Small French Paintings

On our visits to the East Wing of the National Gallery, John and I have always been charmed by a gallery called Small French Paintings -- such an evocative and promising name! Alisa Mellon Bruce  originally bought this collection of 19th century paintings to fill her New York City apartment.

This delightful collection demonstrates her unerring good taste. Consider this trio of self portraits. From left to right, Edgar Degas' Self-Portrait with White Collar, c.1857, Henri Fantin-Latour's Self-Portrait, 1861 and, finally, Edouard Vuillard's Self-Portrait, aged 21, 1889.

Or imagine living with this charming Courbet Calm Sea.

John is looking at Jacques Joseph Tissot's Hide and Seek, 1877 and to his left, Fantin-Latour's Roses de Nice on a Table, 1882. This wonderful little gallery is situated on the ground floor of the National's East Wing. Try not to miss it!

National Gallery East Wing

John and I have always loved I.M. Pei's design for the East Wing of the National Gallery of Fine Art in Washington DC, with it's H-shape, knife-sharp, triangular corners and pink marble cladding. Unfortunately his 31 year-old facade has proven unstable and the wing is surrounded by hoardings and cranes while emergency repairs are underway. We were also surprised that there is an extension of the building in patterned brick!

Happily, the interior of the building with it's four levels of wide-open space,

and its centre-piece -- a "mobile" sculpture by Alexander Calder (Untitled),

remains visitable.

John was drawn to Gerhard Richter's Abstract Painting 780-1, from 1992.

He wanted to see if our camera could capture the fine detail

of the worlds within worlds of the painting.

Our D.C. Apartment

We have had a request for a peek into our Capital Hill apartment. It's a semi-basement apartment so there isn't a lot of natural light, but we're only around at night. We've really enjoyed our stay.

Take the living room for instance. It's so spacious. We loved the desk for the net-book, the flat-screen TV, the DVD player with an album of interesting movies and, look, a fireplace. Neat, eh?!

We have a nice sized kitchen with a big frig, a gas stove (!) and well-stocked pantries -- I mean there was balsamic vinegar.

And finally (I mean besides the bathroom) there is big bedroom with a big comfortable bed. That's it, my friends. Nice, eh?

Julia Child's Kitchen

Bill and I visited Julia Child's kitchen today at the Smithsonian Museum of American History. It was protected by a clear plastic cage in its own little corner of the museum.

Child is so funny! The photo above is of her famous kitchen in Paris. This must be a portrait by her husband Paul Child.

 Child's American kitchen -- full-sized for adults.

Preserved for future generations of cooks and diners.

Eastern Market

Another thing John and I loved about the Capital Hill neighbourhood of Washington, DC was being in easy walking distance of the charming Eastern Market.

In constant operation since 1887 the covered market offers delis, and fish, poultry, meat and vegetable vendors during the week.

We bought pesto, a roast chicken and vegetables for our dinners.

 On weekends an outdoor farmers market added to our reasons to visit. There were even some antiques to be found.

If you're a fan of historic architecture and love markets like John and I do, you won't want to miss the Eastern Market.

Capital Hill

During our visit to Washington, DC, John and I had the pleasure of renting an apartment in the Capital Hill Historic District.

It was the first residential area of the newly-built American capital and features Federal and Victorian townhouses

with tiny, well-kept front gardens

wrought iron fences and stairs to the ground floors

ornate dressings for the doors and windows

and brick sidewalks.

Altogether a charming neighbourhood

to return to at the end of a day of visiting museums and sights.

Union Station

Every morning during our stay in Washington, DC, John and I either pass by the magnificent, Beaux-Arts Union Station on our walk to the Mall or enter it to board a Metro train to some other part of the Capital.

The train station sits at Columbus Circle which sports a grand sculpture of the famous explorer at its center.

As usual in Washington architecture, the train station is built to impress...and it does. The main hall incorporates a huge, marble vault, gilt trim and statues. It's design is apparently based on the ancient Baths of Diocletian in Rome.

A classy, 2-story restaurant stands in the center of the opulent hall ready to feed new arrivals to the city. We always enjoy passing through.

Vietnam Memorial

Anyone who visits the Lincoln Memorial will also want to experience the deeply moving Vietnam Memorial nearby. 

Maya Linn's monument of  black reflective marble cuts a slash below the surface of the Mall lawn.

John and I were struck by the continued flow of reverent visitors and veterans visiting the site in search of the names of friends and family who died in the war.

The names of those who died are inscribed in the marble.

People come to touch the names, take photographs and leave flowers, American flags and other tributes.

 The black marble absorbs the heat of the sun all day. We visited at dusk and the marble was hot to the touch. 

 The reflections of the visitors in the dark stone give the place a ghostly resonance.

The Vietnam Memorial touched us as much on this visit as it did the first time we visited it over a decade ago.

Lincoln Memorial

 The Lincoln Memorial on the Capitol Mall is an excellent place to begin any trip to Washington, DC. We visited it at sunset yesterday.

The Greek revival building faces onto the huge reflecting pool and the Washington Monument. We found it drained for restoration.

Undaunted we climbed the marble steps to the faux-temple with the rest of the crowds. Washington Mall was made to impress.

Inside the building we all gathered around the huge statue of the great man,

Lincoln gazed down on us like a god from Olympus.

Having paid our respects we all left through the huge entrance pillars back into the Mall as impressed as we were supposed to be.