Two-Week Break

Well, we now are at the end of Sean's break between his Summer and Fall semesters. The past two weeks have been fantastic! We've had a very relaxing time, but have also done a lot of fun sight-seeing around our area. To start off Sean's break,
we went to historic Dupont Circle (click picture to the left to see the gallery). It's an older area of DC, with beautiful buildings and cool shops and restaurants. There are also a large number of foreign embassies in Dupont Circle. It was a fun afternoon of exploring!

Next, we went to Arlington Cemetery (click picture below for gallery). It was a cool day, so we were very comfortable as we toured the graves of the Kennedys, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We were impressed to see that Arlington is
preserved as an especially sacred sight despite all the tourists. Everyone was sombre and respectful. We won't soon forget our experience there.

This past week, we spent half a day sight-seeing on Capitol Hill. We ate lunch in the area, then went to see the Capitol Building, the Jefferson Building/Library of Congress, and the DC Botanical Gardens (click picture below to see gallery). All three of these sights were amazing, and so very
different. We decided not to go inside the Capitol Building because of the long tour lines, but wanted to at least see the outside. It's a very dignified building. The Jefferson Building, which also holds the Library of Congress, was gorgeous with very colorful and ornate architecture. There are also some museum exhibits there and Jefferson's personal library as well. The Botanical Gardens were refreshing and peaceful, and had benches and tables to relax at throughout the inside and outside gardens. It was a great place for Sean to practice his photography. We had a very full day, but well worth the effort.