The District of Columbia (Washington DC) is located between Virginia and Maryland on the Potomac River. DC history began way back in 1790 when the US congress directed selection of the a new capital site and once the site had been selected and established the seat of government was transferred from Philadelphia to DC on 01 Dec 1800 and the President at the time (John Adams) became the first resident in the White House.
The city was actually planned and partly laid out by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer. In 1814 (during the war of 1812) the British forces actually burned the capital, including the White House.
There is an abundance of things to do and see in DC. The embassies and legations of many foreign countries are located on "Embassy Row" (Massachusetts Ave) and the Australian Embassy is at 1600 Massachusetts Ave. There are numerous parks and gardens are the district but not all are the safest to walk around at night. The Mall area would be the most popular, stretching some 2 miles from the US Capital Building to the Lincoln Memorial. Spread along the Mall is the Smithsonian Museums, the Washington Monument, Reflection Pond, World War 2 Memorial and the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. The tidal basin is not far from the Mall and the Japanese Cherry trees, which bloom in April line the basin. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is on the other side of the Tidal Basin. Of course at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave is the White House. It's not an overly big house when compared with some of the houses for the heads of state in other countries but it's extremely impressive. Other points of interest include: Library of Congress, National Achieves, the Watergate apartment complex, the National Cathedral, Ford's Theatre (where Lincoln was shot) and the FBI building.
New Stuff