There are several layers of security checkpoints that you have to pass through to enter the White House, as one would expect. You're not allowed to bring anything with you except your tour confirmation, your wallet and your cell phone. I was actually surprised they allowed cell phones, but it was nice to be able to take a few photos.
We toured the East Wing, the West Wing is where all the action is so you're not allowed to go there. We were able to see the private movie theater, the East Room (where they hold formal receptions), Green Room, Red Room, Blue Room, Vermeil room, and the formal Dining Room. The East Room has excellent portraits of George Washington (one of the items saved by Dolley Madison) and also of Theodore Roosevelt. There are 3 large chandeliers as well. An interesting thing about the chandeliers is that even thought they are still large, they were originally much larger and have actually been reduced in size by about one third. An even more interesting thing about the East Room is that when President John Adams moved in, the room was used for laundry because the East Wing was largely unfinished at the time. A large portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs in the formal Dining Room and there are beautiful pieces of antique furniture in all the rooms and lovely floral centerpieces as well.
Upon leaving the White House, we had a couple of hours before our Capitol tour so we walked to the Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. We had a friend whose name is inscibed on the wall there.
The memorial itself is nice, there is a water feature and a book to help you find the names of people you're looking for. There is also a museum across the street that has displays related to law enforcement history.
Our Capitol tour started at Representative McClintock's office which is across the street from he Capitol. One of the interns took us through the tunnel that goes under the street and accesses the Capitol Building. We got to see the original Supreme Court chamber as well as the original rooms where the Senate and House would meet. They have beautiful marble floors and columns and domed ceilings with intricate cupolas. In one of the rooms, if you stand in exactly the right place, you can hear what someone is saying far across the room. It's an acoustic phenomenon that could be a strategic advantage if you wanted to know what the other party was talking about. It's similar to the Whispering Gallery at St. Paul's in London.
One of the rooms has huge paintings of early American history. There is an excellent painting of George Washington resigning his commission as Commander of the Continental Army. There are also friezes around the upper perimeter of the room that depict moments in American history from the beginning of the nation through the discovery of gold in California in 1848.
There is a place in the Capitol building where you can see the place where George Washington laid the original cornerstone on September 18, 1793.
The Congress was not in session so we were allowed to go down and actually sit in the front section of seats in the House of Representatives, right where all the generals sit during the State of the Union address I think.
It was a very enjoyable tour and there was just one other couple on the tour with us. At the end, the intern was able to take us onto the front balcony which has a great view all the way down the Capitol Mall to the Lincoln Memorial.
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