Touring the Capitol -- So You Don't Have To

This past weekend I was, of course, in D.C. (well, Maryland, whatever) to visit my favorite Allie. One of the main things we did on Saturday was metro into D.C. and tour the capitol. A few people mentioned they'd been there, but never inside, so with the help of my faithful tour guide and trusty camera, here is a picture tour! Sort of.


The start of our awesomeness involved playing MASH on the ride in. Allie looked at me and said, "What game should we play?" and I suggested MASH because that's clearly what 20-something year-olds would do.


I'm so a fan of this outcome. Also grateful I don't have to marry Edward Cullen. Granted, we only picked fictional people, so marrying any of them might pose a problem.


We found a capitol!


The entrance was underneath and through security. We went in and met my friends Chance and Jenny. Chance used to give tours of the capitol and was willing to give us one, too. It was might nicer because instead of a large group, there were four of us.


I saw this and thought of the Louvre. Everyone else was all, "Remember the part in that movie where he falls through the glass?" (was the movie National Treasure or The da Vinci Code? We were talking about both quite extensively).


This was me being the very center of Washington D.C.


The pillars are designed to look like stalks of corn.


They have little holes in them that are rumored to be bullet holes from the War of 1812, but since the British took the Capitol without firing a single shot, they're just iron deficiencies in the sandstone. I like the rumor, better, however, and choose to believe that instead.


This is the rotunda in the Senate wing.


From a different angle, the chandelier is rumored to be from a pirate ship or a brothel in Maryland. However, it actually came from a church on Capitol Hill before it was demolished. Again, I prefer to believe the rumors.


When we went into the room with the main dome of the Capitol, Chance told us we weren't allowed to look up until he told us to because we'd stop paying attention to him. He was very correct in that. The ceiling is gorgeous. Here is The Apotheosis of Washington.


Small detail (because I wanted to show off my zoom) of a scene called War. It depicts Freedom fending off tyranny and kingly power.


The entire dome. There is a roped off line on the floor (which no one seemed brave enough to walk through, so of course we walked through it and I didn't feel brave) where they put presidents' caskets for their viewings. This picture was taken right on that spot.


This is the ceiling in the Old Hall of the House or the National Statuary Hall. The House of Representatives met here from 1807-1857 and they have little markers on the floor where each desk was. Also, the room is a whispering room where you can talk in one spot and be heard in another clear across the room. I love designs like that.


That room was also filled with statues since each state is allowed to have two. Allie and I found Brigham Young. Utah's other statue is Filo T. Farnsworth (who invented TV), but we didn't find him. Allie and I had fun picking which statue person we would marry if we had to marry a statue in the room based solely on his marble representation. Great game.


Still in the same room, there is a clock of Clio, the Roman muse of history on the chariot of time. The clock is the wheel. Going out from 2 o'clock is Washington's head and it all stands on a globe with the symbols of the zodiac carved in it.


Chance's favorite room is the Hall of Columns. The capitals are tobacco leaves and this room has two statues of women, so the girls in the group were supportive of that.


The girls all agreed that this door was the best thing ever. Most of the words were broken up in odd places for spacing. Jenny said it reflected her personality. She gets so excited to do something, she forgets to plan the details. I could relate very well.


I loved the hallway in the Brumedi Corridors the best. The walls were beautifully painted.


Unfortunately the hall was only for members and staff, but since they don't define what you had to be a member of....


A gavel at the ready. I really wanted to go in this room, but I'm not actually brave enough to ignore Do Not Enter signs.


After the tour, we split up for awhile so Jenny and Chance could get lunch and Allie and I could protest on Capitol Hill (or something -- I mostly took pictures). Chance showed us where he worked so we could find him again.


Chance, our fabulous guide, and Jenny in front of the Capitol. The lady to the left of Jenny kind of flipped out and went all crazy in the elevator. I was a little frightened for her child. What a fun city.

And that is everything possible to see in the capitol...aside from the things I didn't take pictures of (o:

(Also, Melanie tells me she can't see pictures I post from Flickr, so they're all on Smugmug -- oh, and more! -- for her)