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Published: April 9th 2007
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Capital Hill
the centre of America Washington April 9
Up early, and with the last bit of packing to do, we looked out our window towards the lake to see it snowing. We checked out of the Park Hyatt and caught a taxi to the Airport. On the way we discussed and dreaded the Airport Security, due to our experiences on our last visit here. Pleasantly enough, we breezed straight through with little problem.
We had a cup of tea in the food court, and waited to board our American Airlines flight to Washington. Our flight today was operated by an American Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-80. The plane was more or less full. It’s amazing how much carry-on luggage Americans take on board. There were two female flight attendants in First class, and ours was definitely giving the impression that she didn’t want to be there. After take off we were offered a drink, so we both took a glass of Chardonnay, and then a Chicken Breast and pasta salad for lunch, followed by more drinks and a freshly baked Chocolate Chip cookie for dessert.
90 minutes later we arrived at Reagan National Airport, and we took a taxi to the Park Hyatt
Chicken Breast Salad
The lunch between Chicago and DC in Georgetown, Washington DC, which took about 15 minutes. The décor of this hotel is modern American, but in a ‘Shaker’ style. It was reasonably stark modernism, but the Shaker influences gave it warmth and some quirkiness.
Paul contacted a friend of his Alan, who he met when Alan was living in Australia. It was great to talk about back home. Alan is hoping to move back to Australia with his partner Andy in the next several years. We organised to go to his Condominium in Bethesda, Maryland for a few drinks in the evening. Alan lived in Melbourne for 3 years. We went to a Restaurant called Blacks for dinner, and Andy turned up a little later after a Spanish class. It was a great night; we enjoyed it as much for the good food as for the enjoyable company.
Tuesday April 10
We decided our first stop today would be the American Indian National Museum, part of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington. It was in a wonderfully designed stone building, with American Indian influence. This month there was a display called ‘Identity by Design: Tradition, Change, and Celebration in Native Women's Dresses’. This display
was fantastic, and gave a real insight into the meanings of the intricate patterns of Indian dress from tribes across the Indian states, such as Sioux, Cherokee, Hopi and Navajo. Some dresses dated back to 1800, and were intricately woven with beading and animal furs and bone.
Overall we liked the displays, but felt that with one floor dedicated as a shop limited exhibition space. There is a café, which serves indigenous food of the Americas. Paul had a Buffalo Chilli Bowl and Jeff a Plains Pumpkin Cheesecake.
After the museum we walked along the “Mall” to Capital Hill. There was a strong security and Police presence all around. We then decided to go to see George at the White House, but as he was too busy to offer us lunch we opted to have a Rueben sandwich in a nearby cafe.
There are lots of student groups and families around the city. It was hard to get a photo opportunity outside at the White House. After a full day we made our way to the hotel. We were so tired, so needed a nanna nap, holidays are hard work! We caught a cab
to Foggy Bottom in the evening, and went to the Omega Bar for a quick beer, and then to a Japanese Sushi Bar. It was fine, but not as good as we expected, especially after Tokyo…we are spoilt forever.
We went back to the Omega Bar, and went to the upstairs bar where they were playing a DVD of Gay and Lesbian comedians. It was hilarious. After a few beers we walked back to the hotel and had a good nights rest.
Wednesday April 11
We needed to post some things back home, as we may pay excess baggage tomorrow on the way to New York otherwise. We walked to Georgetown, filled with lots of buildings from 1700’s. After packaging things back to Australia, we caught the city Circulator, a $1 fare bus which runs all over the city.
Getting off at McPherson Square, we walked to the White House, where we bought tickets on a hop on hop off tour bus. We made our way to the Jefferson Memorial and then the Lincoln Memorial, both magnificent marble structures. Though with all the tourists, including us coming and going, the monuments lost some of their symbolism.
Indian dress
Indian Display We got back on the bus and went to Arlington National Cemetery, the former home of General Robert E Lee. This was his home up until the Civil War, after which the government acquired the land around his home for use for Union burials. We walked to President Kennedy’s grave, again the sheer number of tourists took away some of the sombre feel of the grave.
On to the bus again, and another day of sightseeing was almost at an end. We walked back to the hotel, where we relaxed and worked on our blog, and did the packing in preparation for tomorrows departure.
We received a call from Alan, and he asked us over for a drink. We caught a cab over to their apartment in Bethesda, and on the way the cab drove through a residential part of Washington DC and Maryland. Traditional early American housing showing Brownstone architecture. We felt disappointed that we did not have any more time to explore the suburbs.
After a cocktail at Alan and Andy’s, we went to a local bar that brews its own beer. We ordered a little smarter this time 2 entrées between the 4
Indian dress2
Indian Display of us. Alan knew a lot about New York and it was good to get a few tips to help us out. Andy is studying at George Washington University, for his Masters Degree, so it was interesting to hear his story of a mature aged student. The meal, as usual, was huge and we could not finish it. It is quite common for people to take part of their unfinished meal in a doggy bag.
As we left the restaurant it was raining, the first real rain we had seen on the trip. After our goodbyes, we caught a cab back to the hotel.
Washington is a city where 2 days is not really enough, but we managed to scratch the surface and a get a feel for what it is like. There is so many things to see and do in the way of museums and
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