We’d already braved the gauntlet that is Broadway.  It is quite an experience: exhilirating or horrific, depending on your piece of mind.   On this occasion, I’m happy to report that it was definitely the former.  Below is the view we enjoyed from within the theatre (the Minskoff).

The show itself was fantastic!  I’m not too hot on musicals to be honest but even I can’t resist some classic Disney – and this was classic.  Much of the show follows the film verbatim so if you enjoyed one, the other won’t disappoint.  The performances were uniformly excellent but for me it was the stage that really stole the show – the set was remarkable.  No photos allowed, sadly.

Broadway was even more spectacular after dark.  Not everyone’s cup of tea, granted, but it’s difficulted not be taken in by it all.

Earlier in the day, we’d explored the downtown area.  We visited the World Trade Center site, now a building site.  The construction of the Freedom Towers is still at an early stage so there was not an awful lot to see.

Across from the site is St Paul’s Chapel.  Remarkably, given its close proximity, this small church survived September 11th unscathed – trees in its yard protected it from the worst of the debris.  Subsequently, the church became a hub for the rescue effort that followed and is now a permanent exhibition recalling this aspect of the time. 

From here, we headed to the Hudson River and walked along the shoreline in the direction of Battery Park, which sits at the Southern most point of Lower Manhattan.  It was on this pleasant stroll that we caught our first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.  I’d always thought it was closer to the mainland than what it actually is – this shot was taken with full zoom. 

Once we’d reached Battery Park, we found some shade and tucked into giant pretzels.  Very American.  And salty!!

After the excitement of the Lion King, we had a rare lie in the following day.  You might expect, and not unreasonably, that in New York of all places, we’d be out and about 12+ hours a day.  There is, after all, so much to see and do.  But to be honest, it’s here that we’ve been at our laziest.  I think in part, we have been unconsciously winding down – either that or we’re just fed up of walking x hours a day and have thus timed the duration of our trip to near perfection.  I would probably say the former, Anna the latter.

Anyway, once we did get out we went for some excellent noodle soup in Chinatown.  Stuffed (it hasn’t ceased to amaze how filling soup can be!), we carried ourselves to the Brooklyn Bridge.  Famous for being the first of its kind, there is a steady stream of tourists heading in both directions.  We joined the throngs and snapped away. 

In a cool twist (in my limed bridge experience, I should add), the pedestrian section of the bridge runs direct down the middle, above the traffic.

Once on the otherside, we meandered our way to Brooklyn Heights and the waterfront, for views of Lower Manhattan. 

On Tuesday (our penultimate full day – we have been going into countdown overdrive of late: last this, penultimate that) we were up at the crack of dawn with the intention of joining the queues to get across to Liberty and Ellis Islands.  Unfortunately, my travel buddy was feeling poorly – another bout of tonsilitis we feared – and so it was straight back to bed.  When we did finally get up and out, we skipped (not literally, I assure you!) through Cental Park to take some photos of the Guggenheim museum.  An architectural favourite of my father, it is indeed a stunning building. 

We didn’t pay the inflated fees to see the exhibits (we are not the most cultured of souls, where art is concerned) but we were able to nip inside and marvel at the building’s equally impressive interior.

Job done, we had a quick lunch at Grand Central (truly grand, as stations go) before doing a spot of shopping.  With limited success on this occasion, though Anna did emerge from Niketown with a couple of purchases.  And then we both had a bit of a fright.  Anna, as I’ve mentioned, had not been feeling too hot the past day or two and so we’d decided to return to the hotel for a siesta.  Well, we made it as far as the Subway platform – which, it should here be noted, makes the Tube feel chilly (certainly the platforms; the trains, mercifully, are air conditioned) – when Anna fainted.  I am talking proper fainting here.  At first I thought she was itching her back against the wall and then next thing I know she was on the floor.  Luckily, I’d been right by her side so I’d managed to cushion her fall but from there my composure began to crack. A friendly bystander (and there was just the one, I’m sad to say) was phoning for help but Anna came to.  Kind of.  The train was just pulling in as we got her to her feet but she was still swooning as I sat her down on a seat.  And this was probably the worst part of the episode (from my point of view, I think for Anna the nadir was lying on a subway platform … ), Anna was just starring at me all glassy eyed, looking really out of it, her skin having taken on a very unhealthy looking tinge.  And then, just like that, back she was, in the land of the living and BIG sighs of relief all around!!!  We were laughing about it within the hour but it was a scary few minutes.

