Thursday 10/8/11 – Friday 11/8/11

D.C. is a Stepford for politicians. Great buildings, the best security on the planet, Yale university.. Prestige but with no extravagance and arrogance. Granduor and higher purpose. The grass in the main park may not be perfectly trimmed, but it only adds to the atmosphere. I liked it a lot.

One thing you notice when visiting: there is a lot of memorials. Probably more per capita than anywhere else in US. But each one is different, from 8mln bucks Lincoln to a moving Korean War Veteran’s Memorial with famous words: “Freedom is not free”, they are all worth a visit.

Another thing that strikes is that the White House is.. exactly that. A white house. Ok, so it’s slightly bigger mansion, but it is nothing like I thought it would be. In other words: Obama would feel inadequate visiting a pad that belongs to Travolta or Madonna.

It made me think, whilst wandering through the park between the High Court and the White House (do not be fooled by the map, it’s a fair 45 min walk..).. “Who are all these runners, sweating their six packs in some old, tired Nikes? Are they senators, government officials?”, somehow it’s hard to think people may have “normal” jobs, like nursing or teaching, when you are surrounded by D.C.’s well defined and “politically correct”, yet casual atmosphere..

Hotel chillage ahoy..