In a small corner of the USA there is a small place which is actually full of history. The fight for freedom is nowhere closer than the area around Virginia. Where the struggles from the old day American revolutionaries and later the Civil War. In this area there is an old historic place which is just as old as most you will find in Europe. And in a corner of the state are some of the best nature sights east of the Rockies.
“But as for me, give me LIBERTY or give me DEATH!” Patrick Henry
Ironi on Washington DC number plate - no democrazy for the capital.
After I spend all my time yesterday on and around the National Mall I decided to try to go and see a bit of the other part of town. I figure there's got to be more to this place than just the big museums and government buildings - like houses and private citizen's cars.
Hence I drive back from Annapolis to the DuPont Circle to go and have a look around the old houses in this neighbourhood. But before I ever get to the houses I can't help but watching the number plates of the cars. The number plate clearly state: "TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION" basically the words from the old American revolution. No taxation without representation.
But here in the capital city of the country you actually got the only place in the USA where the citizens do not have any sort of representation. Yes they do get to vote for the president and do have 3 electoral votes in the Electoral College - and they do have an observer in the House of Representatives - but this person does not have the right to vote in the house. And Washington has got no representative in the senate. It is kind of ironic that the only place in the country without full rights to the citizens is actually in the capital.
Well I did not come here to think too hard about the local's representation on the hill a bit further down the street and to the left. I want to see the old houses around this area. There are a lot of nice old town houses dominating the side streets of this area plus quite a few of them which have been converted to embassies for different countries.
The area around DuPont Circle is actually a nice little residential / embassy area which do make a nice contrast to the formal part of town which I found down around the National Mall. But I don't want to end my visit to this part of the country here - I would like to make one last stop before heading to the airport.
