Washington has been a breath of fresh air (quite literally!) following New York. As much as we loved New York, we appreciated Washington for all the things New York lacked – it’s an immaculately clean city, with relatively quiet streets and far less pollution.
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| Constitution Gardens Pond |
We’ve spent three lovely sunny days here being in awe of the main sights – the Lincoln memorial, the Capitol building, Washington Tower, memorial sights and of course, the White House. It was funny feeling seeing these attractions first hand after seeing them in so many movies before... I was also a tiny bit disappointed by the Lincoln memorial, I really got in my head that you could actually sit on Abe’s knee, I think I saw it in an episode of the Simpsons though!
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| Abraham Lincoln Memorial Statue |
We even managed to see the man himself, Obama, one day. We were waiting to cross the road over to the park, near the White House when we noticed it was all blocked off. A small crowd had gathered with cameras but most people were just walking on by. We decided to stick around to see what was going on and within in minutes a few police bikes came down the road, followed by Obama’s car and then several scary looking jeeps with armed guys hanging out of the back and an ambulance. It must be quite a hassle for the President to go anywhere; it must be a nightmare when he wants to go to the cinema.
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| Mr President's Car |
There are so many interesting museums here too, the majority of which are free (a stark contrast to New York). We managed to fit in a few while we were here, but there was tonnes we just didn’t get round to doing. Plus, we managed to find a fantastically cheap and friendly bar, just down from our hostel - $2 beers, our cheapest yet. So we ended up staying there for a most of the evening on our first night. The hostel was ok and did the job, plus it had free Wi-Fi and a complimentary breakfast – peanut butter and jelly toast with coffee!
All in, it was a fantastic city and it would have been great to spend more time here to explore some of the nearby islands, but it’s time to leave for the next stop on our tour.
Just at Union Station in Washington, waiting to board our amtrack train. In 14 short hours we will be in the windy (and chillier) city – Chicago!
Just at Union Station in Washington, waiting to board our amtrack train. In 14 short hours we will be in the windy (and chillier) city – Chicago!
Emily
