# Meandering through D.C.



## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

I took a three day trip to Washington D.C. this past weekend where I saw some of the usual tourist things and some not so usual things. I'll post here some of the pictures with a little bit of commentary.


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The World Bank or IMF - can't recall which. Then again, does it matter?


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Building the new right over the old


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New and old.


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It's not quite Liverpool or Lille but I'll take it 


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D.C. is very leafy with lots of trees and gardens. Very pretty but sometimes they obscure nice buildings.

This is in the Foggy Bottom area heading towards Georgetown.


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The Potomac from Georgetown with the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.


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Those apartments may be the infamous Watergate complex.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great photos!


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

As readers of other threads of mine will know I don't visit places that don't have canals so guess what I found?


The old C & O canal in Georgetown by 600West218, on Flickr

Yup, an old canal in Georgetown. It is the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. It was built in the 1800s as a route west to the Ohio valley. 


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That lock sure is leaking isn't it.

The canal was big and heavily used but it was never fully completed. They wanted to get to Pittsburgh to link up with the Ohio river but only made it half way. It was a bad place to build a canal - too many mountains.


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Until recently they gave rides on this old canal boat. But the boat was deemed unsafe and they no longer operate it. Most of the canal is empty and really just serves as a bike path and hiking trail. 


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I was starving at this point so I headed out to a nearby commercial street for some food.


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One of the main commercial streets in Georgetown by 600West218, on Flickr


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Back to the canal. There were some old buildings along it.


The canal again with some old industrial buildings along side it. by 600West218, on Flickr


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## WolfHound (Jun 28, 2006)

Nice pics. I love the Georgetown area!


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Next I headed up towards Georgetown University:


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The main building on the Georgetown campus. It is a national landmark. by 600West218, on Flickr

The main hall of the campus which is now a national historic landmark.


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The abundance of trees and plants on the streets made it difficult to get clear shots.


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There were traditional brick row houses and also these small wooden ones. Kind of interesting and eclectic. by 600West218, on Flickr

These small wooden homes were an interesting contrast to the ubiquitous brick.


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## sky-eye (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice pictures. Also many quite old and nice houses. The main building of the Georgetown Campus is impressive. The houses on the pictures under the text "Next I headed up towards Georgetown University" looks very Englisch.


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

Wow, this is really nice and unexpected.

Also very refreshing to see American streets without messy above ground power lines. Makes it so much more beautiful.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

sky-eye said:


> Nice pictures. Also many quite old and nice houses. The main building of the Georgetown Campus is impressive. The houses on the pictures under the text "Next I headed up towards Georgetown University" looks very Englisch.


Yes, in the older cities along the eastern seaboard - Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC - you will see some older homes that wouldn't be too out of place in Britain. There aren't many homes in the U.S. made of brick, much less row or terrace homes, but you will find them in those cities.

Once on a train I remember going through Chester, Pennsylvannia and it looked like part of England that somehow wound up in the U.S. It is high on my list of places to visit though I understand it is poor and maybe a bit dangerous.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

goschio said:


> Wow, this is really nice and unexpected.
> 
> Also very refreshing to see American streets without messy above ground power lines. Makes it so much more beautiful.


Yes, Washington does have some really nice areas. I find the entire city quite appealing - lively and livable with lots to see and do. One big downside in my book though is it is quite hot and humid there. This was in the beginning of September when it has already noticeably cooled down in New York City yet in Washington it felt like mid summer heat.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

I continued walking in Georgetown heading back towards more central Washington DC, specifically Dupont Circle.


There was no active trolley here even though the tracks looked well maintained. by 600West218, on Flickr

The tracks look to be in good condition but I don't believe they are used for anything.


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Very lush vegitation made for a nice atmosphere but not for clear shots of the homes.


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For a minute I got confused and thought I was next to the Anglican Cathederal in Liverpool.


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THis is back in DC proper, right by Dupont Circle by 600West218, on Flickr


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Great updates!


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Very charming and characterful.

