Washington DC is as much about power as it is about art and food. Most museums in the US capital are free to enter and the variety of cuisines you can access at the city’s restaurants is mind-boggling. This wasn’t my first time in DC, but this was the first time I spent time exploring the city. I loved it, and found it much less overwhelming than, for instance, New York City. (In picture above) Washington Union Station is the major local and interstate transport hub in the US capital city. Opened in 1907, it looks just as beautiful inside as outside. This is the main hall inside the station
You see the US Capitol building right ahead of you as you step out of Union Station. The walk is less than 10 minutes. The building is grand, and you are free to walk on the premises and be touristy
I found a US senator holding a news conference and it reminded me of my journalism days. I hung around for a while as he spoke about an environment-friendly transportation initiative and then decided to shamelessly take a selfie with the senator in the background
The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812, by Jacques-Louis David at the National Gallery of Art, which, like a lot of other museums in DC, has free entry for visitors. ‘David shows Napoleon Bonaparte working tirelessly for the people of France. The clock reads 4.13, the early morning. The candles are almost extinguished. The emperor’s hair is disheveled, his stocking rumpled. He has spent the night drafting the Napoleonic Code, France’s first civil law code. David’s portrait creates a powerful myth of the leader…’ reads the painting description
Ginevra de’ Benci (1474/1478), the only Leonardo da Vinci painting on public display in the Americas, is also on display at the National Gallery of Art
Squirrels are everywhere and they are not in the least afraid of humans. They will come right up to you and take food from your hands. This one is right outside the National Gallery of Art, where I’d sat down for a bite
This ‘string quilt with white cross’ at Smithsonian American Art Museum reminded me of our very own Bengal kantha
I bumped into the FBI building of countless movies and books while walking in DC. I couldn’t help but take a selfie, of course
Located inside Rock Creek Regional Park, Needlewood Lake is a 50-minute drive from Washington Union Station in Washington DC. I stayed with my friend not too far from this lake and walked down one evening to find an artist sitting by the lake all by herself painting. That’s her just right of the tree by the water. It was a beautiful afternoon
One day, three friends and I drove down to Harpers Ferry in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet, this historical place is the easternmost town in West Virginia. The town became famous in 1859 when abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the US armoury. During the American Civil War, this place became the northernmost point of Confederate-controlled territory, and changed hands several times due to its strategic importance. At the moment, it is pretty much a ghost town with models of building facades as they were 150 years ago. A lot of tourists visit during the day, but hardly anyone stays the night. (Clockwise from top left) Friends and I pose with a cannon; cannons next to a hiking trail on what used to be a battle site 150 years ago and a wall next to a popular restaurant’s kitchen at Harpers Ferry