We had Mets tickets for that evening and after a ‘power’ nap, Anna was adamant that we still go.  The Mets, forever in the shadow of the Yankees and far less successful, play in Queens, at the Shea Stadium.  It is a huge arena and our seats, though not bad, were stratospheric. 

On the evidence of those around us, a ball game is as much an eating occasion as it is a sporting one.  Anna and I definitely tried to get into the spirit of things but making just a paltry two trips to the food stands, failed miserably. 

We didn’t sit it out until the very end so I can’t even tell you who won, except to say that the Mets were 5-2 up as they closed out the penultimate (my word of the week) innings.  Oh, they were playing the San Diego Padres, if anybody cares.

Our final full day was fairly low key.  Mostly, it was a day of (more) shopping, both of us spending money I’m pretty sure we don’t have.  

At sunset, we made our way to the Empire State Building and its 86th floor observatory.  As Anna commented in the last blog, we were slightly underwhelmed by the building itself but the views were stunning. 

Not a bad way to bring our tourist activities to a close.  All that was left to do was to have a last meal.  I let the invalid choose.  If you know Anna well, her choice will come as little surprise: duck. 

A bloody good choice as it turned out – it was amazing.  Anna’s appetite not what it normally is, I was left to clean up (darn!).  On account of Anna’s tonsils, I was also left to pour a lonely beer.

So, this is it. 

In a couple of hours we will make our way to JFK airport and while away the last precious hours of what has been an incredible trip.  The title of this blog, although obviously linked to and inspired by the Lion King, resonated with me more because of its relevance to our experience – Hakuna Matata perfectly captures the past 6 months.  For sure, it has not been a completely worry-free time but more often than not, the worries have been minute: where (and indeed what) to eat, how to get to the hotel, getting ripped off by  sweet old ladies, trying to recall if toothbrushes had been packed etc., etc.  Far more pertinent – and I think I speak for both of us – has been an overriding sense of well being, of everyday being a new adventure and, up until quite recently, of new places and new experiences, being mapped out ahead of us on an ever-expanding horizon.  It has been like living in a bubble, a cosy cocoon that has protected us from the ‘real world.’  As we board our flight this evening, that bubble is about to burst.  Just as Simba had to return to Pride Rock, so too do we have to face the on-rushing realities of work, finding a place to live, finding the money to find a place to live and other such serious matters.  Which isn’t all bad.  I’m certainly not complaining.  We are both excited (mostly …) about the coming weeks and months.  Instead, I’m just grateful that we’ve been fortunate enough to have had this time, to have seen what we’ve seen, experienced what we’ve experienced and, most important, to have enjoyed every minute of it.

Our tour guide was a student of Harvard called Matt and his tour was very informative.  It was amazing how well he spoke in public at the age of 19 to a large crowd of people.  No nerves at all!  As a student he was able to give us a much greater insight into what studying and living at Harvard is really like.  For example, he said that before moving into halls in the first year you have to complete a huge form about your music taste, time keeping, tidyness etc – all so the accommodation department can match you up with a perfect roommate!  Also, as there have been many great minds (and even some celebrities like Matt Damon) to graduate from Harvard the new students are interested to know who stayed in their rooms before them.  Apparently, when the new students move in, they have a list of their rooms’ previous occupants and although our guide’s room didn’t have anyone particularly famous staying in it before him, he said his friends moved into a room which had once housed Al Gore and Tommy Lee Jones as roommates!

