Chapter 16
Welcome to Washington DC!
After three lovely, relaxing nights in Savannah, it was time to head to Washington DC! We were sad to leave Savannah and our cute little Bed and Breakfast, but we were looking forward to visiting Washington, our nations capital! Well, Americas capital anyway. Heee.
Lately Ive noticed that when overseas people visit America, lots of people dont go to Washington. I must admit, I wasnt overly enthused about visiting it originally, but DF definitely wanted to go there for a few nights, so we decided to check it out and see some sights for 3 nights. Cause surely if youre touring America for 6 weeks, you have to pop in to the capital!?
(Just a little bit of background info
While we were traveling around the US, our home in Australia was Canberra, the capital city. Since then, weve moved back to Melbourne, where were originally from. We lived in Canberra for 18 months for DFs work, and lets just say
Im happy to be back in Melbourne! Canberra is all very political and clean and, well, just not the most exciting place on earth. Sorry QuirkyButterfly!
So we were a little bit worried that Washington would be like Canberra. Heh!)
So our flight from Savannah to Washington was uneventful! Actually, I cant remember anything about it, so I suppose it was fine! Which is the best way for a flight to be. And so
we arrived in Washington! Yayyy!
Unfortunately, George W Bush wasnt there to meet us when we stepped off the plane. Boooo.
So instead, we caught a shuttle to our hotel. We shared a shuttle with about 6 other people. One of those people was a dude from Los Angeles, who had flown to Washington DC to join with a large group of people who were there to impeach George Bush. Yowza!! Obviously, it never happened, but wow, did this guy like to talk. We were amazed that he was so passionately against Bush, when he had no idea what our political views were, or where we even came from! Not that we were offended in the least, but you know
we could have been! He was quite a sensible man really, but he just raved on and on and on about their plan to get Bush out of the White House, and all the other people in the shuttle joined in with him too. DF and I sat there smiling and nodding being Australian, I think we felt like we shouldnt really have an opinion! It was an entertaining shuttle ride though, I must say. Welcome to Washington!!
This might be a good time to quickly say that throughout our whole time in America, we didnt meet anybody who actually liked George Bush. Whenever he was mentioned, it was always negatively. By the end of it, we were whispering to each other, Who voted for him then!? because seriously.
I mean, people here pick on our Prime Minister, but nowhere near the degree that George Bush is picked on! I started to feel sorry for him a little bit by the end! But then, I feel sorry for Tom Cruise too. Im a sucker for the underdog. Heeee.
Anyway, enough talk about George Bush! After all, he didnt pick us up from the airport. Our hotel was in Georgetown, which is about 5 minutes out of the centre of Washington, with lots of great restaurants and bars
we loved it! If youre an X-Files fan like me, Scully lived in Georgetown. Hehee. And I assure you, thats not the reason we chose our hotel. Well, not the whole reason, anyway.
And look! Our hotel room was awesome! We had a lounge room and a kitchen and a bedroom! We could actually spread out and relax for 3 nights! Weeee! Heres DF enjoying the couch
That first night, with all the great choices of gourmet restaurants in Georgetown, we decided to go to Johnny Rockets and eat hot dogs. Hehee. That place is pretty bad, I must say. But I liked the strawberry milkshakes. Then, instead of going out to a nice bar for some drinks, we went back to our hotel room and watched Beaches on TV. Yep, Beaches. Can you tell I love girly 80s movies?!
After a good sleep that night, the next day we decided to hit the museums. We didnt literally hit them, dont worry. But first, we called into a great restaurant at Union Station called America. It was recommended to me by someone on these DIS boards, actually! Any food dish you could ever imagine is on the menu. Its amazing!! And very yummy, too!!
So after our yummy brunch, we jumped on a bus which took us straight to the huge strip of museums. First up was the Air & Space Museum. You guessed it that was DFs choice. But you know I couldnt deny him that, since Kennedy Space Center was such a bust! So here he is, alongside an astronaut suit at the Air & Space Museum
Next up was the National History Museum, but guess what! It was closed! Oh no! I really wanted to go and see Dorothys red glittery shoes from The Wizard of Oz!
I asked the security guard, Oh, will it be open tomorrow? to which he replied, Errr, no. Its closed for two years for renovation. Hehee, okay. Guess we were out of luck then!
So we headed to the Holocaust Memorial Museum, which was excellent but very intense. You start up on the top level, and work your way down. So if youd have enough of the very graphic artifacts and exhibits on the second top level, you have to still keep walking down until you get to the bottom, whether you like it or not. I guess theres exits to escape if you need to, but we looked it at all of it, and felt pretty mentally exhausted and sad (for lack of a better word) by the end of it. Still, we were glad we saw it all and paid our respects. Interesting, but awful, of course.
Im sure we went to another museum that day, but for the life of me, I cant remember what it was. Hmm. It might come to me later!
That night we had dinner at a fantastic little Malaysian restaurant in Georgetown. Yum! We also did a bit of late-night shopping, then headed back to our hotel for the night. It was a big day!
