James in Philadelphia

The President's House

Followers of the blog will have already noticed that our trip to the United States has featured a number of key sites - or shrines - of American civic culture. With this in mind, and having visited Boston (with its 'Freedom Trail') Plymouth (with its Pilgrim's 'rock') the National Archives in Washington (where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution are housed in a temple-like structure - surely THE American tabernacle)I ventured to Philadelphia for a day. I took the train from Union Station and enjoyed a pleasant trip through the snow dappled countryside.

Anyhow - my focus for the day trip was Independence National Historic Park in the centre of town, a city square almost totally encased in American history - with the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall at one end, the National Constitution Center at the other, and Ben Franklin's grave on the side. Many of the guidebooks refer to this square as America's 'most historic mile' and although this is a frequently professed claim in this country (we have seen similar boasts -not without some justification - in Boston, New York, Washington DC, Colonial Williamsburg and so on) nevertheless here the claim is made with a greater degree of confidence. In succession I visited the Liberty Bell (described as an "international symbol of freedom"), Independence Hall (where the Declaration was adopted and later signed), Congress Hall - where the first Congress of the US met before moving to Washington DC over a decade later), the first Senate, and many other sites of note, including the Second Bank of the US - in classic Greek Revival style)Carpenters Hall, where the first Continental Congress met, and also the tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution. Independence Hall is world heritage listed but unfortunately was covered in scaffolding on the day I was there. Scaffolding, surely, is the tourist's curse. We were afflicted with it in Texas and it followed me all the way here.

Independence Hall, as it usually appears without the scaffolding!

The room where the Declaration of Independence was debated and adopted.

The first Senate.

However before getting to the part of the square that commemorates the deliberations over the declaration of independence, the framing of the constitution and the early deliberations of the US congress, visitors are now encouraged/directed to walk through a brand new (opened only 2 days before my arrival) but rather curious and odd monument to American political history - the President's House. This was the residence where both George Washington and John Adams lived in the early days of the Republic (1790-1800), before Washington became the national capital in 1800. It was here, for example, that Washington and Adams set the course for the office of the presidency: making treaties, receiving ambassadors, and setting out the functions of the executive branch. "I walk on untried ground" Washington said, "and everything I do sets a precedent for those who follow". What survives of this once grand house is only the outline and a few archaeological diggings, so some enterprising museum designers have tried to give a sense of the shape of the house and its original dimensions - see the photos. To say that this is a 'contested' public space would be something of an understatement: that the memorial has opened is testament to the agitation of many, particularly a group called the 'Avenging our Ancestors Coalition', who believed that for too many years tourists to Philadelphia were receiving a warped sense of history by visiting only the Liberty Bell museum. Indeed, they protested, in doing so tourists were walking over the remains of a house where African slaves had served the first President of the United States (Adams did not use slaves). The original house was torn down long ago, and the site was once the location of a public toilet - itself seemingly an anomaly in a country that is so reverential to its early history). Anyway, now they have erected this rather peculiar monument. The New York Times reviewed it on the Wednesday before I got there and gave it a complete caning, mocking (unfairly in my view) its attempt to say that 'History is messy and complex' and arguing that visitors left the site with little or no sense of what the President's House was meant to be about. Was it to mark the origins of executive government, or to commemorate the slaves who worked there?

The President's House- late afternoon

From my perspective however there seemed to be no ambivalence in the main message of the memorial: the legacy of slavery. Clearly what is happening here is that visitors to Independence Square are being directed to walk through this monument before visiting the Liberty Bell museum - and in so doing, are being confronted more directly with the central paradox at the heart of the American experience: that is how a nation dedicated to freedom and equality could maintain the institution of slavery. At the President's House, the purpose is very clear: to highlight the fact that George Washington had slaves here: in fact, that he used to rotate the slaves he brought from Mt Vernon every six months so as not to contravene Philadelphia state law, which held that slaves were to be set free after 6 months service. (Philadelphia of course was much more liberal than many of the other states on this issue). So there are headlines in the museum exhibit which point to the 'deceit of President Washington' and visitors are asked to remember that they 'walk not only on the ground of the founding fathers but also the enslaved'. It is the first time I have seen Washington criticised in so public a space.

