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So today is our last proper day in Washington, we fly home tomorrow. We had some breakfast and headed out just before 10. We had decided to start at the Licoln memorial as there were a few other memorials nerby that we hadn't seen the other day. We caught the free circulator bus to Union Station and then changed to the circulator to Lincoln Memorial. We got off a stop earlier to have a look at the Martin Luther King Jnr memorial a 30 foot statue emerging from the mountains of dispair, represented as two large boulders in the background. Many of the words from his speeches and sermons are etched into the surrounding inscription wall, with the words "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope" taken from his 'I have a dream' speech carved directly into the side of the statue itself.

We moved on visiting the Korean war memorial which is represented by a series of statues of soldiers wading through undergrowth. The memorial is really poingnant with each of the statues looking out in a different direction just as the troops would move in a platoon. The statues are surrounded by a polished mural wall with pictures taken from the archives of other forces that suppored the Korean war including Army, Navy Marine corps and Air Force etched into the surface. We continued on past the Lincoln memorial but not stopping this time and instead continuing to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. This consisted of the names of over 58000 men that gave their lives engraved in the memorial wall. The wall is sunk into the ground rather than have a raised profile, so it's difficult to see until you reach it. 

We continued on past the reflecting pool that sits between the Lincoln memorial and the Washington monument, and stopping at the WWII memorial. Dani had a paddle in the water and we sat for a while before moving on. Our last two stops of the day were at the American museum where we grabbed some lunch but didn't stay long and then at the African American museum which had some really interesting exhibits. Feeling a bit tired we headed back to the hotel for a break as we were planning to head out later for photos. We ended up going to a place between the hotel and the National Mall for tea called Matchbox - we went to another Matchbox restaurant last time we were in Washington, part of the same chain. Tea was very nice with us both having pizza and sharing cheescake for dessert. We left the restaurant and headed down to the mall to take few night photos of the Capitol Building and the Monument. Got back to the hotel quite late and packed up ready for tomorrow.  

We set alarms to get up a bit earlier, not entirely successful but we were out just after 9. We headed the metro having decided it was probably the quickest way to get to the zoo, although we had seen the free bus also goes that way. We ended up waiting nearly 15 minutes for the train to arrive so it took a bit longer to get there than we had thought. We eventually arrived just before 10 and headed straight down the Asia Trail for the Pandas. Last time we were here, we had been unable to see the giant pandas so this time we wanted to give ourselves the best chance. We were in luck, having checked the live feed screens that show the 'Panda Cam' we saw one of the pandas outside playing with a ring. He was right at the back of the enclosure initially with his back to us, but he did get up and move around a litle bit before heading back inside. We decided to head on and see some of the other animals.

We started by revisting the earlier parts of the Asia Trail that we had skipped enroute to the pandas. The red panda was no where to be seen and the clouded leopard was asleep at the back of its enclosure, we moved on. We saw the American Bison, and then had a bit of a break on some benches, stopping for some water and cookies. From there we went to look at the Elephants and visited the small mammal house where they had a range of species including a sloth, some tamarin, and naked mole rats amongst others. We headed back up the Asia trail as it was getting on for feeding time for the Pandas so we thought we might get a better luck. When we arrived we found one of the pandas slobbing about on a hammock chewing bamboo, it was really close, which was awesome. Feeding time consisted of a frozen fruit so we stood for a while watching the Panda scoff its way through it and then walked along to the other part of the enclosure to see the other panda that was also out - amazing!

We stopped by the Panda Plaza for some lunch sharing pizza and crisps and then cracked on to see some more of the animals. We went in the Great Ape House to see some of the Apes and then walked on to the big cats. The tigers weren't out unfortunately and the male lion was asleep but the female lions were a bit more alert and moving around so we stood and watched them for a while before moving on. We headed back up the hill through the American trail looking at the sea lion and stopping for an ice-cream. Continuing on, we saw the American Eagle, and the river otters, but that was about it as we werent able to see the bear, the wolf or the beaver. Before heading out, we decided to revisit the bison, Dani had spotted a small yellow bird when we there earlier in the day, but I hadn't managed to get a photo, we didn't really expect to see it again, but suprisingly it was there, I guess they must be nesting nearby. There was a mention on some signs about the zoo within the zoo as birds, insects and other animals that aren't part of the zoo are attracted to the site. We did infact see a range of butterflies, birds and chipmunks on our way around. 

Feeling a bit tired we decided to call it a day a bit after 5. Despite not seeing everything, it really is a great day out and incredibly, free to visit, the enclosures are well designed and I would highly recommend a visit if you get a chance. We decided to catch the free bus back which went from just outside the metro station about a 10 minute walk from the zoo entrance. We had a bit of a break at the hotel, before heading to Nandos for tea, it's our last day tomorrow! 

We had tickets booked for 12 for the Capitol Building today, but we were suppposed to arrive an hour before so had to set off a little earlier. Dani had spotted some information online about a "Circulator" bus, so we decided to give it a whirl. Turns out the bus is free and there are four routes that visit all of the main sites around Washington DC including the zoo. Happily the bus runs every 10 minutes, and so cut the walk down significantly. We joined the queue to get into the Capitol; the rules these days are quite strict - no food, no liquid including water, so we couldn't take anything in with us apart from some empty bottles that we figured we might be able to fill at a water fountain. Inside, we joined another queue to get our tickets for the 12 o'clock tour and then had a little wait before it started. The tour took about 40 minutes visiting the Crypt, the Rotunda and the National Statuary Hall. There are lots of statues dotted about as each of the states gets to submit two each to display. The guide, Elizabeth, was very knowledgeable, although we did feel that there was less information than last time we were here, as we remembered something about the whispering gallery. We wondered if it was much less busy last time - there seemed to be about 6 concurrent groups this time.

