The Great American Adventure

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I arrived in Washington DC last Saturday after a very emotional goodbye to Gary (well, on my part, i think Gary may have just been slightly embarrassed) and an eneventful flight. On arrival I was faced with nearly a two hour que for passport control and a sea of bags in the buggage reclaim area, as all the conveyer belts were broken. Eventually i managed to locate my bag and went through to meet John. Despite not having seen him for over a year, nothing had changed and we chatted quite happily as we drove back into Washington to John's flat. We met up with John's girlfriend and headed into the city for dinner, where i had a very american meal of cob salad. And very good it was too. The jet lag was catching up with me so we headed back only to find John had left his keys inside so we had to take a driving tour around the Washington sights at night until his flatmate returned. Actually the sights were amazing and it showed what a stunning city Washington is.

John has had to work all week so I've had the days to myself. Being a complete museum geek, this has been bliss for me. So far I've visited the Natural History Museum, the Freer Museum (south Asian art, in my elelment there), the national gallery, the Hirshhorn Gallery (modern art, over my head but did the obligatory wandering and looking like i got the deep meanings behind it all), the National Archives (with the Declaration of Independance, the bill of rights and the Consititution) and the Washington Monument. I've also spent a lot of time reading in various sculpture gardens and on the Mall and shopping in Georgetown, an old area of the city where i unfortunately discovered that my credit card works overhere. It's a bit like being unemployed again but without the guilt. On Sunday we headed out to Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington and had a tour round the manor and wandered round the grounds, where they had actors playing the parts of soldiers and doctors. I got to hold a gun. On my first day in America.
(I have taken some pictures but can't seem to get the camera card thing to work so they may have to follow).

The evenings have been spent eating mainly, with John, his girlfriend and her friends. Staying with someone who knows the city makes a big difference as they know all the best places to go. Also just been hanging about in John's flat, watching TV and playing monopoly (me winning, obviously).

Tomorrow we set off to New York for 4 days. Going back to my travelling days of hostels and a one star hotel. Its a holiday this weekend so EVERYWHERE in New York is booked up, apart from this one star hotel we found. The only one the travel company had left. Oh well, it'll be an experience and the 24hr police survelliance outside it should keep us safe...

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