Advertisement
Published: August 8th 2007
Edit Blog Post
HI from Washington! Well i got here on Monday and the heat was incredible, it was almost 100 outside, someone said it was a heatwave and to expect bad weather for the next couple of days. Didnt sleep a wink the first night, the air con wasnt working and it's like trying to sleep in an oven!
On first impressions, I dont think Washington is as nice as Philadelphia. On my first day walking about, someone shouted at me in the street, on 3 seperate occasions. One homeless guy was shouting about me being white ( i think he was homeless?) and the other two i couldnt make out what they were saying but i could tell it wasnt friendly banter. I just ignore them but its a bit disturbing at 2o'clock in the afternoon! Also the streets in Philadelphia had lovely street names like Chestnut, Walnut, Vine, Arch, Bank etc but the streets here are numbered - 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc and are criss crossed with A,B,C,D etc so its a bit clinical, im staying on K & 11th street.
Went to the White House and the Capitol Building on my first day but you can't go in. To
get a tour in the White House you need to contact your MP 3-6months before your trip. However it was good to see it and have a walk round about. The rain started when i was there and i got stuck under a tree for a while but then the thunder and lightning started so i ran for cover and ended up stuck in a doorway for an hour with six other people. It wa torrential and you see the lightning hitting the park. At one point we heard loads of sirens and huge metal plates came up in the middle of the road to stop the traffic. It's weird cos you wouldnt even know they were there! Anyway, out of the White House somewhere came 3 motorcycles, 2 police cars, 2 black limos, 4 blacked out jeeps, another 2 police cars and 2 motorcycles. It was the President but no one ever knows which car hes in due to security. After all that exictement i had to head back to the hostel cos the weather stayed pretty bad the whole day and i couldnt walk about in shorts and a vest!!
Walked to the Washington Monument and then
from there went to the different memorials - Vietnam War, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War. There is a hushed silence surrounding these, especially the World War II memorial which is nice with its fountains. I walked over the Lincoln Memorial Bridge to the Arlington Cemetry. Visited J.F.K gravesite. Its a simple plaque with an eternal flame beside it and then next to it Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis plaque and their childrens. Robert Kennedy is not far from this, he has a white cross and a white plaque on his site. I walked up the hill to the Tomb of the Unkown Soldier which is a beautiful quiet place. There is a changing of the guard every 30 minutes. An official was setting up barriers and when i asked what was happening he said a dignitary was coming to lay a wreath but if i hung about for half an hour i would see them. Well im glad i did it was really nice. It turned out to be the General of the United States Army along with a General from Brazil who was laying the wreath. A Marine Band played the Brazilian Anthem and then the American Anthem. There was soldiers from
the Army, the Navy, the Marines and the Airforce. I got a picture of the secret service guys, they really do like they do in the movies! I dont know why i found this funny :-)
On my way back down i walked past the White House again and stood for a few minutes. The next thing you know it looks like the First Lady out on the south balcony in her bathrobe! She leaned over the balcony and was looking below. I managed to get a photo but all of a sudden the security guys where shoving us all back saying "ma'am no photos...... i said ma'am no photos!!!" He was basically saying move it or lose it. I dont see what the point was as by the time we moved she had went back inside! Everyone assumed it was Mrs Bush as who else would be walking about her house in their bathrobe! It did look like her.
So that was my excitement over for the day, ive stayed in every night in the hostel as ive been told not to venture out in Washington at night on my own. Im freaked out enough as it
is during the day anyway!
As you will see ive stuck a couple photos on of me and my bites!! Ive been covered in bites the last couple of days and i thought it was from Philly. I remember being bitten when i was outside one night on the phone to Raymond. However my roommate asked for my advice on these bites she had and i nearly had a heart attack!! She has huge red welts all over her, right up her neck on to her face. The size of apples. I told her to go to the doctor so she did and the nurse said its bed bugs yyyyuuukkk!!!! She gave her an antibiotic and it cost her $100 bucks!!!! When she got back to the hostel she told them and the girl at reception said, yeah, we've got a problem , we're getting the beds sprayed soon!! Oh my god i never slept a wink. I got new sheets and pillow. The other girl moved rooms but i was leaving in the morn and apparently its on all floors so what was the point. Luckily ive not got an allergy to them like she has. Its gross!!
Itching like mad :-)
So now im off to Chicago where hopefully they have clean beds! Just had my breakfast, the woman who runs the breakfast room is like a scary head mistress!! You pay for your breakfast at the desk and you get a ticket which you give to her. She barks at people all morning about these tickets and embarrases them. This morning they didnt have any milk left for the cereal so i thought i'll just have two bagels instead then. Well it isnt as easy as that... " Young Ladeee, (she shouts) you can only have 1 bagel not 2". I reply " but im not having cereal as you dont have any milk so ill have an extra bagel in place of it". She goes
" Young Lady, the cereal is there with or without the milk, but you can't have 2 bagels". Its like being back at school again. I was going make my point but she's like Queen Latifah!!
Who knows what Chicago has in store for me! :-) x x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.128s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 15; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0655s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
sharon
non-member comment
Hey Gill
Hiya, Glad to hear you are enjoying your trip gill,love reading your stories..Cant wait to read the vegas trip, take care Love Sharon xxxx