As our group tour of Washington DC continued, we visited the Capitol building, the familiar domed structure so common on our TV sets for most of our lives. The centerpiece of the Capitol is the magnificent rotunda, a cavernous circle of awe-inspiring architecture, sculpture and paintings, all depicting American history. 180 feet above us is the underside of the dome, a fresco painting which covers more than 4,600 feet of the ceiling. It was painted in 1865 by Constantino Brumidi as a tribute to George Washington.
This is the world famous room where presidents and other famous dignitaries lie in state at their passing. Also the location of various balls and celebrations. As I looked around at the throng of other tourists, I couldn’t help noticing the great majority of them appeared foreign. I overheard a variety of languages other than English being spoken. They ooh and ahh at the majesty and history of the room. As Americans, we seemed to be in a minority amongst visitors to this spectacular edifice.
I guess we don’t realize that, as we long to visit intriguing foreign places such as England, France, Italy, Greece and many more, the rest of the world dreams of visiting here. And when they arrive, they quickly understand what all the fuss is about.
There’s no place like America.
Big Amen to that Mr.Ken!!!