The tour mostly took place outside the main buildings but we were able to go into one of the buildings which has the lecture halls and more importantly the food hall for the first years (which apprently looks like the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies – sadly it is strictly ONLY the first years that are allowed in there).  The inside of the building was beautiful with many stained glass windows.  Interestingly, instead of religious figures adorning the stained glass, Harvard has great literary and historical figures decorating their stained glass – William Shakespeare was one such example.  I’m not sure if he’s on this particular pane but this is a good example of the types of stained glass on view here…

The Harvard Library is also impressive, and I’m not just referring to the exterior building, although it is pretty grand.

The library is one of the largest in America as it has many branches throughout Boston and Cambridge, and even one in Washington DC.  When the library was built, there were certain stipulations put in place by the lady who donated the money to fund the building.  It was built in honor of her son, a Harvard graduate who died on the Titanic trying to bring old and rare documents back to America.  Apparently her stipulations included that the face of the building could not be changed from it’s original form, so that her son’s name would always remain on the library, and her second stipulation was that every student had to complete a swim test before being allowed to graduate.  This was because she believed that if her son had been able to swim he would not have drowned aboard the Titanic.  For many years the university stuck to it’s word and all graduates had to complete a swim test before they could graduate – thankfully this practice no longer exists today.  However, the first condition is still adhered to, and in order to house more and more books the university has had to build down and outwards making the majority of the library underground.

After our fascinating tour of Harvard we were both pretty tired so we headed back to Boston and had an early night.  We’ve enjoyed our time in Boston at a more relaxed paced, and we were pleased to have a bit of a break after all the museum-hopping in Washington DC!  We found many a moment for a cool relaxing dip of the feet in the local ‘frog pond’ with our books.

Only 2 days after visiting Harvard Jords decided that he could not stand his haircut any longer so one afternoon he left me and went for yet another haircut!  This time the results were much better and he was a happy chappy again!  So much so that he treated us to some delicious sweet treats from the aptly named Sugar Heaven after a not-so-bad burger (oven cooked chips, fruit smoothies, brown burger rolls – it was great)!

On our final day we decided to visit the famous Fenway Park that we had seen so many times from our room lit up at night and full of life.  We visited it first thing in the morning, so it was much less lively, but still a sight we wanted to see.  It’s actually not the prettiest park out there but it’s steeped in history blah blah blah!

After walking to and from Fenway we grabbed a lazy breakfast and then walked into town again.  We were going to visit the Samuel Adams brewery for lunch but we knew we could get the beer in all the local pubs so come lunchtime we made our way to the nearest and nicest pub we could find!  We were faithful and had a pint of Samuel Adams (incidentally the brand of the first legal beer I had in the states) accompanied by some traditional Boston Clam Chowda.  It was a delicious combination and a good way to spend our final afternoon.

After enjoying our final meal in Boston we walked home along the pretty little streets and packed our bags for the penultimate time on this trip.  Next time we do that we’ll be packing to come home….

The next morning we were up at 6am to catch our final Greyhound (hooray!) to New York City.  We were able to catch an earlier bus than expected so less sitting around than usual which was nice!  Along the way our driver succeeded in getting lost, backing into a fence and not stopping once contact was made, and hurtling through the streets at the speed of light – thank GOD our final bus journey was over (it was only after that we heard what had happened in Canada…).

We found our hostel with ease and after checking in we headed out to enjoy the good weather.  We went straight to Central Park (a couple of blocks away) and made a plan for our time here.  We did a little walking too, past the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, before heading back towards our room, picking up some chinese en route.

On our first full day in NYC we walked into the downtown area and stumbled across Times Square.  It was absolutely heaving with people, screens, flashing lights – a truly crazy experience!  You can see the Lion King theatre in the foreground of this picture – so exciting!

