You Never Know Who You'll Meet...

So last Sunday was Dan and I's first week at our new ward. 

We go to church and meet this nice old lady who was born in Hungary and we chat quite a bit. 

She ends up sitting next to us in Sunday School and when it ends, she turns to me and asks what we have planned for after church.

Since I had not nothing planned but unpacking (ew) I said nothing. She then says, "Well I would like to take you on a tour of the Capitol." I'm thinking...ok. As far as I know little old ladies don't go around doing impromptu tours of the Capitol, but what the heck? We agreed to pick her up at 3:00 that day for our tour of the Capitol. 

I think we were imaging her taking us around outside of the Capitol and her passing on the knowledge she has gained from living in DC for the past 30 years.

We were wrong. 

It turns out that our tour guide was the widow of Congressman Tom Lantos from California, also originally from Hungary. He was in congress for twenty something years. We parked directly in front of the Capitol, tourists were definitely staring, and walked right past security into the Capital on a Sunday afternoon. 

One of my personal favorite moments was when a guard stopped us and asked where we were going. Sister Lantos simply turned around, he saw her and her all access pink, and apologized profusely. 

Pretty cool.

Since it was a Sunday afternoon we literally had the whole place to ourselves. We were fascinated as she told us story after story and explained what we were seeing. She lit up being able to share her memories with us. It was an amazing experience and an awesome way to kick off our journey here in Washington D.C. 

Another thing worth mentioning....we found out later that Sister Lantos and her husband are Holocaust survivors. They have a fascinating story of survival. 

Wow, what a day.

A painting depicting the baptism of Pocahontas

400 years of American History is depicted on this frieze that circles the rotunda

The rotunda in the Capitol

The Hall of Statues. This is the room where the House of Representatives originally  met.

The location of Abraham Lincoln's desk when he was a member of the House.

This is the room where the Congressman meet before and after their sessions. Those vases in the background are gifts from the French, from the Palace of Versailles.