Sunday 24th December 2006

We decided to do a trolley tour of the city today as we thought this was the best way to see all the sights that we wanted to see and get some included history as well. We started off near the White House and only made it as far as the National Archives Museum before exiting the trolley to see the original copy of the Declaration of Independance, the Bill of Rights and the American Constitution. They were absolutely amazing. Very historic.

We then boarded the bus again and we drove through the city to Arlington Cemetery where we got off the bus and did a tour through the cemetery. We saw the JFK Memorial Gravesite which included his wife Jackie and two of their children who passed away quite young. We are not sure where his son, JFK Jr. is buried but he is not in the cemetery. We also saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers which was very humbling and then finished our tour at the Lee Homestead which used to belong to General Lee. It offers great views of the city and you can also see the pentagon from the gardens including the part that has been rebuilt since the September 11 attacks. It is a slightly different colour to the rest of the building but doesnt come up that well in photographs. You also have a great view of the cemetery as well.

After leaving the Cemetery we drove back through the city to a stop outside the Hard Rock Cafe where we ended up having dinner for the evening and then walking back to our hostel.