Day 5: June 8, Monday
Today was all about portraits and pictures. We visited the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Wonder what I was doing up in heaven during art class because that is one talent I didn't bring with me; these gifted artists made me wish I had been more diligent. Portraits of the presidents were very impressive with Washington and Lincoln being my favorites of course. However, others I liked were Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Bush's looked so happy and friendly - which most didn't and Reagan commented when he saw his finished portrait, "That’s the old buckaroo." As much as I hate to admit it, Clinton's was cool--very avant guard.
One gallery housed pictures from a national competition where artists submitted portraits of people close to them. The stories explaining why the artists chose who they did were so interesting. I didn't want to miss one single explanation. At the end of the 60 picture exhibit the winner is revealed and I am pleased to report the winning entry came from Fort Collins, Colorado!
Another highlight of the day included our lunch in Chinatown. Since the museum was so close to the area, we decided to stop for nourishment (and give our over-stimulated brains' art processors a break.) We picked what seemed to be a fairly innocuous restaurant that once inside and up the stairs turned out to be the most popular in Chinatown. It had won several awards and there was a picture wall of famous people who had eaten there. My sesame chicken was the best I'd ever had and Rheid's seafood platter was, well, seafoody. I'm sure they would have asked permission to add our touristy faces to their wall of fame had they been aware of just how awesome we are!
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