Newseum in Washington DC

I forgot to mention the Newseum in my account of Washington DC. It's a museum about the press. I walked in and walked straight back out as the admission was $20 and I think that's a lot to pay in a city which is full of free museums.

However, I only had 2 hours left in Washington DC, so I went back in and paid up, mainly because I had a look at the brochure and it looked quite interesting.

I actually really enjoyed it, and I didn't get round half of it. There's a great Pulitzer prize exhibition, with all the photos which have won for about 80 years. There's an interactive exhibit where you can find out more about the stories behind the photos and it's quite touching. One photographer committed suicide after he took a photograph of a child dying in a famine, and he got a lot of backlash for not picking the child up.

There's another great exhibit which lets you watch key news moments in history - civil rights march in Washington DC, US Government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Clinton's impeachment - it was really interesting to watch.

That's all I saw; I never quite made it to all seven levels. But actually well worth the money in the end.

Washington DC birds

As you may know, I love birds. Here are some Washington DC birds.

This is part of an exhibition of photos taken by Barbara Bosworth at the American Art museum.

Often in life, I find that opportunities pass me by. I was watching these birds go crazy in the water fountain. The one in the middle really drenched himself from top to toe(?). It only occurred to me much later that I could have taken a video with my camera.

U2 3D

CaSandra and I went to see U2 3D at the Natural History Museum. It was brilliant! It's good to see those old guys are still together. I think this video is an official trailer.

Museum retreat

I've just been on a museum retreat to Washington DC - a retreat from the heat. I spent most of my time at the museums, in an indoors and air-conditioned state of bliss. If you like museums, Washington DC has the best in the world. I went to lots of the Smithsonian museums, and they are all free too. My favourites were the Freer Gallery, American Indian Museum, Renwick Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. There was so much to see.

Courtyard at the Freer Gallery.

The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery.

The adjoining roof at the Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art. (I liked the hip hop exhibition, 20th Century Americans, bird lady photos, presidential portraits, posters as art - it was amazing.)

Windows at the above museum.

Museum of the American Indian: beautiful beaded costumes, and an interesting cafe which sells Native American food; today I had sunchokes, which are the root of a native sunflower.