My Winter Trip to DC

My trip to the USA in December 2010 would not be complete without a quick tour at the nation's capital. I was determined to see the historic structures DC is famous for. The 5-hour bus trip from New York to DC in a freezing winter night was all worth it. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. The centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to many national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall.

Washington Monument

Trivia:

By law, Washington's skyline is low and sprawling. The federal Heights of Buildings Act of 1910 allows buildings that are no taller than the width of the adjacent street, plus 20 feet (6.1 m). Despite popular belief, no law has ever limited buildings to the height of the United States Capitol or the 555-foot (169 m) Washington Monument.

Great view of the Washington Monument

 Washington, D.C., is a planned city. In 1791, President Washington commissioned Pierre (Peter) Charles L’Enfant, a French-born architect and city planner, to design the new capital. The L'Enfant Plan featured broad streets and avenues radiating out from rectangles, providing room for open space and landscaping.  He based his design on plans of cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, Karlsruhe, and Milan brought from Europe by Thomas Jefferson in 1788. L'Enfant's design also envisioned a garden-lined "grand avenue" approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in length and 400 feet (120 m) wide in the area that is now the National Mall.

The National Archives

US Capitol Building

The White House

Lincoln Memorial Building

DC Train Station

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

Smithsonian Museum

Stunning Beaches in the Philippines

The Philippines is an amazing country in the southeast coast of Asia blessed with so many natural resources. It is famous for its beautiful and stunning beaches. Below are just some of them.

I am an Amazing Race Fanatic!

Yes, you heard it, I am a SUPER FAN of the TV reality show “The Amazing Race”. I’ve watched all the episodes of all the 24 Seasons and it never failed to make me excited and entertained. Season 25 started filming in May 31, 2014 in Times Square in New York City and ended in June 22 and it will hit TV screens in September 26, 2014 on CBS for the 2014–15 television season, moving to Friday nights at 8 pm.

I can clearly see myself with a travel buddy to be part of the show racing with 10 other pairs. I am not even joking:-). Seriously! I’m passionate about traveling and exploring the world and experiencing different cultures. Many times, I just thought of going on a 1 or 2 -  year break and travel the world but the lack of finances hinders me from pursuing this dream. And hopefully “The Amazing Race” could make this dream a reality!

The Amazing Race is an American reality game show in which typically eleven teams of two race around the world. The race is split into roughly twelve legs interspersed with physical and mental challenges, and require teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and vie for airplane, boat, taxi, and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs; with the final leg's grand prize of US$1 million. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since 2001. Numerous international versions have been developed following the same core structure, while the U.S. version is also broadcast to several other markets.

The show was created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, who, along with Jonathan Littman, serve as executive producers. The show is produced by Earthview Inc. (headed by Doganieri and van Munster), Bruckheimer Television for CBS Television Studios and ABC Studios (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company). The series has been hosted by veteran New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan since its inception.

Since the inception of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition 

Program in 2003, The Amazing Race has won it nine out of eleven times; the show has also won other awards and commendations. Although it has moved around several prime time slots since its inception, the program has averaged about 10 million viewers per season.

I hope this blog will pave a way for me to be part of the show in the near future. I do believe in miracles. We never know what the future holds.