It was a perfectly clear sunny day and a small number of tourists were roaming round in front of the White House when we arrived. We were both surprised at how small the building was, but it was still pretty impressive to be stood outside. Alongside the policeman and his 'secret service' car were three or four quiet protesters with banners against the Iraq war and genocide. There was an entrance to the side letting in tourists to see one or two rooms, a small tour. Overhearing the security guard explain that a visitors permit must be requested months in advance and they are only shown a very limited area made us feel happy that we weren't missing out on too much. We walked along and made our way to the back of the White House, the side with the curved wall and helicopter pad. It was slightly busier and it appeared to have more security - we even spotted security on the roof staring down at us with his telescope! Behind us on a slight hill was the Washington Monument - the one that's shaped like an Egyptian obelisk. Surrounding it at the bottom were several American flags and benches filled with people having a rest in the heat. Although it is possible to go to the top of the Washington Monument, we had missed all the free daily tours. Along the grass in one direction was the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and in the other direction was Congress. We decided to head to the Lincoln Memorial first. We walked towards the mirror lake and arrived at one of the best war memorials we have seen on our travels. Surrounding the shallow fountain in the middle were pillars holding metal wreathes and place names. People were sat all around the fountain cooling their toes in the refreshing water. Walking towards the Lincoln Memorial we came to the Mirror Lake which was sadly greener than I had expected. The Memorial was at the top of the stairs from which Martin Luther King gave his 'I have a dream' speech. An engraving on a slab marked the spot from where he spoke. Inside the open building was a huge stone statue of Abraham Lincoln sat on a chair. The walls were covered in inscriptions and down below was a museum. Being at the top of the stairs, knowing that Martin Luther King made his speech from where we stood, to a crowd of never ending people and listening to black man explaining to his child that when he truly learns the significance of this place he will be grateful for visiting, was a truly an indescribable moment. As we headed towards Congress we passed a Korean war memorial. Stood in a V-shape were several silver army life size figurines on patrol. Beside lay several fresh flower wreaths from various countries and also a few statements etched into walls and on the floor. The walk to congress from the other side seem very long in the mid-afternoon heat. Si sought shade and I bench hopped to sooth my tight swollen feet. The Congress building was pretty awesome. Like all the famous buildings we had so far visited, it was white. By the time we got to the building we felt sweaty, dirty and hungry. My feet were painful also. After appreciating the architecture we made our way back to the hostel on the tube for shower and food. That evening we treated our bottoms to a large comfy corner sofa and watched a film before bed. Despite seeing most of the main buildings in Washington DC on our first day, we still had plenty to do. We began our second day in the Library of Congress. It is the largest library in the world and has around 32 millions books on its catalogue (apparently filling around 750 miles of shelves). The place was unlike any other library we had set foot in, as it was decorated full of painting and statues. There was a copy of the Gutenberg Bible on display which was pretty special as there are only four perfect copies that exist. We could look down upon the reading room through a sound proof glass but we restricted from taking photos. It was so grand and full of dark wooden desks set circular around the librarian - http://www.nikonians.org/html/resources/reference_library/pix/library_of_congress_reading.jpg Across the road we made our way back to Congress. We could visit the Capitol Visitors Centre but the security check were strict and allowed no liquids inside. Sadly I had perfume that Elly had passed onto me in New York, and, as I hadn't had perfume in a long time so was immediately attached. As cameras and security men were watching people hide liquids then throwing them away, I wouldn't to go in. Simon had a brief look inside and said it was massive. We walked round to the front before heading to numerous buildings along the side in between where we stood and the Washington Monument. Desperate for the toilet, we nipped into the art gallery. We had a brief look around but it wasn't our kind of art. We also popped into the Natural History museum which was amazing. There were huge models of animals hanging from ceilings and plenty of things to see and do for kids. The place was huge so we only had a brief look inside. It was around midday when we made our way to the National Gallery of Archives. Inside we queued up to see some of America's charters of freedom; the Declaration of American Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. We had to wait in line until security as only a small number were allowed into the viewing room. Security guards told us to take no pictures as the flash damages the print. The three books were huge and each page was full of faded hand written script completed with signatures. It was amazing to see the books and also to witness many Americans visiting books that held great importance to them. Our afternoon was spent in the Spy Museum. When we first entered we were pretty excited as we had to assign ourselves new names and lifestyles. We thought that the rest of the tour would consist of us trying to convince others of our identities yet were disappointed as it was not the case. The first part showed us some of the equipments and techniques spies use which was interesting. The second part was largely about spies in the war and showed gadgets from the 70s rather than modern ones. Although it was interesting, it was more of a war museum and we were slightly disappointed. There was a small section about spies who had been caught and the consequences which was good.