When you say D.C are you referring to the city of Washington, or to a wider area?


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice photos from around Washington


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## midrise (Feb 17, 2012)

Yes it is a great livable city with alot to offer. And as you can see very photogentic. It truely is under apprecated. But I know it is also very international, it not only is the nations capital but the free worlds home..:cheer::nocrook:kay::grouphug::applause:


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## tk780 (Jun 21, 2007)

Parts of D.C. look eerily like Hamburg.


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

thanks for the nice photos from D.C. :cheers:


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

openlyJane said:


> Very charming and characterful.
> 
> When you say D.C are you referring to the city of Washington, or to a wider area?


D.C. means District of Columbia which is only the city proper. The full name is Washington D.C. and sometimes people just say "Washington" but the risk there is being confused with the state of Washington. Also, I meant the city proper when I said D.C. but people could mean the larger metro area just like people saying Boston might mean the metro area not necessarily the metro area.

Interestingly, Washington D.C. sees itself as an opressed area. It is not a state and not part of a state but rather a independent federal district. People who live there are obviously US citizens and pay federal taxes but they have no voting representation in United States Congress. There was a big ticker sign outside one building giving the amount of taxes paid to the US government year to date and complaining of "taxation without representation" just as the colonists did leading up to the War of Independance.

Further muddying the waters is that the city is largely African American and liberal meaning that if they made it a state the Democrats would almost certainly get two additional seats in the Senate - something the Republicans wouldn't want and so they block any attempts to make it a state.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Finally I made it to Dupont Circle. From there I decided to walk up Massachusetts Avenue which is home to so many embassies that it is called "Embassy Row"


The Colombian embassy residence by 600West218, on Flickr

A Colombian flag. Many countries had multiple buildings. They generally have an embassy to the US, an official residence for their ambassador, and also mabye an embassy before other entities like the Organization of American States.


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The Indian embassy by 600West218, on Flickr

You can't see the flag well but this was part of the Indian Embassy.


Ghandi in front of the Indian embassy by 600West218, on Flickr

A statue of Ghandi in front of the Indian embassy.


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The entire street is full of embassies. The middle one is the Turkish embassy, not sure about the others. by 600West218, on Flickr

Plenty of Embassies there - the only flag I immediately recognize is Turkey.


The Estonian embassy by 600West218, on Flickr

I think this is Estonia.


Bulgaria by 600West218, on Flickr

Bulgaria I believe.


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Another building belonging to Colombia


The flag on the left, which I had not seen before, belongs to Georgia. by 600West218, on Flickr

Some flags I hadn't seen before.


Another former Soviet Republic. I think they need to cut down on the number of countries in the world - it is too hard to keep track of them all. by 600West218, on Flickr


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Egypt by 600West218, on Flickr


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Thanks for the full answer to my question. It certainly has some characterful housing.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Continueing down embassy row:


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Never heard of this one before. by 600West218, on Flickr

Never heard of this country before.


The Ivory Coast. Seems like the poorest countries build the biggest embassies. by 600West218, on Flickr

Interesting that such a poor country as the Ivory Coast has such a big embassy in Washington.


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Mexico by 600West218, on Flickr


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The Venezuelan ambassador's residence.


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India again. by 600West218, on Flickr

Another part of the Indian embassy. Note the elephants.


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

NICE!


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

I did do some touristy things I had not done before such as visiting the Iwo Jima memorial, the FDR Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.


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The view towards the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the Capital building a very muggy and hazy day.


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Arlington National Cemetery.


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Civil War casualties.


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In case you don't remember who Alexander Haig was he was the Secretary of State on Reagan who declared himself in charge when Reagan was shot.


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An armada of kayakers coming up the Potomac.


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I walked across a bridge and back into D.C. proper.


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Looking back towards Arlington National cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial


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## jeromeee (Oct 16, 2009)

Washington D.C. looks very nice, actually much better than I expected. There certainly is a very European touch.

But that is terrible, must be world's worst integration of old buildings in a modern complex...