So the next day, we got up early and bought tickets for the sight-seeing hop on / hop off bus which takes you to all the touristy sights of Washington. I just love those buses! Theyre so cheesy and touristy. Hehee. We saw LOTS of stuff that day!!
Heres me with the Washington monument
Here it is again, from up the top of the Lincoln Memorial. I must admit, I stood on those steps and said to DF excitely, HEY! This is where Forrest Gump stood when he made his speech about Vietnam, then ran into the water to hug Jenny! DF replied, Uh, yes. Its also where Martin Luther King delivered his I have a dream
speech., which I guess is slightly more important that the scene from Forrest Gump. Whoops.
Heres me again, posing with the American flag. Im so patriotic towards other countries!!
And heres DF sitting inside the Jefferson Memorial
You can tell how tall the building is, by how little DF is!!
We also visited the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial. Sheesh! We were Memorial-ed out! Actually, we werent. We both found it all pretty interesting. DF studied American history at university, so he taught me lots of stuff as we went around all the different places.
Oh, and we also called in to this place
The White House!! Yayyyy! We didnt really call in, of course. Im amazed at how well that photo turned out, because it actually came from me being really brave and sticking my arm through a 10 metre high electric fence, and taking the photo really, really quickly. I didnt really fancy being shot down that day, so I was quick. I felt so naughty, that afterwards we had to leave straight away, in case one of the zillion security guards confiscated my camera. Heee.
Guess who we walked past as we were walking around that area!? The guy from the shuttle bus who was planning to impeach Bush, and his huge group of protesters! Theyd set up camp near the Capitol Building, and seemed to be having a lovely day in the sunshine, chatting and asking people to sign their petition. Hehee. We walked the other way so we didnt get caught by him again.
In our never-ending day, we also went to the Arlington Cemetery, and visited JFKs tomb and flame. Wow, what a day!
By this stage, we were exhausted. Exhausted, but we definitely enjoyed the bus tour. I just love that you can hop off wherever you fancy, and then jump on another bus half an hour later, to take you to the next place! After our big day, we went back to our hotel for a quick nap and a relax. Guess what else we discovered
We were sunburnt!! It was a lovely sunny day, but we didnt think it was hot enough to get burnt! Ouch! Silly us!
Now, before we left Australia, wed bought tickets online for a night bus tour to take us around to see Washington after dark! So that was that night! We basically went to all the same monuments that we went to during the day, but it was lovely to see them at night. It was a totally different atmosphere to see them all lit up.
Heres the Lincoln Memorial by night
And heres us, inside the Lincoln Memorial! I think we were a bit delirious by this stage, suffering from bad sunburn and sleepiness! We had the giggles!
We also got to see the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial in the dark, which was nice
After a great night touring Washington, we didnt get home to our hotel until around 11pm, and realised we hadnt eaten dinner. So we ordered our very first delivered American pizza! Yum! I think it was pretty similar to Australian pizza though, if I recall correctly!
And then
we went to bed! Finally!!
That, my friends, was our time in Washington! Because the next day, we were set to fly to New York! Yayyyy! We saw a LOT in Washington, and took lots of touristy photos, and did all the touristy things, and it was nice! Im glad we went, but I did get Canberra-vibes from Washington. It seems so serious and political and sensible, and thats not really me!
DF, on the other hand, loved Washington, and said he could imagine himself living there! Wow! I really liked Georgetown, with its cute shops and great restaurants and lively atmosphere it seemed like a little city within a city it was so different to the rest of Washington.
Also because its the capital city I guess, we saw lots of homeless people and protesters, and also lots of strange, loud people who we didnt encounter anywhere else. Like out the front of Union Station, which is a beautiful old building, we watched two angry people start yelling at each other, who were then immediately dragged away by police. Oh! People just seemed to be a bit more tense and angry in Washington. Maybe they go there exactly for that reason, but I think it gives the whole place a nervous energy. Does that make sense!? Its hard to describe
but it was certainly unlike any other place we visited in America. Political tension, I guess.
All that being said, I dont want it to sound like we didnt enjoy Washington. Because we did! It just had a different vibe to everywhere else we went! We had a wonderful couple of days exploring the beautiful city, and Id definitely recommend anybody who hasnt been to go and explore! And definitely stay in Georgetown, for a more relaxed, fun vibe after a big day of touring the sights!!
Next up
Start spreading the news, Im leaving today. I wanna be a part of it, New York, New Yooooork! (Come on guys, sing along with me!!)
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I didn't notice that Paula Deen is the butter lady... We really didn't know her at all before we went to her restaurant - we don't get her tv show here in Australia! But her food was yummy! And I agree with you about train travel - even though it takes MUCH longer, it's so much more relaxing than flying. I think a 6 hour train trip would be my limit though. Anything more than that, and I'd be wishing I was on a plane!! Thanks for your post - I love long replies! 