Whilst in the theatre, to see if we could get our tickets, (and avoid the pouring rain!), the Naked Cowboy walked past the window.  Hopefully some of you know who I’m talking about?!  The guy who has a guitar and sings in a pair of underpants, cowboy boots, and a cowboy hat!  It was like seeing a celebrity – people were giving him money to have their photo taken with him!  It’s a crazy city and somehow I feel like that is our first of many ’Only in New York’ moments!  Along the way we saw the Empire State Building and I have to say we were both a little disappointed by it.  It must have been a very impressive building back in the day but it looks a little old nowadays.  We still took a photo of it though!

I think it will look better at night and certainly the views from the top will probably make up for its appearance!  We also took to NY shopping like ducks to water, both making a couple of purchases late in the evening!  We have the Lion King to look forward to tonight – cannot wait!

First, we visited the Supreme Court (below).  Having paid our dues to the two other branches of government, it seemed only fair that we do so.  The Court is only fully operational between October and late spring, and due to a summer refurbishment we were unable to sneek a peak at the principle courtroom.  However, we did spend an hour or so checking out some exhibits and definitely left with a better understanding of how the Court works.  Don’t worry, I don’t intend to share …

Our second stop also had an air of inevitability about it.  Having both visited Vietnam and taken in every other memorial going in Washington, we were not about to leave without paying a visit to the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Wall.  It is a visually striking monument – the name of over 58,000 soldiers either killed or missing in action, etched into a mirror-like granite surface.  The scale of the Wall is daunting. 

Nothing like an evening spent in a Greyhound bus terminal to cheer you up after visiting a war memorial!  It was with mixed feelings that we boarded our final ‘night’ bus (to Boston): delight at the prospect of not having to sleep on a bus for a very long time; dismay at what that means – we truly are in the home straight.

Sparse would be the word best used to describe our penultimate living quarters.  However, we are in a great location – just a ten minute walk from downtown and not too far from the famous Fenway Park.  On our first evening here they got spanked by their bitter rivals, the Yankees.  I wonder if this stunning sunset was any consolation?

Boston is nice and quite unlike any of the other cities we have visited.  That’s not to say that the others were unpleasant, just that Boston is more homely, somehow.  For example, although there is, inevitably, a degree of high rise, it doesn’t dominate the skyline as in other cities.  Older buildings (many of which hark back to the revolutionary days – see below) more than hold there own in the heart of the city – providing some quite neat photo opportunities …

In large part, this is because of the city’s history – Boston was one of the first major colonial towns, founded in 1630 by a group of Puritans fleeing the motherland.  As a result, the city was at the forefront of the American Revoluition.  As the Freedom Trail demonstrates …

The Freedom Trail is a 2.5mile walking track that leads you to numerous sites of historical significance.  As the name suggests, these sites are all linked to the revolutionary period and the colonists’ quest for independence from Britain.  The trail starts in Boston Common, its first port of call being Massachusett’s State House. 

From here, it winds its way through downtown Boston, finishing north of the Charles River in Charleston.  The final stop is the Bunker Hill Monument.

With an uncanny resemblance to that of Washington (I have no idea which came first), the Bunker Hill Monument marks the site of the first battle of the American Revolution.  We took the 291 steps (my calves are still feeling the burn, 3 days later …) to the top and enjoyed the views back across the river. 

And recovered. (I’ve managed to sneak this shot past the censors).

Although not a designated stop (according to our $2 map), the trail also passes the city’s Holocaust memorial.  Each of the 6 glass towers represents one of the main killing centres.  Cheery, I know but thought provoking.   To most at least – we did have the misfortune of overhearing some fat ass say “so what,” as she shrugged her shoulders. 

On a happier note, the memorial is directly across from America’s oldest tavern – the Bell in Hand.  Once we’d completed the trail we made a beeline for it and enjoyed a couple of cold ones.

After Washington, we’ve both been feeling a little ‘museumed out’ but Boston is home to one that we did not want to miss – the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.  Overlooking the Boston Harbour, the museum is housed in an impressive glass structure.

