D.C., Last Day

 We had to leave to catch our flight home at 2 pm, so we started out early to see as much as we could.  First, we went to the Library of Congress, the ultimate destination for book lovers!  The building is beautiful, one of the most impressive that we saw in D.C. 

 

Cameras weren't allowed in any of the rooms with book collections, but they were amazing to see.  Centuries old and incredibly rare!  One of my favorites was Thomas Jefferson's collection of rare books that he sold to the U.S. for the Library of Congress.   There was so much history to read through in the LoC galleries, but we couldn't take too much time there because I needed to finish going through the National Art Gallery!

 We planned to spend 2 more hours at the NAG, so we started in the rooms we ended with the day before.  I saw so many paintings I have loved for years.  I took pictures of many of them just to remind me that I stood only a foot away from them.  Wow!  Here are just a few of my favorites:

I love this painting by Monet of his wife and son. You can almost feel the sunshine and the light breeze.

Portrait of a Lady by Van der Weyden, painted in 1460, has such rich color and detail.  She's stunning!

I wasn't familiar with this painting, but it is wonderful!  Two Women at a Window by Spanish artist Murillo in the 1600s.

One of my favorites by Rembrandt is The Mill. 

One of the highlights of the NAG is Leonardo da Vinci's Ginevra de' Benci, painted in 1474.  It is the only da Vinci painting in Western Hemisphere, and is very well-protected.  In the NAG there were dozens of security guards, one assigned to every two rooms of paintings. This security agent was assigned to guard only the Ginevra, and he never moved from her side.  She had better security than the President!

  We were told that the painting had been cut down at some point, and originally she held some flowers in her hands.  An original artist's sketch is kept in London, Buckingham Palace (I think).

I decided to try my hand at painting, and I think I did pretty well for my first time!  Really, they had easels in a few of the rooms, and painters would work on learning the techniques of the masters and copying the famous paintings.

We had a few minutes before we needed to head back to the hotel to catch the shuttle, so Del told me there was one more exhibit he wanted me to see in the Hirshhorn modern art museum. He had seen it the day before and thought I would like it. We headed down the escalator, turned round the first corner, and there he was!  A giant, naked man! 

He's very realistic and very creepy!  Look at the veins and wrinkles in these feet!  The toenails grossed me out!  We stood over to the side to look at him because he's not sitting very modestly and had all of the family jewels exposed for the world to see.  Not a pretty sight, let me tell you!  I'm so glad we made time to see Big Man.  Thanks a lot, honey!!!

We never did get to go in the castle, but it looked great from the outside.  Maybe next time we visit!

 After a long flight and a long drive home from Boise, we were home!  The kids surprised us with this great "Welcome Home" sign.  

 

 

It was St. Patrick's Day, so Chris added this leprechaun and the girls made us some green foods for dinner, including a yummy green pound cake.  Visiting Washington, D.C. was wonderful, but coming home felt even better!