Washington, Montpelier and Monticello

Jeannie and Sophie, James' mum and niece have been with us for about 10 days now. We have been enjoying some beautiful autumn days here and the colours of the leaves in the trees are just amazing. Here are some photos that show you some of this colour and how we have been spending our time.



Pia and Ella have been learning how to ride a bike without training wheels and they have both mastered this very well now. They love going for a ride around our local park, Lincoln Park, which looks just gorgeous at this time of year.

Ella is a blur as she runs around being a scary cheetah! Pia is a squirrel in the background.

On Jeannie and Sophie's first day in Washington (November 15) we took them to see the Lincoln Memorial. Here they are with Pia and Ella on the steps, with the Washington Monument behind them.


We then walked back past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is very sombre. So many names carved into the black granite structure, which is cut into the earth. We then caught the lift up to the top of the Washington Monument for some breathtaking views over Washington.

The Vietnam Memorial

Some more of the Autumn colour.

A squirrel enjoys a gluten-free cookie!

Views from the top of the Washington Monument.

On the weekend, we hired a car again and took Jeannie and Sophie on a quick trip through Virginia. On the Sunday, November 21, we visited the home of former president, James Madison. This is now the 5th Presidential home we have visited, as Pia noted! 6 really, if you count the White House. James Madison was the 4th US President (he followed Thomas Jefferson) from 1809-1817. Before becoming president he was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Montpelier is the home where he was raised, then lived in as a married man and retired in. It was here that he did much of his important research and writing - and he also died here. The house is in the process of being restored to the way it was when he lived in it. It is in a lovely spot - just at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which as our guide pointed out, was really the US frontier when Madison lived here with his family. Very little of the US had been explored past this point at that time.

Here are some views of his house, Montpelier and the garden temple, a place to keep cool (it was built over the ice house) and reflect.





The Madison family cemetery, with James Madison's grave in the background. His wife, Dolley, is buried behind him.


We then headed into Charlottesvile, which we had visited on our last trip to Virginia, to show Jeannie and Sophie the University of Virginia. The trees and the quadrangle looked so beautiful at this time of year (you can tell I am getting obsessed with Autumn leaves!)

Pia, Sophie and Ella at the University of Virginia

The next day, we went back to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. While Jeannie and Sophie toured the house, James was lucky to get the last ticket for the day to the 'Behind the Scenes' tour, where he got to go upstairs in the house and see the Dome Room. The girls and I walked the gardens (they were not going to put up with another tour!) but they did enjoy visiting the Children's Centre again.

Monticello

inside the dome room.

Today is Thanksgiving here and we have been invited over to our neighbours', John and Ben's, for Thanksgiving lunch. I'll make sure to post some photos of the feast!