The contents of the museum are equally impressive.  The exhibits take you chronologically through JFK’s short presidency, beginning with his election vitory over Nixon and culminating with his legacy.  There is a tonne of video footage so we were in there for well over 4 hours.  Anna thinks I’m a bit obsessed but I just find the guy compelling.  He was an idealist and, though not without his flaws, had the potential to be a great human being.  Had he been given the chance, JFK’s could have had a resounding impact on the twentieth century (not to mention the United States).  The same could probably be said of his younger brother, Robert.  Incidentally, JFK’s youngest brother, Ted, is still a Massachusett’s Senator to this day, having first entered that office during JFK’s Presidency. 

Anyway, it was an excellent musuem.

Incidentally, towards the end of our stay in Washington we had the opportunity to design our own presidential seals.  For your viewing pleasure, this was my effort: 

Yeah, perhaps they should stick with what they have.  Anna will fill you in on the rest of our stay in Boston shortly.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum is another of the free museums that DC offers and it was presented and delivered excellently.  There are 3 floors which take you from the beginning in the 1930s through to the aftermath of the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Trials.  It is impossible to describe everything we saw, but suffice to say, that a lot of time and money has been spent making this museum widely accessible and very informative.

After the museum we headed up towards Dupont Circle to explore a new area of the city.  However, it was such a hot day that we only made it to the first ‘circle’ (Thomas Circle) which was buzzing with a bit more life than downtown, so we explored that instead!  Before going to Thomas Circle we had purchased tickets, for later that day, to see The Dark Knight (which was consistently sold out throughout the day) and so after our explorations we set off to get to the cinema in plenty of time.  By 6.30pm we were in the queue and the film was not due to start until 7.30pm!  The lines were crazy but thankfully we were very near the front so managed to grab some excellent seats and a tub of popcorn the size of a beach ball - it was HUGE! Needless to say the film was excellent and we both thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next day we got up early to try and beat the heat of the day as we wanted to head to Virginia (on foot!) to visit Arlington National Cemetery where John F. Kennedy and his wife are burried, along with his brother Robert Kennedy as well as other Presidents and historical figures.  The cemetery itself spreads out as far as the eye can see and is built on what was once a colonial plantation.  The JFK memorial has an eternal flame burning in his memory and a fantastic view of the Washington Monument.

And we saw Robert Kennedy’s memorial too…

We didn’t spend a terribly long time at the cemetery, for obvious reasons, and we were soon headed back in the direction of downtown.

That afternoon we decided to explore Georgetown, an historical area where the stunning Georgetown university, dating back to 1789, is located.  The streets of Georgetown are lined with beautiful old houses, shops, and restaurants giving us plenty to see and do.  After strolling through the downtown area we walked to the university and admired the old buildings there – sadly we did not think to capture this on camera.

To reward ourselves for all our walking we decided to have a nice lunch out at a local pub.  I chose to have a very American burger and chips whereas Jords opted for the more ‘English’ plate of fish & chips!  Both washed down with a pint and thoroughly enjoyable.  After our pub lunch we decided to walk to Washington National Cathedral. 

It was a truly stunning building and we were both shocked by the clean outside appearance of this Cathedral, both being used to rather weather worn and much much older specemins in England, not to mention the brightness of the stained glass windows.

Thid was a particularly beautiful example that I loved…

The photo doesn’t do it justice somehow.  After the Cathedral we headed back to our old favourite place – the fountain in the sculpture garden where we could cool our weary feet and relax with a book.  It was a great end to an exhausting day! 

Officially 24!  Woke up very early on my birthday and Jords hurried me downstairs to give me my presents.  I had a lovely card, a bar of dark Ghirardelli Chocolate with citrus pieces and a New York City Encounter travel book!  We then checked our emails and I had an email confirmation from Jords advising that we were going to see the Lion King on Broadway in NYC on the 3rd August!  I was amazed!  It is a show I have wanted to see for many years as I’ve heard great things about it…and now I’m finally going to see it!

