From NY to PA to DC to PA to DC to PA to NY

We went to PA but only for a few hours because we had to go to DC to attain a visa for visiting Brasil. Since the embassy opens at 9 am and we wanted to avoid any line, we left PA at around 5 am and arrived just before it opened. The trip was wonderfully enjoyable, being a beautiful ealy summer morning, with little traffic, and a sunrise visible through the mist only seen in the early morning of the early summer. We arrived at the embassy to find no line and a very relaxed atmosphere, especially when compared to the Brasilian NYC consolate. The paperwork was completed in a few minutes and we were told that we had to return in one day to pick up the freshly minted visa and passport. As soon as the visa was taked care of, we drove a few blocks to the US Commission to UNESCO Annual Conference.

The politicians were out in force, including one Undersecretary of State and one Assistant secretary of State for international programs. Maybe someday we will understand the difference and responsibilities each has but for now they are simply people who work in the State Department, under the Sectretary of State. It was encouraging to see politicians addressing the needs of people around the world, specifically, illiteracy, water management and supply, healthcare, gender inequalities and more efficient models for resource distribution.

Since we had to be in Washington DC for two days, we decided to spend one day at the conference and the second day sightseeing around the city. First stop was the National Cathedral. Brian loves cathedrals, the architecture, art, and sense of worship embedded in the structure.




It is the one of the largest cathedrals in the world!!

Any visit to DC is incomplete without a stop at the Mall . The sky was a little hazy, preventing a clear view of the entire mall at once, but we were able to walk a good deal of the length and take pictures of many of the monuments and buildings.