Back in the US of A

As most of you know, I've made it back alive and well, this time with no Flight Drama. It's a miracle.

Kat picked me up at the airport on Monday evening, and we rode the Metro back to her appartment. :) On Tuesday, we took a tour of the Capitol Building and went to lunch at the underground House of Representatives cafeteria. It was freaking awesome. Then I saw Hillary Clinton's office... not that I necessarily agree with her views... it was all just so interesting. A friend of Kat's works for the South Dakota Senator, which is how we got in. :)

We also went to the Library of Congress... there wasn't that much open to the public there - just the main entrance area and one glassed-in study room that you had a sort of aerial view of. And then we stopped by the Native American Museum to see some of the beadwork they'd done. Lovely.

Yesterday, we got together with our childhood best friends, who currently live in Virginia. It was great seeing them again and reminiscing on our criminal past. :) I remember being completely devastated when they moved... but I guess it was for the best... if they had stayed in Texas, we probably would have ended up in a juvenile delinquent center. Or we would have brilliantly escaped from one. But as the mature grown-ups that we of course now are, we strolled through the Botanical Gardens, saw the National Archives* and then went to a Greek restaurant, all without destroying anything, manipulating anyone, or making idiots of ourselves. Fun times. I love you guys. :)

Today Katherine has to work, which is why I'm taking some time to write. I went to the National Gallery of Art earlier today and it was absolutely fascinating. They have two of my favourite Monet paintings there (I'm not sure whether they're part of the permanent collection or not) and I seriously started crying when I walked into the room. One of my favs is the Houses of Parliament at Sunset, which I ironically wrote about a while back. It's the first painting. :)

What really surprised me is the fact that the paintings weren't framed in glass... they were framed, of course, but it was all open - you could touch the canvas if you wanted (and if the security guards weren't watching).

Well, that's all for now...


*the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights being the most interesting