Because we were unable to take any food or drink in with us, we ended up visiting the Capitol Building cafe for some lunch. We shared a slice of pizza, caesar salad and drink and then had some cake. It was nice and not too expensive. We dropped by the shop and bought a new badge and a Christmas decoration that was made from the old marble steps of the Capitol Building. We then headed on to the Library of Congress, opting for a self guided tour. We looked at the Gutenberg Bible and some old maps that were gifted by Germany. We also saw some objects belonging to the native people that pre-dated the formation of the USA. We also went up to the gallery overlooking the reading room a couple of times - it's a pretty epic room and features in the film National Treasure. Leaving the library, we walked around the front of the Capitol Building and down the National Mall towards the Natural History Museum.

There was a queue to get in the Natural History Museum as again you have to go through security. Once in we had a wander about. It does seem to have changed a lot over the last few years. We had a look at the special narwal exhibit and we also walked through the mammals section and saw the collection of dinosaurs. It was all pretty interesting but time was marching on again and just coming up to 6pm. We decided to get the free bus back, but it did involve walking down the National Mall to get to the stop. We went to Capital Burger for tea which was a few minutes from the hotel. Back at the hotel, we had a chance to look at some of the photos and update the journal before calling it a night. We've decided to go to the zoo tomorrow!

We had the National Archives booked for 12 today so set off a bit later, having some of the fruit and juice for breakfast that we had bought from Safeway. We also took sandwiches that we had bought from Safeway to have a bit later for lunch. We arrived at the archives about 10 minutes early as advised, to allow time to get through security. Once in, there seemed to be much more to see than the last time we were here. Downstairs there was a large exhibition covering the different amendments that had been made to the constitution over time, with a special exhibit, 'Rightfully Hers', that looked at the struggle for the women's vote which was eventually introduced under the 19th amendment. They also had an original copy of the 1297 Magna Carta, whose premise to guarantee proceedings according to the "law of the land" was the foundation for the 5th amendment to the Constitution: "no person shall . . . be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". We did spend quite a long time walking through; there was a huge amount of information, historic documents, letters and photographs to look at and it was all very interesting.

Moving on, we headed for the public vaults, starting with the Rotunda which houses the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Constitution. There was a lot of information to provide context to each of the documents including some details about the men that signed the Declaration of Independence, whose signatures although faded can still be made out at the bottom. There was a section where you could select videos from WWII that form part of the military archives that are also stored here.

Eventually leaving the archive, we headed across the road to the sculpture garden, sitting around the fountain to eat our sandwiches by way of lunch. Our next stop was the Air and Space museum; we'd really liked this one last time, so thought it was due a revisit. There was a bit of a queue, to get inside, through security but it moved pretty quickly and then we were in. Seemingly the museum is undergoing a large refurbishment meaning approximately half of it was closed to the public which was a shame, but we carried on to see what there was. Although there were some familiar exhibits some of the others seemed to have changed, I think there were a number of different planes hanging from the ceiling this time, but can't remember for sure. We walked through the exhibits on early flight looking at the Wright brothers' original 'Flyer' plane - the first successful powered airplane. We also spent time walking around the space exhibits including lunar modules and space suits including the one worn by Neil Armstrong.

We were feeling pretty tired by the time we came out of the Air and Space museum, and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing we decided to walk on to the Lincoln Memorial; it was still very warm and sunny, and we thought it was as good a time to go as any. It's just under 2 miles and took about 40 minutes to walk across, stopping a couple of times en route for photos. There is a large reflecting pool between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial but given the time of day, the memorial was in shadow, however once we'd climbed the steps, we were able to appreciate the monument reflecting brilliantly in the sun. We stayed for a little while, taking some photos and having a rest before heading back towards the National Mall past the WWII memorial. We were careful not to walk next to the water as last time we were here we were bitten a lot and we're only just getting rid of the bites we picked up in Philadelphia.

Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped in the sculpture park again as they were hosting a Jazz festival; we listened to the music for a little while before heading back. We went to a nearby Italian restaurant for a late tea called Tortino. It was very nice, we both ate from the specials menu before finally calling it a night - Capital Building tomorrow!   

Our train wasn't until 11.20 so we didn't have to get up too early. We packed up and got the metro just after 10, arriving at the station in plenty of time. We decided to grab something to eat at the Pret in the station, sharing a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and some fruit (it's been a while). The train journey itself was pretty quick taking just a couple of hours and arriving about 10 minutes early in Washington. We caught the metro to the hotel, we had to pay $2 each for a travel card and then calculate the cost of the journey on the journey planner and add that to the cards costing $4 in total each. 

We found the hotel easily and managed to check-in straight away. Had a a bit of a break in the hotel to cool down before heading back out to explore. We walked down to the National Mall which is about a 20 minute walk away. It was really hot and humid, so we tried to stick to the shade. We walked along the mall to the Washington monument which isn't covered in scaffolding this time, but is still closed for restoration, and then continued on towards the White House. It felt a bit further than I remembered and you now have to stand much further back than the last time we were here. We stayed for a while to take some photos and then sat on a bench back along the path, taking pictures of some the birds on the Elipse area behind us. 

Headed back towards the hotel just before 7, grabbing some tea on the way back and then going to a nearby Safeway to get a few bits before finally making backaround 9. Put some washing on in the hotel laundry which happens to be a few doors down from the room. Happy days!