By: Ismael J. Castillo
For history buffs, the city of Philadelphia and Washington D.C., our Day 3 destinations, were the places to be. If New York City provided us a glimpse of a modern facade, Philadelphia, on the other hand, offered us a walk in U.S history.
Ralph gave us a historical synopsis surrounding the city of Philadelphia such as: the renowned cracked Liberty Bell and how three attempts of recasting it failed to repair the fracture; Independence Hall where the Declaration of the American Independence was adopted, the constitution of the United States debated, drafted and signed; and the United States of America Mint building where the US coins rolled out for circulations.
From the razzle-dazzle of New York City to the staid Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., our adventure continued. In Capitol Hill we readily took a vantage spot for shooting souvenir photo with either the Capitol building or the Obelisk (Washington Monument) in the background. One of our souvenir haunts, the White House, was so restricted to the public no one could even get nearer it. We simply peered through the steel fence and glanced at the Executive House from the distance; and wondered what President Obama was up to at the very moment.
Have you ever wondered how big the Hope Diamond is? It would have been an intriguing puzzle for most of us had we not seen the actual huge rock at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History.
Encased in a bullet-proofed glass in its entire enigmatic and flawless splendor, the 45.52-carat rare steel blue diamond, mounted amidst 16 white diamonds, hung magnificently in a platinum chain with 46 more diamonds. How much does Hope Diamond cost? Priceless, to borrow MasterCard’s catchphrase.
There were so many more interesting places to visit in the US Capital but due to limited time, we simply made brief stops (for another rounds of photo-ops again) at the imposing marble Lincoln Memorial building, War Memorial; and passed by the historic Thomas Jefferson Memorial building across the Potomac River before retiring at the Holiday Inn for the evening.
