It’s not exactly tourist season in Washington DC, but as always there were plenty tour groups walking around DC today. The thing that was funny to me though was how underdressed I felt walking around in my jeans and coat, because even the tourists were wearing ties (I do have mine packed so I guess I will be prepared if I go into DC again, but that’s not why I’m here). I am always struck by the monumental (literally) sense of history that exists in DC. I have been to much older places in the world, but in places like Rome and Paris the cities have such a different feel as though their history is a part of them and it’s still alive but in DC it can feel awkward like the whole place is a museum. At the same time though it’s also where the governance is suppose to be getting done and the real history that exists here is more recent. People come here and I think they can get stuck in the atmosphere of these pristine white marble temples/government buildings and like most museums there is this feeling that you shouldn’t really touch anything. To be fair though, a lot of the buildings actually are museums and they are pretty incredible and more inviting than the government buildings. At the Supreme Court building they have this huge wide staircase that when deserted is pretty imposing and uninviting (which is kind of the point of the design as a larger than life entry portal for the “Temple of Justice” based on the ancient temples of Grease and Rome). I suppose it could be just that there weren’t tourists wondering around in shorts and tank tops all over the place and the snow does have it’s own effect, but whatever it was, it felt different than on previous visits.