There is something almost quite eerie about the memorial - what is there is only the shell of the house, and DVDs play short movies that are mostly about the experience of the slaves who lived, worked and suffered there. Indeed, by directing the tourist to walk through this site before reaching the Liberty Bell, it is as if the visitor is being asked to go take a good dose of absolution before getting on with the task of social self-worship. This is not to say that the Liberty Bell museum is only dedicated to ringing the sonorous chimes of American nationalism - much is made of the huge crack in the bell - it was in the 1830s that anti-slavery grounds actually named it the "Liberty Bell" - and the official National Park guide to the site notes that 'its crack is a reminder that liberty is imperfect, hopefully evolving to include those who have been denied full participation in a democratic society'. But there is no doubt that this museum is more upbeat than the President's House - by the end of the walk through its exhibits one is greeted with the images of Nelson Mandela and others - thus sealing the Bell's appeal as an 'international symbol of freedom'. At one point a sign in the exhibit talks of it being 'America's gift to liberty around the world'. And I think this was the key message that comes through both here and at the National Constitution Center - where visitors are shepherded into a Shakespearean style Globe theatre for a multi-media extravaganza on the meaning of 'We the people'. That show begins with the Revolutionary war (lots of Union Jacks being sizzled) and leads all the way to the fall of the Berlin Wall. So the message is the same - these sites are not only of unique American value - but also of global significance.

The Liberty Bell

The Second Bank of the United States - now a portrait gallery.

I was also intrigued by the tomb of the Unknown soldier of the American revolution - I had not heard about this before - no doubt because it is overshadowed by the more famous 'unknowns' at Arlington Cemetery. But sure enough, just moments away from Independence Square, there he lies, with an eternal flame in front and a statue of Washington overhead. Independence Square was the site of a mass grave of American soldiers from the revolutionary war, and it is not clear when this tomb was establised. But very interesting nevertheless: 'beneath this stone rests an American soldier who gave his life for your liberty' it says (though I could barely read this through the snow). Still, yet another powerful message.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolutionary War.

Before heading for the train station I took a short walk to Elfreth's Alley - apparently the oldest residential street in America. People still live there - and the place looks like a transplant from 18th century London - replete with Union Jack fluttering in the breeze. I'll let the photos tell the story here.









Anyway, that was enough for one day - jam packed with the founding fathers.

Our last few weeks in Washington DC

Our last few weeks in Washington have been flying by. Here is some of what we have been doing in the lead up to Christmas and our departure.

In the last few days that Jeannie and Sophie were here we were given a guided tour of the Capitol by a staffer to Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz from Florida. Among other things, we saw the amazing interior of the dome and the frieze around it, which tells the story of American history, the crypt room, where George Washington was supposed to have been buried (he did not want this however and was instead buried at his home in Mount Vernon. We also saw the room which first housed the US Supreme Court, before it was moved to the building across the road.











We also paid another visit to the wonderful Botanical Gardens for their annual Christmas display. There is a display of working miniature trains, which weave their way around a giant Christmas tree as well as sculptures of famous buildings from Washington and around the world. All the building are made from various parts of nature, such as acorns, bark, leaves, seed pods, twigs etc. It is amazing to see the work that has gone into them!


The train encircles the Christmas tree, which is flanked by models of miniature Capitol hill houses.


The girls loved the model of the Capitol. The detail in it was fantastic.

The Smithsonian Castle

Here comes Thomas!

In the gardens outside we were lucky enough to see a blue jay and a cardinal, which is pictured below. They are so beautiful and have become my favourite bird while we are here.


James continued his tour of Presidential houses by going to see President Lincoln's summer house, in Northern Washington DC.


The girls met their friend Elena and Aidan at Lincoln Park for a live nativity scene, complete with hot chocolate, candy canes and carols. They enjoyed patting and feeding the animals, which included a baby llama, only 3 weeks old! (I'm not sure if llamas were actually present at the birth of Jesus or not, but it was very cute!)


Pia and Ella finished off their art class and ballet class. Ella's ballet class gave a little performance on their last day. Here she is with some of her classmates and teacher, Miss Heidi.






And here, Pia, shows some of her creations from her Ceramic Safari class.

We have also been to the Kennedy Center to see The Washington Chorus give a performance of Christmas songs and carols. The Kennedy Center is the official memorial to President Kennedy and is beautiful inside. It is set on the banks of the Potomac River. We were amazed to see when we went onto the terrace that the river is currently frozen. It doesn't seem that long ago the girls and I were cruising on it when Mum and Dad were here.