Off on very much the right foot for the day we set off downtown in the beautiful sunshine.  It was at this point I advised Jords that, as my Mum always reminds me, I’ve very rarely had bad weather on my birthday.  We popped into a coffee shop for a deluxe breakfast before setting off towards the zoo.  Within 10 minutes the sky had become very grey and we felt pretty certain that the heavens were shortly to open.  So we changed our plans and headed for the National Archives.  Thinking that it wouldn’t be very busy this early in the morning, we were shocked to see a queue, and even more shocked when it started to pour with rain!  We got pretty drenched but it was all good fun!

I promise it’s not sweat!!!

The National Archives houses some very important documents.  First they have one of the 4 remaining copies of the Magna Carta, and once we were inside we were able to view it before getting in line for the next 3 documents.  These consisted of the most important documents to many Americans.  The Declaration of Independence, The American Constitution (below), and The Bill of Rights. 

The declaration had faded so much you could barely read it, the Constitution was in impeccable condition – especially the signatures, and the Bill of Rights was also pretty faded.  It was a surprisingly good way to spend my birthday morning!  We didn’t get out until 2pm and when we finally emerged it was to beautiful blue skies and intense heat!

We decided to follow through with our original plan of paying the zoo a visit as it was another free one!  Although all the animal shows were done in the morning it was a lot quieter in the afternoon, making walking around more of a joy!  The most exciting animals by far were the Hippos and the Giant Pandas.  They were just adorable!

After exhausting ourselves at the zoo, we made a beeline (or should that be beerline) for a pub we had read about with over 1000 beers to choose from!  We arrived and were instantly in heaven – if only we were any good at making decisions!  Jords took over and chose some great beers for us to sample. 

Look how many options there were on that one page…there were at least 10 pages!

A couple of bottles later and our appetite was huge.  We therefore did only what was right on my birthday and went back to Georgetown, to a restaurant called Pizzeria Uno (a Chicago pizza place) and gorged ourselves on pizza yet again!  It was amazing!  A fantastic birthday – my first away from home – and Jords certainly made it special!

Finally the day had arrived for us to check out of hostel hell and into hotel heaven!  We checked out as late as possible from the hostel and by 12pm we were at the Sofitel Hotel just one block away from the Whitehouse!  We were made even happier when we were informed we could check in straight away – we had expected to be turned away until 3pm.  The room that Jords had booked was just beautiful…

Flat LCD wide screen?!  We were spoilt!

We wasted no time in abusing the facilities on offer to us in the hotel and after changing into our gym gear we headed to the basement!  The gym had individual TV monitors on each machine, free oranges and bananas, free towels – the works!  Being poor travellers we abused the free fruit on more than one occassion!  We spent the best part of an hour in the gym before showering and setting off towards the supermarket to buy our treats for the night.  And the result of our shop was…

Pretty healthy hey?!  That doesn’t quite show the full picture – in hiding were 2 bags of kettle chips and a whole apple pie!  We settled down in our lovely room, with our flatscreen TV, and watched Atonement.  5 minutes before the end of the film there was a power cut due to the huge thunderstorm overhead and we were in darkness for about 10 minutes.  Luckily I had my handy head torch so we didn’t have to sit in the dark, but Jords did think he needed to take a pic of me with it on!

This photo was taken in the almost pitch black!!!  However, once we had power, we finished the end of our film, and went to sleep in one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever been in…

The hostel itself was quirky – a retired mansion now serving as the city’s Hostelling International base.  It’s been a while since we stayed in dorms (Mission Beach, Australia, being the last – a lifetime ago, it seems) and though we weren’t overly enthused at the prospect it was ok.

