Newseum

Last weekend we ticked another item off our 'things to do in DC' list by visiting the Newseum.  It's not part of the Smithsonian Institute which means you have to pay an entry fee but it's definitely worth it.

One of the current exhibitions was sports photographs by Neil Leifer, even if you haven't heard of his name before you'd definitely recognise some of his photos especially his iconic image of Mohammed Ali.

There is a rooftop terrace with a great view of the Capitol building but it was such a cold day we didn't hang out there for very long.

One of the most moving exhibitions was the 9/11 gallery. Part of the communications mask from one of the towers was on display along with lots of photos. It was all really sad but the one bit that really got me was a display from a photojournalist covering the events.  He got closer and closer to the towers and was killed when the north tower collapsed.  His camera was later found and the photos developed. They had a video clip from his wife saying that it's not often that you get to see photos chronicling the final 90 minutes of someone's life.  Luckily they had a box of tissues out ready for visitors.

After seeing that display we were glad to look at a more light hearted exhibition on First Dogs.  My favourite was a picture of George Bush Sr's spaniel puppies.  It's quite possibly the cutest photo that I've ever seen!  He gave one of these puppies to George W Bush making him the only dog to live in the White House twice.

After the Newseum we stopped off for lunch at Ping Pong and found out that Sunday brunch is all you can eat for $25! The service was appalling, we ended up sitting for about 40 minutes between dishes but they knocked a big chunk off our bill after we complained so we were happy with that!

Before going home we treated ourselves to Crumbs cupcakes, mmmmm!