The Capitol Building

Our first stop in DC was to tour the Capitol Building. It was undergoing renovations last time we were in town and we missed the tour. We scheduled a tour and were lucky to get a great tour guide. She was funny and shared interesting facts and stories. We had people from Italy, Russia, China, and France in our group.

 Beautiful blue sky

 View from the Capitol. 

This is what is inside the rotunda of the Capitol.  The domed ceilings and paintings in the middle were very reminiscent of Italy. 

 The border just under the windows depicts different scenes throughout our nation's history. It actually looked 3D. Initially, I thought it was mini statues of some sort. 

 The symbolism here is the lady with the helmet is called "Freedom." Her statue is on top of the Capitol Building. In this picture, she is aiding George Washington. The picture below shows her as Captain America....haha....winning battles for freedom in our country. 

 Each state donates 2 statues to the Capitol Building with people they feel represent their state. They are placed throughout the Capitol. Some are in the main rotunda. Ronald Reagan is depicted in this statue. The cool thing is that under the fancy bottom part of his statue and the pedestal, there is a layer of the Berlin Wall. It was cool.

 The picture is blurry, but the door we passed by here was for Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House. 

This room is another small rotunda in the Capitol Building. It is called "The Crypt." The original designer had a tomb built underneath this floor. The desire or plan was to bury George Washington in this tomb. He said no. His widow said no. 32+ years later, his family said no. The tomb is empty and George Washington remains buried on his own property. The compass (white mark) on the middle of the floor marks the middle of the room and city. They have the streets going out from there in a grid system. 

More statues from states