At the end of the last post, I had just seen Heartless Bastards and Langhorne Slim play a show at the Black Cat in DC on Tuesday night, then went to bed. What happened next...
Today was the least eventful of the days spent in DC, likely because our tour guide, Heidi, was occupied with work and school until late in the evening. My mother and I only got started at midday, because we had both decided to sleep in until the other got up to get ready.
We still had a lot of art left to see at the National Gallery, so we decided to go there. Here's a photo from Monday that I added here because, a) some of you wanted to see a better photo of my dad, and b) it represents the problems of finding parking that grew increasingly difficult as the week progressed.
We had lunch at the Cascade Cafe located in the concourse connecting the West and East gallery buildings. Despite it being a cafeteria, the food was excellent. Even though it was underground, the 'cascade' waterfall, from which the cafe gets its name, provided natural sound and light to the tables near it, making for a much more appealing dining atmosphere. Since my mom had already seen most of the collection from previous visits, we parted ways in order to see the gallery at our own respective paces.
After an inspiring three hours of quiet observation, it was time to pick up my dad for dinner. We had a gift certificate for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, so we decided this would be the one time of the year to have our serving of butter fried steak. It was a delicious, hearty meal at a "fancy" restaurant, the likes of which I had not been to in quite some time.
Following the physical feast, we tried to get our spiritual nourishment at feast at the DC Baha'i Center. As we walked up to the front door, I though about all the unfamiliar faces I would encounter there and what it might be like. To our pleasant surprise, we were greeted by a friend of the family, whom we've known since I was a little guy. She didn't recognize me immediately due to the mustache, but it was only a moments hesitation before smiles and hugs.
We arrived late, so we were only able to sit through a very efficient, and somewhat bureaucratic, administrative portion. My dad was tired, so we left soon after it ended.
Thursday:
I was up very early, so I let my mom sleep while I had the continental breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. I felt very professional, reading about the credit crisis the business section of the paper while sipping my coffee, but I was wearing jeans and a thrift store shirt, so I definitely didn't look professional. My mom decided to get her things together in preparation for the trip to Philadelphia, so I started the day off on my own.
I took the Metro to the National Mall. I was one with my fellow tourists on the crowded train; looking at a map, thinking of what to do first, listening carefully to make sure I didn't miss my stop. Two stations later, the doors opened onto the Smithsonian platform, and I joined the mass of slow moving people (slightly annoyed by the few that were oblivious to the others around them who knew where they were going). Once I reached the surface of the Mall, I headed for the closest museum I had yet to see, The Freer and Sackler Galleries.
These two galleries were featuring Asian and a limited collection of American art. The majority of the asian art was sculpture and crafts. I was filled with wonderment to be in the presence such ancient and beautiful works of art, some of which had been created almost two thousand years ago.
The American art portion of the museum features paintings by James Whistler. Here's a very striking monochromatic piece.
My next stop was the National African Art museum next door. The place was practically empty, as you can tell from the photo. This was practically a modern art museum, since most of the pieces dated only a few years, but it was still amazing to see the intricate and elaborate pieces that were made without the use of modern tools or machines.
Next door to this museum was the most interesting stop of the day, the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art. My mom's disdain for modern art was beginning to rub off on me, particularly after seeing some of the pieces at the National Gallery East. Though there were a few examples of 'scibbles' being called art at Hirshhorn, they were overwhelmed by some of the amazement that the other pieces garnered from me. I now a have a new appreciation for some modern art. Here's some of the things I really liked...
Wooden dowels + paint = striking sculpture.
A bank of TV screens running loops of images that created an image that seemed to represent America's embracing of the digital age.
Just a cool looking sculpture.
Even the walls of the museum were painted in modern themes. Didn't quite 'get' this one though. Anyone have any thoughts on it?
This was interesting; it was a drawing of stacks of books with a short story written along the top. The artist cut up the drawing and rearranged the pieces, making the story a big jumble, but allowing you to take in bits and pieces of it and imagine how the fragments were once connected.
These are just a small sampling of the myriad of cool artworks that were featured at this museum. Unfortunately, as was the case in almost all the other museums I had visited thus far, the special exhibits section was closed for a new installation.
Coming off the amazement that the Hirshhorn generated in me, I hopped on the Metro to get to the Building Museum in Chinatown.
It was a disappointing visit, as there was once again, no special exhibit, and there wasn't much in permanent exhibit; mostly blueprints and diagrams. I only stayed here for 15 minutes.
For lunch, I quickly got a chopped asian salad wrap at Chop'd; one of Heidi's recommendations. Then, taking a cue from all the people I had seen previously, I sat on the steps outside the National Portrait Gallery and ate my lunch. It was nice.
