Day 2- Tuesday May 11

Here's a compilation posting from some of the boys and girls - about 8 students contributed to today's report! So far we've walked about nine miles on this trip - CVS did a good trade in gel insoles this evening.....

Really early this morning, the Pardes tour group dragged themselves out of bed with much help, or it could be called abuse, from our roommates, to go to the White House. After a quick scrumptious breakfast at Cosi's, we proceeded to wait in line for the tour. While waiting, an important, yet secret, dignitary drove by with much fanfare and police escorts. That was the most interesting part of that lengthy 45 minutes. We made it into the White House after a while, and the tour passed by in a flash. We were able to see into the China Room, and we also visited the Blue, Red, and East Rooms. They were very posh and decorative, so we spent some time admiring everything inside.

After a quick stop at the hotel, we proceeded to the National Museum of American History. There we saw exhibits ranging from the Star Spangled Banner to the original ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. One of the best things was the first ladies' dresses. There was a dress to represent every era and each were fashionable for their time period. It was just great!

In the afternoon we visited the Newseum, where we learned about the history of news and its importance. The Elvis exhibit was great, there was authentic memoro... stuff! There was a piece of the Berlin Wall that was on display that had incredible artwork. Also, the 4-D film was incredible. The movie was like a 3-D movie, except wind would blow at certain times and it was much more life-like. We had a great time.

On the way back to the hotel, we took a detour through a sculpture garden. Most of the works of art were up for interpretation! There was one huge, silver, metal, totally realistic looking tree. It looked amazing amongst all of the other trees.

We concluded our day with a walk to three different restaurants that we could choose from. The choices were Thai, Middle Eastern, and Pizza. Everyone had a great meal and now we're going to bed, because we're all exhausted!

Bon Soir!