We only had the one full day in Philadelphia so it was quite a busy one.  Philadelphia is where the US, as we know it, was born – the Declaration of Independence was drafted, presented, ratified and, finally, signed here in the summer of 1776.  July 4th, or Independence Day, celebrates the day on which the Declaration was ratified – it was not actually signed for another two months (I have no idea why it took them so long?!), on August 2nd.  History lesson over (for now …), it was the opportunity to visit the birthplace of this compelling nation that lured us here.  Thus, our morning was spent taking a tour of Independence Hall (where the Declaration was signed – who’d have guessed!) and the surrounding area.  And as you can probably detect from the above, it was a very informative tour.  The building itself, although the original, was a bit plasticy (is this a word?) inside and slightly underwhelming, somehow.  That said, it’s difficult not be a little in awe of such a historical spot.

While we were in the area, we also visited the (apparently) famous Liberty Bell.  A symbol of American values – and a treasured one, at that – the bell is only linked to the Declaration of Independence through circumstance – it had long stood in the bell tower of Indepence Hall (formerly the Pennsylvania State House) before the Declaration was written.  Also, it wasn’t until the abolitionist movement of the 1830s that the bell became known as such, though it does carry the following prophetic inscription:

Proclaim liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof

It is likely considered rude to visit this part of the world with out tipping your hat to the Founding Fathers but it would even more likely be considered sacrilegious to have visited and not indulged in a Philly Cheesesteak.  We duly obliged.

The rest of our afternoon was spent perusing the downtown area.  Parts of which are bit gritty but others superbly maintained and very pleasant. 

In one such area (ironically, perhaps) there is a statue of Rocky (yes, that Rocky!) to commemorate the famous scene in the first film were he runs up the steps of the city’s Museum of Art.  And I kid you not, even from quite a distance we could see numerous idiots actually reenacting the scene, even doing the little jumping jig once they’d got to the top.  I’m not even a particularly big fan of Rocky but what the hell!

The following morning we took the short bus ride to Washington to D.C., delighted to find that we’d booked a hostel that, although requiring a short bus ride to the city’s many attractions, can reasonably be said to be in the downtown area.  By the time we’d checked in, got ourselves sorted, etc., we didn’t really have time to do anything of note, just heading into town for some dinner at a rather delicious Burmese restaurant.

Next day, we got down to business.  By 8, we were queuing outside Capitol Hill for tickets (free – everything here is, it’s brilliant!) to be taken on a tour inside.  As most of you will know, Capitol Hill is the home of the Congress – very much at the centre (or, should I say center) of American and, by proxy, world politics.  Unlike Independence Hall, Capitol Hill is still very much alive and kicking and, as a consequence, a more moving experience. 

Besides the Gallery (see below), the highlight of the building is the rotunda – a fantastically ornate room where, a bit morbidly perhaps, elected officials who die whilst still serving lie in state, including Presidents Kennedy and Lincoln.  Below is the rotunda’s ceiling.

The tour itself did not extend to the Gallery – the US equivalent of the House of Commons – but we were able to claim further tickets to visit.  Unfortunately the Congress is not currently in session so we were unable to see it in action but it was still very cool.  It is in this room that the President delivers his annual State of the Union address.  Unfortunately, cameras were prohibited in this part of the building.

In the afternoon, we visited the the Air and Space Museum.  One of the many Smithsonian museums, it may seem like an odd choice as a first port of call, our logic being that we didn’t want to cram all the ‘best’ stuff in the first couple of days – we have a full week here.  And besides, it was a thoroughly excellent museum.  A couple of highlights for you.  First, the museum housed the actual Spirit of St Louis.  This was the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh flew from New York to Paris in 1927.  I can’t say that I’m particulalry enthralled by aviation in general, but I’d read a Lindbergh biography earlier in the trip so was unusually interested on this occasion.

