Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2015 | Page 136

134 Travel | Washington DC © f11photo / Shutterstock The first time I visited, I had an itinerary in mind. Like most travellers, I wanted to explore the National Mall, the long stretch of museums and monuments that Abraham Lincoln stares at from his marble throne. I remember pondering the glass-sealed Declaration of Independence at the National Archives, standing on my tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the Hope Diamond at the Natural History Museum, and stopping by the American Museum of National History to say hello to Kermit the Frog. were badly infested and diseased. All 2,000 had to be burned. The news was mutually distressing for both countries, and plans for a second donation were hastily made. Another batch arrived two years later, this time amounting to 3,020 trees and suitable for planting. Another 3,800 were sent in 1965. As I checked items off my list, I stumbled upon something unexpected: an orchard of pink and white blooms. They had sprung from thousands of Japanese cherry blossom trees that ring a reservoir called the Tidal Basin. A subtle, rose-like aroma filled the air while delicate petals fell like snow. Snap-happy visitors eagerly tried to frame monuments with the blooms. Even a bride and groom posed for photographs with the trees as a backdrop. The blossoming trees were so well received that merely a decade after they were planted a festival was founded in honour of the gift. The National Cherry Blossom Festival continues today and has grown to include musical and cultural performances, fireworks, a kite festival and a parade. Once I had caught sight of these spring colours, it was hard to imagine DC without them. But there was a time when it seemed they wouldn’t blossom at all. Trees frame the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, which was modelled after the Pantheon of Rome. Japan first sent the USA the cherry trees as a symbol of friendship in 1910. But by the time they crossed the ocean to Seattle and then made it across the country to DC, the trees Look closely around DC and it’s not hard to spot other gifts and influences from around the world. Except for its colour, the front façade of the White House mimics the Leinster House in Dublin, Ireland. And the elaborate sculptures, Ionic columns and grand marble corridors of Union Station would be right at home in Rome. Even the layout of this planned city is modelled after Paris, with a grid of numbered and lettered streets intersected by wide, diagonal avenues and roundabouts.