Washington, DC (USA)

Folks at work had been telling me about all the free and interesting things there are to do in Washington, DC, during the holidays. One thing I've always wanted to see was the National Christmas Tree. So, after finishing my day at the office, I headed over to the Metro and took the Orange line to Federal Triangle. When I got out of the Station I found myself inside of a maze within the Ronald Reagan office complex - made it out onto Constitution Avenue and followed the crowds down to the Elipse. The tree (unfortunately) was a new one - much smaller than the one I've seen on previous (non-Christmas time) visits. I guess there was a major storm this year that required a replacement... The decorations were very pretty - and there were short trees from each state circled around the main one. I heard some interesting comments about those (like "who the hell cares about Nebraska?") - aren't we Americans just so polite? After getting a glimpse of the White House, I walked back across the Mall to L'Enfant Plaza - along the way seeing an intriguing museum in the window of the Department of Energy building... I took the Metro back to my car and, as I exited the garage, it started to pour. It was only then that I realized I didn't have my unbrella today (I'm so happy I walked quickly tonight!)... Picked up some dinner (to go) from New China Taste next to the Huntington Station (mmm...).