Second, and this is more (or so we thought!) a crazy fact discovered, that we wish to share: Pluto is no longer considered a legitimate planet in our solar system!  There are only eight!!  I was looking at the display and thinking I’m sure there’s one missing and, low and behold, in 2006 Pluto was reclassified as a ‘dwarf’ planet.  Being no scientist, I can’t really go into too much detail as to why to this change has occurred but textbook publishers must have had a field day!!

Less crazy, and more a sign of my general ignorance I fear, I had no idea that 6 Apollo missions had succesfully landed on the moon.  I’d assumed that Apollo 11 wasn’t the only occasion but I was surprised at the number of successful landings.

Brains sufficiently boggled for the day, be grabbed some chow at Capital Q Texas BBQ (apparently popular with the Texas members of Congress) before heading in the direction of the White House.

We walked past the back of the compund first.  We didn’t spot the President but it was surprising how close the House is to the perimeter fence.  Which, is not that close but enough that you can clearly identify the famous West-Wing, albeit only the top half of it.  There was a small party hovering around but I’m pretty sure Dubya wasn’t among them.

The front of the house was more as we’d expected, set far back from the public viewing area.  As a result, not quite so exciting.  It is around the back that you almost expect to see something, irrational as that is. 

From the White House, we walked in the direction of the Mall and the Washington Monument.  The sun was beginning to set so it was a perfect time to pay a first visit.  On this occasion we were flagging so we didn’t stay long.

Our third day (and if, as you read on you are beginning to flag, the last of this entry!!) began with a near death experience: the American breakfast buffet.  It was carnage – I’ll spare you the grizzly details.  Thereafter, it was a rather Presidential day …

First off, we visited the White House Visitor’s Center.  Not quite a museum (certainly not in the Washingtonian sense), it nonetheless offered displays on both the house and its numerous inhabitants, some more interesting than others.  It was revealed that President Nixon ordered the removal of the White House’s indoor swimming pool to make way for the press room, a decision he surely came to regret.  Silly man.

Our next port of call was the National Portrait Gallery.  Surprisingly, they had a portrait of each and every President (apart from Dubya’s – I guess his will follow shortly).  I have to confess to never having heard of a couple – Millard Filmore anyone?  Each portrait was accompanied by a short biography – the most notable (and tragic) of which depicted the Presidency of William Henry Harrison.  His inauguration address was so long that he contracted pneumonia during the course of its delivery and never recovered.  He passed away within the month.

Needing a restbite from the heat (which, at times, is suffocating) we spent a pleasant hour in a sculpture garden, cooling our toes in its fountain.

Suitably refreshed, we embarked on a tour of the The Mall.  Having already visited the Washington Monument, our focus was on the various presidential memorials, namely those belonging to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Rooselvelt and Abraham Lincoln (in that order).

Credit where credit is due – American’s know how to do a good memorial.  Both in terms of architecture and scale.  The Thomas Jefferson memorial is set on Tidal Basin Lake.  In the distance you can just make out the White House – there is a clear line of sight between the two.

The FDR Memorial is a behemoth!  Different in style to the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials (where a statue of each effectively stands/sits in a grand structure), you walk through the FDR Memorial as it charts the four terms of his Presidency.  It takes four of five minutes to walk form one end to the other, with the route dominated by water features of different shapes and sizes.

And finally on to the Lincoln Memorial, probably the most famous.  This sits across from Capitol Hill, at the head of the reflecting lake – immortalised in the minds of many by Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech or, failing that, Forrest Gump.  The light was fading fast by this point, so we were able to enjoy the memorial both at dusk and in darkness.  The memorial is lit from within so it is an impressive sight.

From here we made our way to our bus stop via the Washington Monument and yet another memorial, this one commemorating WWII.  Both impressively illuminated.

So there you have it.  I hope you’ve made it this far and, if not, have at least enjoyed the pictures.   We still have four days here, one of which is Scuttlebutt’s brithday.  Older and wiser, she will fill you in on the remainder of our stay.  

Just remember, if ever you get into a debate or discussion about American Presidents, Dubya is not the stupidest: Nixon was!