Obviously I have no photos because you are not allowed to have a camera. And your cell phone must be turned off. And you're only allowed to take keys, phone, and wallet in with you. I felt decidedly strange heading off on the Metro without a bag - no MP3 player, no stitching, no reading material. They also have a dress code for the tour - no jeans, no flip flops, no t-shirts, etc. Of course the escalator at Metro Center was not functioning so there's the mad dash up 4 or 5 flights of stairs. (No editorial forthcoming on the Metro. Let's save that for another day.)
Stand in the sun and wait to go through the first line of security. Next line is in the shade. The metal detectors are in a trailer. That's it. And then you're in and free to wander the tour at your own speed through the public spaces. East Room undergoing either a deep cleaning or a small renovation. Blue Room is actually too blue. Which DH and I both thought was funny. I think it's the French style furnishings that we just don't appreciate. The Green Room is yummy. Love the silk on the walls. The Red Room got DH singing Courage from the Wizard of Oz. Don't ask. Love the State Dining Room. Etc. Etc. Etc.
It was interesting to me that I felt like this place had no soul. I've been in many buildings all over the world due to DH's architecture fetish. And this is the first famous building I've been in that didn't speak to me. I'm still trying to figure out why.
The Visitors' Center for the White House does have some needlework kits of a highly overpriced variety. The biggest one is a depiction of the White House kitted with Aida and DMC that cost $110. Overpriced at half that. I obviously did not buy one.
Anyway the White House Historical Association does have a nice website with lots of info and the pretty pictures that I couldn't take.
1 comment:
“no soul”? Isn‘t it funny how the same place can evoke such completely different feelings in people. I have been to the White House several times (public and private tours) and I never tired of being in the presents of history. I wish I lived closer so I could visit DC more often. I will say that Christmas is the prettiest time at the WH, but I always get goose bumbs just thinking about the important people who have walked the very floors I am walking. “No soul”...the house has the souls of hundreds of people who have been there, lived there, or just passed through.
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