I finished the afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery. I found this to be the most interesting museum of my visit. This was mainly due to the American Origins exhibition, which held portraits of notable figures ordered chronologically. There were extensive descriptions next to each painting, describing the role the depicted individual played in our nation's history. So the exhibit was part art gallery, part history lesson. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to read through the entire exhibit, so I hastened to the gallery of presidential portraits. It was here that I got to see all the original portraits of the presidents I have seen replicated in numerous other places, including the bills in my wallet. It was here that Heidi met me, and then suggested I see an especially peculiar the JFK portrait.
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Placed among the more traditional portraits, this was an interesting choice for display. On the other hand, it was very effective in representing the mood of the 60's and his administration.
While we waited for my parents to come get us for dinner, we sat in the spacious central courtyard of the gallery and had some coffee. Heidi told me how nice it is to sit there in the winter, when it acts as a warm refuge that retains the feeling of being outside. A lot of this, I believe, has to do with whatever special sound dampening they had installed to muffle echos, as it gave the impression that the space was not enclosed from above. The ceiling itself was an interesting sight, with the modern wavy grid contrasting with the historic architecture of the building.
From here, we went to Tunnicliffs Tavern and had some interesting conversation over some delicious pizza.
From here we went to see the Jefferson Monument at night. It was a very pleasant evening, so the walk to the memorial was particularly relaxing.
Unfortunately, all the beautiful night photos I took of the monument and the Washington Monument across the Patomic have been lost, along with all the photos from the remainder of the trip. I'll explain the circumstances of this on my next post.
My dad was tired at this point, so my parents returned to the hotel. Meanwhile, Heidi and I headed for a bookstore/cafe a few blocks away for dessert. She ordered rich chocolate cake, I got a chocolate milkshake, and we talked a bit about the past. We closed the night with a stop at Books-a-Million, which I though had gone out-of-business a long time ago, followed by the movie Juno back at her apartment.
Friday:
It was too late to take a train, or have my mom pick me up, so I crashed on the couch and woke up to catch rush-hour on the metro. We got off at Penn Station, which much like the rest of DC's buildings, held regal architecture at an impressive scale. A quick walk though some of Capitol Hill's nicest neighborhoods, and we were back at the Eastern Market... which reminds me of something I forgot to mention in my last post. Much of the first half of Sunday was spent browsing the arts and crafts available at Eastern Market, which one the weekends, is a popular flea/arts/crafts/produce market. This morning though, all the stalls and booths were absent, and only the permanent food market open. We each got a coffee and a hearty bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich, which was definitively one of the best I have ever had.
From the market, Heidi walked the rest of the way to her job at the Capitol Hill Day School, while I headed for the Metro to get back to the hotel. I quickly showered and packed, and then we were on our way to Philadelphia to see my sister Nika.
When we arrived, I was amazed by the awesomeness of her new place. I'm generally a fan of pre-1960s architecture, especially buildings from the turn of the century, which is when her building was constructed. Before she moved in though, the insides were completely renovated. The stone facade, the black and white checkered tiles of the hallway, and the grate-door elevator, all confirmed it as a vintage locale. The apartment is on the 2nd floor (which apparently garners high demand in the real estate market) and features an oversized front door with a black, lions head knocker. Inside was quite beautiful; dark hardwood floors, high ceilings, granite countertops, and stainless steel fixtures made the place feel distinctively modern. A very cool feature was the fire escape, which allowed you access to the side alleyway and exit to the street behind the property.
My sister and mom went to get their hair done in preparation for Nika's bridal shower in Virginia the next day, so my dad and I walked a few blocks to get something to eat. It was on this walk, and during dinner, that I noticed she was clearly living in the trendy part of town. I noticed this from the higher concentration of hip young people passing by, as well as the mid-t0-high-end stores that lined the streets; the neighborhood seemed similar to New York's SoHo. The evidence that this is the heart of the city came from a Google Maps search for Philadelphia, PA, which pinpointed the center of the city being only 8 blocks from the new condo.
That evening saw the arrival of my uncle and grandmother. We walked to dinner at a nice italian place, meeting my sister's fiance Scott.
Saturday:
The next day, after saying goodbye to the ladies of the family, the men sought out the most (and probably only) famous food native to Philadelphia, the cheesesteak. Our quest led us to South Philadelphia, where the two most famous cheesesteak eateries sit directly across the street from each other; Pat's King of Steaks and Geno's Steaks. We decided to try various combinations of cheese and onions at both places. They tasted pretty similar, but I liked my sandwich from Pat's, and even though Cheez Whiz is the most popular flavor of topping, I prefer white american.
After consuming copious amounts of fat and sodium, we decided to take a walk down South Street, a popular destination with many eclectic shops. It was a lot different from the more commercial shopping found in my sister's neighborhood.
The day ended with me at the airport, heading back to Davis. Matt picked me up when I arrived, and the trip was finally over. Thankfully, the next day was Sunday, which gave me time to get reorganized (and play my first IM flag football game) before diving into some serious research at the start of the week.
The End
Sorry it took so long to post this, thanks for reading.
