I was in Washington, D.C. over the weekend to celebrate my friend's wedding and I got the chance to check out a couple of amazing museums I've been wanting to check out for some time- The International Spy Museum and Newseum.
Michael, me, Debbie and Carson on the Pennsylvania Avenue Terrace at the Newseum.
Michael and I along with my friend Debbie and her amazing husband Carson visited The Newseum on Saturday. The Newseum was fabulous. If you're a news junkie or a history lover like me, then Newseum is perfect for you too. The seven-layer museum is an amazing tribute to the nation's fourth estate and, according to the museum, it's the world's most interactive. Housed within the gorgeous $450 million building, five centuries of news history meets with modern, up-to-the-second news updates. It has everything from Howard Stern and The Simpsons, Tim Russert's office and historical front pages from around the world. The video tribute to 9/11 left us all in tears and I applauded the San Francisco Chronicle front page treatment from that day: "Bastards". There was also the much mangled news antenna that was left among the ruins. My favorite exhibit was history of news where you can see an extensive timeline of the past 500 years of history in print. It had everything from the coronation of James 1 to the election of Barack Obama.
It's also where I learned that 20% of the people can name all five Simpson, but only only 3% can name all five freedoms in the First Amendments. I was also blown away that most people in the world live in a country where they can't enjoy freedom of the press (hint, hint).
Among the 14 major galleries and 15 theaters you can stand in the shadows of the original Berlin Wall and it's watch tower, see the ash-covered notebooks and camera from a fallen news photographer during 9/11, see iconic news photographs, radio and television images. If you're daring enough, you can play new anchor in an interactive newsroom. Two of the museum's special exhibits include top news stories of the FBI's first century with amazing reproductions of the Unibomber's cabin and the DC sniper's car as well as the hip-shaking Elvis exhibit.
Yes, it's one of the few museum in Washington you need to pay for, but it's worth every penny. I could go on and on about all the amazing sites at Newseum, but trust me when I tell you this is one museum you shouldn't miss.
After the museum, we cooled off from the humid day at The Dubliner for some authentic Irish fares.
Michael and I really enjoyed ourselves at the wedding. The lavish affair was held at charming The Hotel Monaco.
And here's a lovely statue of my favorite red-headed couple. If you look closer, she's wearing a New York Yankee cap and he's wearing a Tampa Bay Devil Rays cap. It's so adorable. Congratulations Lauren and Anthony! You make a beautiful couple and I hope you're enjoying your honeymoon.
Hope everyone had a good start to the new week. Did you do anything fun over the weekend?
