I went to Washington DC to visit a friend and experience July 4th in the nation’s capital. On the night of July 4th, we celebrated at a rather fancy do on a rooftop in Georgetown, with a catered buffet, cocktails galore and a great view of the fireworks. I was informed that no native DC resident would ever consider making their way down to the Mall on Independence Day – the rooftops are where all self-respecting DC inhabitants watch the fireworks.
The grand finale
Festivities over and a good night’s sleep behind me, I took off to explore DC. As darkness fell, it became apparent that DC is a city that has got to be viewed at night time. If you only see it during the day, you’re missing out. Here are a few of the lovely sights I saw under cover of the night.
Jefferson Memorial at night
I love this one. I had my camera set on long exposure to photograph the Lincoln Memorial, and a mother and daughter crossed into the frame, giving a rather ghostly effect.
Crossing the road to catch the last bus, I saw a spooky moon above the illuminated Capitol Building. I had to grab a quick shot.
Do you have a place you love viewing at night? I’m looking forward to seeing your take on this week’s travel theme.
xxx Ailsa
Where's my backpack? 
My “Night” contribution to the challenge, Ailsa.
Your shots of DC are amazing! Xx
Thanks, Tahira, I loved your very Saudi trees too 😉
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Love your photos of Washington DC, Ailsa. Very atmospheric.
I don’t have many shots taken at night because I’ve deleted most of them for being out of focus. This one’s come out quite well though – so here’s my contribution to this week’s theme.
http://eastofmalaga.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/travel-theme-night/
Really lovely shot, Marianne. I’ve heard of Nerja before – there’s supposed to be some interesting caves nearby, I think. Have you seen them?
Yes, I’ve visited them and they ARE very interesting. They were discovered accidentally by a group of little boys out playing, about 60 years ago.
Each year there is a festival of music and dance inside one of the chambers of the cave. You might enjoy this post I did about the Festival last year, as there is an interesting video embedded.
http://eastofmalaga.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/52nd-annual-nerja-caves-music-festival/
Ooh, how wonderful they hold a festival there! Sadly, it looks like the video you linked to was removed, but that photo of the caves is brilliant.
OH sorry about that! I’ve updated it now. The first video has embedded, but the second one has to be clicked. Hope it works this time.
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here’s my ‘very late’ entry ! http://justanotherwakeupcall.wordpress.com/2012/07/12/travel-theme-night/
Great shots! (It looks cooler at night!)
If only that were the case, it stayed pretty hot and humid right through the night – thank goodness for air conditioning!
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Here’s my submission to the Night Theme. Thanks so much for the challenge. 😀
For some reason I am unable to post comments with the link to my blog. Very strange. But, it’s at serendipityplus.
Great shots, and I adore that Edgar Allen Poe poem! I don’t know why you were having difficulty posting your link, I’m going to include it here in my response, so that others can find your post. http://serendipityplus.wordpress.com/2012/07/13/travel-theme-night/ xxx Ailsa
Thanks so much. Yeah … it’s really strange. I contacted Support at WordPress. We’ll see if I can get an answer. But, thanks for your encouraging comments. I really appreciate it and the challenges you put out. 😀
I just checked and see your comments were marked as spam which is why they didn’t show up – 3rdculturechildren had that issue earlier and they contacted WordPress who changed their settings – so hopefully WP will be able to fix yours too! In the meantime, if your comments don’t show up straight away when you comment on here, don’t worry because I check the spam queue regularly and approve anything that mistakenly gets sent there. xxx Ailsa
Thanks so much for checking on that. I really appreciate that. I’ll contact WP again and let them know. Thanks so much. You’re awesome!! 😀
I’ve always had visions of DC at night crime-ridden with a gun-toting drug dealer on every other corner LOL. Thanks for showing me the true beauty. One day I’ll get there – preferably in cherry blossom season.
Maybe they were there and I just didn’t notice 😉 Naw, I actually felt really safe walking around on my own, never once felt creeped out. I was mainly in the Mall area though, very touristy and crammed with security. Yes, the cherry blossoms are supposed to be stunning. And I suspect it would be a LOT cooler at that time of year too, the humidity over July 4th weekend nearly killed me!
bummer I missed this one. I love night shots! And these are great shots – the kind I want to get. Reckon I’ll just have to watch a little closer for the next travel theme and get in on that one.
Sorry that you missed it Lubby, I love night shots too. The new travel challenge is up now, https://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/07/20/travel-theme-tradition/
I post challenges every Friday. xxx
man, I think I’m slippin’! I missed that one too – going there now!!
Haha, quit your slacking, LubbyGirl. By the way, if you want to post about a past travel theme, you still can. I’d love to read your interpretations. xxx
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These photos/blog post are absolutely wonderful… a piece of heaven. Politics aside, the images of D.C. can bring me to tears. I want to go back sooo bad! Walking through at night is like being on a whole different planet. Peaceful and calm. Definately might live there one day! Thanks for sharing the photos!