600West218 said:


> Untitled by 600West218, on Flickr
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> Building the new right over the old


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## El Cholo (Jul 19, 2008)

jeromeee said:


> Washington D.C. looks very nice, actually much better than I expected. There certainly is a very European touch.
> 
> But that is terrible, must be world's worst integration of old buildings in a modern complex...


The Architect should be tarred and feathered for such monstrosity!!! :bash:


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Very nice!


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## streetscapeer (Apr 30, 2004)

Awesome!.. Always love DC!


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## paul62 (Jan 27, 2012)

Nice photos of canals. The city is nicer than I imagined and of course a Starbucks too.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

El Cholo said:


> The Architect should be tarred and feathered for such monstrosity!!! :bash:


Yes, that is pretty ugly. D.C. certainly doesn't have the great architecture that you may find in other cities but you generally don't find so many abominations either. But the above is an exception.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

paul62 said:


> Nice photos of canals. The city is nicer than I imagined and of course a Starbucks too.


It has lots of Starbucks and other cafes too. 

It really has a very lively street live - I don't capture it much in my pictures because I generally avoid photographing people out of respect for their privacy. But the streets are very lively and very young too as there are many universities there.

It is also clearly prosperous by virtue of being the seat of the US government. I think the DC metro area has done better than any other in the US over the past 5 years or so.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Continueing on with my walk I next was educated about a famous Swede in the US.


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Turns out, this is the person who invented the screw propellor for ships and he also gave the North it's ironclad that saved them from the southern one.


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Next I got to the FDR monument.


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This is to the famous "fireside chats" which were Roosevelt's weekly radio addresses to the nation.


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Next I headed towards the Jefferson Memorial which, because it is a bit off the Mall, I had never been to.


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Washington D.C. is a very unnatural city in that it has been manipulated and had its natural land area changed significantly. Some of the most famous parts of the city are on land fill.


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Interesting that from the Jefferson Memorial you can see to the White House. They do carefully keep significant lines of site open.


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## alluux (May 2, 2010)

Wonderful pictures; incredible city!!


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Awesome! I think the Jefferson Memorial is one of my favorites!


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

By far, the most spectacular building in the U.S. that I am aware of, is the Library of Congress. In general U.S. architecture doesn't compare to what you see in Europe at all. Washington D.C. is nice but even regular European cities like Liverpool and Lille blow it away in terms of spectacular buildings.

The one building that stands out from that is the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. It is so beautiful that one can easily just sit in it an stare for quite some time. There doesn't seem to be any end to the beautiful details and artwork.

Please note these pictures do it no justice for two reasons 1) I simply with my poor camera and photography skills can't capture it and 2) the most beautiful areas such as the main reading room are totally off limits to photography.

Nevertheless, when in Washington D.C. you really must visit the Library of Congress.

Here goes my poor effort to capture some of it.


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I should also have added the exterior is nice, but nothing too spectacular. It is the interior that amazes.


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This is the lobby. It is the only area they allow you to photograph.


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There were scores and scores of really interesting quotes all around the building.


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BTW, I didn't take a picture of the entire staircase with all the infants on it but guess how many there were. Yes, 13. 13 infants, 13 original states, get it?


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I read that they had 30 different artists work on this building and prior to designing it they spent 9 years traveling around Europe examining all the best art and architecture to get ideas. Sounds like a terrible job but I suppose someone had to do it 


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Edit:

To see some of the main reading room which I couldn't photograph at all you can check out this picture on the Wilkipedia site:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/LOC_Main_Reading_Room_Highsmith.jpg
*
Once it downloads be sure to click on it to enlarge. The enlarged version really does allow you to see a lot of the amazing detail.*

Unfortunately it doesn't get the ceiling at all but you do get an idea.


