Since I am going to Washington DC next week, I might as well post the pictures of my last visit in the US.  I was back for a couple of days in June on business, in Richmond, Virginia.  We stayed at the Jefferson Hotel which has a lot of history.  It was built originally as a luxury hotel back in 1895, so it is not an old building which is adapted to be a hotel.  It has an impressive facade and a tower but the section of town in which it is situated is a bit bland.  We walked around after dinner and had a drink in a bar packed with kids from Virginia Commonwealth University just up the street.  College town atmosphere.

Inside the hotel, one of its highly decorative feature is the stained glass ceiling of the Palm Court.  In the middle of the Palm Court stands a statue of Thomas Jefferson –  a man of many talents – a 2-term US president, a horticulturalist, political leader, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, musician, inventor, and founder of the University of Virginia.  There were some bronze alligators in the lobby too, apparently, they were kept in a fountain at the hotel to amuse guests up until 1940’s.  Not exactly my kind of style, but nevertheless interesting.

Palm court (above) and Rotunda lobby (below)

Looking back up towards the Grand Staircase.

Jetlag – couldn’t sleep – took this at 5:30 in the morning, see a sliver of the moon ?