What a day!!! We met the President's daughter! She showed us around Washington D.C! What an amazing place, you could not do this all in a day!! There are so many memorials, buildings and of course the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C., is the capital of the United States. It is coterminous with the District of Columbia (abbreviated as "D.C."). The city and the district are located on the banks of the Potomac River and bordered by the Commonwealth of Virginia (to the southwest) and the State of Maryland (to the northwest, northeast and southeast). The city was planned and developed in the late 18th century to serve as the permanent national capital; the federal district was formed to keep the national capital distinct from the states.
The city was named after George Washington, the first President of the United States. The district's name, "Columbia", is an early poetic name for the United States and a reference to Christopher Columbus, an early explorer of the Americas. The city is commonly referred to as Washington, The District, or simply D.C. In the 19th century, it was called the Federal City or Washington City. Its population is about 588,292. The Washington Metropolitan Area is the eighth-largest in the United States with more than five million residents, and the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area has a population exceeding eight million. If Washington, D.C., were a state, it would rank last in area (behind Rhode Island), second to last in population (ahead of Wyoming), first in population density, and 35th in gross state product.
The centers of all three branches of the U.S. government are located in the District. Also situated in the city are the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other national and international institutions, including trade unions and professional associations. Washington is a frequent location for political demonstrations and protests, large and small, particularly on the National Mall. A center of American history and culture, Washington is a popular destination for tourists, the site of numerous national landmarks and monuments, the world's largest museum complex (the Smithsonian Institution), galleries, universities, cathedrals, performing arts centers and institutions, and native music scenes. The District also includes substantial areas of surprisingly wild natural habitat, particularly along the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as most parts of Rock Creek Park and Theodore Roosevelt Island (located in the Potomac River).
