We were standing high on the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial. The big man was inside in all his stony-faced glory and the breath-taking Reflecting Pool was twinkling below us.

There we stood, surrounded by so much awesome history when one American tourist says to her friend: 'It really does remind you of that scene in Forrest Gump doesn't it?'

I stepped inside to get away from the reminiscing about Gump, only to find American teens running around in the Lincoln Memorial.

I just wanted to stand there and stare at the incredible statue and take in the inspiring words carved into the walls but it meant battling all these kids trying to take pictures, probably for their MySpace pages.

But I should cut them all some slack. I know how American history is drilled into them at school and a visit to the Lincoln Memorial is probably less exciting than going to a new Starbucks.

They were never going to be standing there all gobsmacked and blown away like I was.

We wandered down to the Washington Memorial which meant passing the great Korean War Memorial, with its statues of soldiers out in the field.

Their faces were contorted with horror and I was totally blown away by the powerful display.

For me, this small memorial was more impressive than Washington's great phallic obelisk high on the hill, although I would have liked the opportunity to go inside and see Washington DC from such a height, which you have to get advanced tickets to see.

Next stop: The 'Newseum' - Washington's latest museum dedicated to journalism...

Check out more photos from my trip in my Flickr album.

Find out about Washington DC.

Read more of Kelly's blogs.