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I never planned to go to the US, no offence - but it never appealled to me. My flight from South America to Japan insisted that I transfer in the US, so here I am. All flights out of Brazil flew only into Washington, and all flights to Tokyo only out of New York. So in the US, I am only visiting Washington DC and New York.
I made my way by bus and metro to the hostel. The public transport system is WONDERFUL. So clearly signed and cheap, clean, fast and people were friendly. What a relief. I felt overwhelmed by the pace. I got to the hostel and literally had TWO showers. I scrubbed myself off what South America had left on me. Yes, disgusting I know ... but the amount of times I had gone without a shower for days, and the permanent black on my feet and ankles .... tja. It was good to have a hot looooong shower.
This may seem odd to you, but it was nice to finally wear different clothes. I wore jeans and a nice top, and the dressy shoes I had with me for a special occasion. I finally
felt like a local. I was no longer the only blond, and I couldn't be spotted as a backpacker from a mile away. It was nice to be able to walk around with an Ipod, camera and more than 20 dollars in my bag. I felt so safe ... and this was absolute luxury.
The streets in DC are SO clean, and nice and wide!I ifeel like I'm walking in a movie (since I've only known DC from the films). I can't explain it, but for some reason, I felt very important being there. Walking past buildings such as Ronald Regan House, the White House ... etc
My first stop was to pay a visit to Obama. I had a date with his house. As I walked towards the white house, just opposite the Washington Memorial, I saw a commotion of police who had blocked the roads. Everything came to a standstill and a convoy of black cars with tinted windows drove past. It was all so very serious and important. Once that had passed (I didn't see Obama), cars went about their business ... but every 30 seconds or so, a siren would go off, and another
oh too important car would be given priority in order to not have to stop at a red light. It somehow reminded me of work, and how various people of status feel they just haven't got a second to lose and must have priority over someone else, since they are oh so important compared to us mere mortals.
DC gave me the impression of being a little too 'uebertrieben' ... give me a break.
I went into the supermarket and had a little chuckle with the check-out chick, sinice I couldn't understand the money system - quarter, nickle, dime, penny .... (why didn't they just call it 'cent' like the rest of the world?) I then went to the China Embassy to arrange my Visa for China, and thanks to them closing unexpectadly early due to a function (and also being closed tomorrow as well .. possibly to nurse their hangover), I walked to the nearby Georgetown.
Georgetown is loooooovely! It's soooo cute! When I was a teenager, I watched 'Boston Common' and always wanted to live in a townhouse. Georgetown was full of these townhouses ... each one a different colour (pink, violet, red, yellow, green,
blue, navy ....) Along the streets, there were old style lamps, from which hung baskets of flowers. The townhouses along the main road were shops (antique, ice-cream, book stores, baby clothes, art galleries ... and further down came all the exclusive boutiques ... GAP, Gucci, Prada ... ) There were so many 'health' shops, promoting low fat this and less calorie that ... and milk shakes, fruit shakes, high protein blah blahs.
I walked back towards the White House and saw it from the front. There was a protest by the Iranians, insisting that the President free the people who are being held captive. I then walked further and met a nice guy called Matt, who had the day off and he showed me around. He showed me the railway station with its beautiful interior, Capitol Building, Botanic Gardens. In the evening, we met up again and went for a drink in Chinatown.
The next day, I walked more and visited some Art Museums (most of the museums are FREE!!)
I liked DC.
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Lord Snipleton III
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See!
See?! The USA is really nice despite what everyone says! Georgetown in DC holds a special place for me too, at dusk it has a really charming appeal. Funny you went to all those museums, I could think of a mutual acquintance you'd bump into that works in one of them. ;) Next...the BigApple! (TO is only 1hr flight away...hintHINT)