Blogs from District of Columbia, United States, North America - page 5

David here... So our South America adventure was over and we now had only 1 month left of our RTW trip to go. The flight from Quito to Fort Lauderdale was 5 hours and we didn't sleep a wink. We landed just before 5am and had a 10 minute wait on the plane until Customs and Immigration opened. We first went through the automated kiosk area, where we had photos and fingerprints taken, and then onto a real person. We were asked a lot of questions about our time in the US and what we planned to do. They asked about our camping plans and if we had camping gear with us. When we replied that we were going to be buying what we need from K-Mart or Walmart he helpfully suggested that the latter would ... read more

It's that first day of the holiday, which is basically our journey and very little else, so don't get your hopes up that there will be anything interesting to cover. We were flying from Heathrow Terminal Three (if you are still reading), which is showing its age, starting with the way in and the tunnel that's is clearly insufficient for the amount of traffic. Much to my daughter's embarrassment, I lost it with a taxi driver who was trying to cut-in from a faster lane heading elsewhere. We were booked to park in the short-term car-park. The long-term car-park is of course expensive at £107 (booked in advance) but the short-stay is £120. £13 and a bit of road rage seems a small price to pay to be able to walk between your car and the ... read more

Lundi matin, on se réveille sous un soleil éclatant. On prend un café dans la chambre, quelques cookies et on est prêt à aller visiter la capitale des Etats-Unis. On rejoint le métro qui va nous déposer prêt du Capitole, à l'est du National Mall. Le métro est bondé à cette heure, mais il se vide dès que l'on arrive aux stations qui desservent le centre ville et les différents bâtiments fédéraux. En sortant du métro, on rejoint la bibliothèque du Congrès dans laquelle on entre sans faire la queue, après les contrôles de sécurité que l'on retrouvera dans tous les bâtiments et musées que l'on visitera. C'est la plus grande bibliothèque du monde en nombre d'ouvrages, mais bien sûr seules quelques salles sont ouvertes au public. Le bâtiment est magnifique, un grand escalier en marbre, ... read more

July 29, Saturday Woke up at 2:30a.m. to be ready for the 3 am taxi ride to Heathrow. It was slightly raining. Traffic was of course very light. We arrived in good time. Since the United desk wasn't open yet, I grabbed a chair at a closed bar in the same area. Some people were asleep in the booths. After about an hour of me working on my blogs, the United desk opened. I asked about getting my EU tax money back and was directed to the opposite site of where I was. I stood in line for about 30 minutes to get about $25 back into my credit card account. I then made my way back to check my luggage. I then headed to the United First Club lounge for some free snacks. I had ... read more

Beautiful art..... read more