On Sunday, Santa paid a visit to Eastern Market and the girls had their photo
taken with him and wrote down their Christmas wishes for him.




Earlier that day we went to church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (it's quite a mouthful!). This is an amazing church, one of the 10 largest in the world. Apparently all the Catholic parishes in the United States contributed to its building fund. The mosaics inside it are beautiful and there are many shrines to Mary, as you would expect, given the name of the Basilica.


James has also been on a day trip to Philadelphia and just today took the girls for their third visit to Mount Vernon, which you may have read about before here. James is planning to do an update on those 2 visits soon, so stay tuned for his post!

Winter Wonderland!

Well, winter has not even officially started here yet, but over the past few weeks we have been experiencing some freezing weather conditions! Most days recently have not gotten past 0 degrees as the maximum. We have had a light dusting of snow on a few occasions but it pretty much melted straight away. But today we were treated to a real winter wonderland! It started snowing as we were walking to the metro and it very quickly became heavier and heavier. The snow continued for most of the day until there was a good 2-3 inches on the ground. It was so beautiful to see and Pia and Ella loved walking around in the snow and trying to make and throw snowballs.



It would have only been snowing for a bit over half and hour when this photo was taken. We were on our way to the National Gallery of Art to meet some friends.

A different view of the Capitol!

The National Mall - you can just make out the Washington Monument on the right.

On our way back home, we stopped at Lincoln Park, our usual playground. Pia and Ella were so excited to see it covered in snow.

Our street in the snow.

our house

our garden

Back at Lincoln Park later this afternoon, Pia and Ella get their snowballs ready


and here is a video of a snowball fight in action and James' great shot!

So this was our fun day in the snow. It has stopped snowing now but they are predicting more snow for the weekend so there may be more fun to come yet!

New York... the finale

You have probably read about New York Part 1 and New York Part 2, so here is our final day.

Wednesday, December 1

Today it absolutely poured rain all day. We were lucky that up until now we had had quite nice weather, cold but at least sunny. But today was wet and dark. So we headed of to MoMA (the Museum of Modern Art). I think about half of New York must have had the same idea because it was very crowded!

This museum was also huge and so we concentrated on just a few sections. They had a great kids highlights program again, so James and I took the girls to see some of the works of art on that. First we saw a painting by Jackson Pollock (Number 31, 1950) and then a metal sculpture by David Smith called Australia!

Another activity was centred around the Gallery of Works of American artist, Mark Rothco. First, the girls had to write down words that a painting made them think of onto little cards. Then they arranged them into a free-form poem. Very artistic!


Here is the painting Pia chose to describe and her poem is:
Desert sand
Fur free
Colourful happy
Hot fire
Dead grass blur
Bright

Ella chose the painting entitled No.10, 1950.

No. 10, 1950

Her poem is:
yellow
white
blue
beach

Pia then chose a much darker painting, also by Rothko.

Her poem for this one is:
Stormy rain
icy water
sad gloomy
cold mud
frozen winter
cloudy fog

Both Pia and Ella loved this poem making activity and it kept them entertained for much longer than I was expecting. So perhaps we have a few poets in the making!!

James and I also enjoyed seeing some of the panels from Monet's Water Lillies series and Van Gogh's Starry Night.

After all that creativity we headed home for a rest before the evening's activities. James, Sophie and Jeannie headed off to the Lincoln Centre again, this time to see the opera, La Boheme. They thought it was beautiful, despite there being some technical difficulties which meant it did not finish until close to midnight.

Pia, Ella and I went to see something a little more recent, but spectacular in its own way. We went to Radio City Hall at the Rockefeller Centre to see the Rockettes in the annual Christmas Spectaclar. The girls and I really enjoyed the lights, Christmas songs and nativity scene, as well as the Rockettes with their amazing legs! The girls also loved the appearance by Santa, who at one point transformed himself into a stage full of Santas! Here are some pictures from the show.













On our way home we walked past the Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree, which looked beautiful all lit up.


So that was our 6 days in New York. The next day we sadly packed our bags and headed back to Washington (even though we do love DC we were sad to leave the vibrancy of New York). Jeannie and Sophie had a few more days with us before they flew home.