare for the next morning's flight back home.