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## phoenixboi08 (Dec 6, 2009)

600West218 said:


> I read that they had 30 different artists work on this building and prior to designing it they spent 9 years traveling around Europe examining all the best art and architecture to get ideas. Sounds like a terrible job but I suppose someone had to do it


I don't know about the exact time that this was built, but prior to that it was quite the norm I thought. A lot of the Classical architecture in Great Britain today for example was inspired by "Great Tours" of young architects to the Continent (principally Italy) Palladio was one source of significant inspiration. Actually, the White House is a clear example of that influence; well, most of The Capitol really.

*this is just being recalled from a BBC documentary I watched a few days ago, so it isn't true, let me know. I'd like to know


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## DWest (Dec 3, 2009)

great city tour. I haven't seen as many as heritage and old designed houses/buildings as these. i love those charming houses with french windows.


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## OakRidge (Mar 9, 2007)

Wonderful photos. Did you happen to visit the National Gallery of Art? I would love to see some photos of the centerpiece on the main floor of the West Building and of the room in general.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

phoenixboi08 said:


> I don't know about the exact time that this was built, but prior to that it was quite the norm I thought. A lot of the Classical architecture in Great Britain today for example was inspired by "Great Tours" of young architects to the Continent (principally Italy) Palladio was one source of significant inspiration. Actually, the White House is a clear example of that influence; well, most of The Capitol really.
> 
> *this is just being recalled from a BBC documentary I watched a few days ago, so it isn't true, let me know. I'd like to know


It was built in the 1890s I believe. And yes, I believe the main influence was Italian.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

DWest said:


> great city tour. I haven't seen as many as heritage and old designed houses/buildings as these. i love those charming houses with french windows.


Thanks

What exactly are French windows? The ones with brightly colored shutters?


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

OakRidge said:


> Wonderful photos. Did you happen to visit the National Gallery of Art? I would love to see some photos of the centerpiece on the main floor of the West Building and of the room in general.


No I didn't go into that. 

The only Smithsonian museums I visited this time were the American Indian (fairly good, but not great) and the Museum of American History (unfortunately it has declined since I was last there and is way too small).

On a future trip I'll try to get into the National Art Gallery and also the Natural History museum. The main purpose of this trip was to see some things off the Mall which I had never really done before.

Washington has a lot to see. I think I could easily be occupied there for a week or ten days.


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## 600West218 (Aug 30, 2010)

Behind the Capital and Library of Congress I explored the Capital Hill residential area a bit.


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The Library of Congress actually has three buildings. This is one of the more modern ones. Yuck.


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As you can see, the residences are quite eclectic.


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Well, I think that I would rather visit DC than the Grand Canyon - judging by your pictures. I reckon that I would get a real and condensed feeling for the ideals and principles behind the creation of the The U.S.A.

TBH I've never felt that I needed to visit The Grand Canyon or Niagra Falls, for example; although I'm certain that they present spectacular natural wonders - a bit too touristy, perhaps!

I've only visited the U.S once: we went to San Francisco - which I absolutely loved; Yosemite - I particularly loved the less visited Tuolumne Meadows - Wow!; and Santa Cruz - great for veggies like myself; some nice beachside towns, and a wonderful B&B in the redwoods ( Redwood Croft) Monterey Aquarium was fantastic.


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## Nightsky (Sep 16, 2002)

Washington looks more beautiful then expected. I regret that I didn't spend more then one day there back in 1998. Especially Georgetown looks wonderful!


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## JET_ARGENTINA (Sep 13, 2012)

great pics dude..


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## old school (Apr 26, 2009)

600West218 said:


> I wasn't planning on posting these pictures which are a bit more on the touristy side but what the heck, it will help give more of a sense of the nature of the city:
> 
> 
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> ...


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## washiwashi (Nov 6, 2012)

600West218 said:


> You can't see the flag well but this was part of the Indian Embassy.
> 
> 
> Ghandi in front of the Indian embassy by 600West218, on Flickr
> ...


@ 600West218: Hello and sorry for the nitpicking but on the 1st Page, the name of the statue should be spelt GANDHI and NOT GHANDI. It seems like a common mistake by Westerners and probably they just don't realize it, but the incorrect spelling means "dirty" in the Indian language. It would be great if you could correct the spelling. Thanks


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