Having spent several professional years in Washington has not really helped me to collect photographic material fit for this site, because in the 1980s there was not even a mention yet of 'digital photography'. Pictures were analog, and expensive. All materials here presented were thus generated during later visits to the DC area, with as a sole exception the cherry-blossoms around the Tidal Basin. I could really not resist using my analog cherry-tree material, because the phenomenon is so unique and beautiful and so difficult to capture. Washington DC is a great place, by no means comparable to New York or any other of the big American cities for that matter. Washington is actually a quite southern city, with hot and humid summers and usually quite clement winters. Having been founded in 1791, after US independence from Britain, nearly all landmarks date from the 19th century, all built in a striking and rarely seen harmony of neoclassical order, giving additional charm to the sentiment which truly hangs over the city that 'this is the place where the dies are being cast for much of what happens and does not happen in the world'. And yet, the strange thing is that, in spite of this reality and air of importance, Washington also breathes the pleasant, family-friendly and relaxed flair of a medium-size city, in lifestyle and atmosphere avoiding the comparison with America's giant metropolises. And … there is another thing which distinguishes Washington DC: the US Senate is composed of 100 Senators, two for each of the 50 states. And who represents Washington, which belongs to none of the 50? ….