Saturday - Washington DC - Washington, DistrictofColumbia
Washington, DistrictofColumbia
We woke early - about 6am - still dark. Had a slow start to the day - checked the weather report. As showers were predicted for afternoon we decided we'd do our touring around in the morning and shop in the afternoon. Ventured outside at about 8am - ***********e around apart from a couple of winos waking up. Quite a different story to last night when the area was a hive of activity. We were trying to find somewhere for breakfast but couldn't find anything open and it was a bit quiet and lonely, so we came back to the hotel for breakfast. It was very nice. Jumped on another tourist hop on hop off bus and hopped off at the Lincoln Memorial. By this time it was really hot and really sunny so we had to buy caps again. You may remember Lincoln Memorial from Legally Blonde 2 (which was pretty lame compared to Legally Blonde 1). Note to self - next time, pack a hat. Our caps have Washington DC on them - mine is purple and also covered in bling. Spot the tourist! After taking photos at the Lincoln Memorial we then walked past some water full of ducks with their bottoms in the air - so cute. We came to a World War 2 outdoor memorial manned by some US Marines. I had my photo taken with a couple of the US Marines. They looked very young to me - about 16. They were also very polite and called me "ma'am" which made me feel very old. We walked for nearly 3 hours and ended up outside the Treasury Bldg. That would have been full of finance people - a good bunch of people :) We thought we'd arrived at the White House but it didn't look like the White House and of course it wasn't. (We are hopeless.) Saw more squirrels. Eventually found the White House. It was so weird seeing something we've seen on tv so often. We then decided we'd go to the Smithsonian and National Portrait Gallery. We were going to wait for our bus but decided we were too impatient so I HAILED A TAXI! It was so much fun - I've never hailed a taxi before - I felt so grown up!! Washington DC is nowhere near as mental or busy as Manhattan. When I think back to being in a taxi in Manhattan - crazy stuff. Washington DC is much calmer (although not for Glen when he was driving yesterday). $10 later we were at the Smithsonian. It was free! We checked out some really ugly portraits (we could appreciate the skill of the artist - I just didn't agree with the choice of subject). I found Washington to be a very pretty city. It's no Montreal but it's very nice. It also has a happy atmosphere. I'd heard lots of reports of it being a violent city but we only saw a couple of dodgy characters - less than you'd see on a quiet day in Nambour. I guess we stayed in the tourist areas though. It's also full of fit, attractive, well dressed people. Lots of people jogging and cycling. By this time I was starving and we had lunch in a brewery as it was close. Once again I had seafood - prawns (shrimp) and crab salad for about $13 - amazing. Although the salad came with weird orange cheese that fails the sight test. We decided we'd wait for our hop on hop off bus to take us back to Georgetown where we are staying. The buses are supposed to come past every 30 minutes. 90 minutes later it arrived ! By this time the heat had changed to cold and rain. We toughed it out on the top deck of the bus for a while but eventually the shivering became too much and we went downstairs with all the other sensible people. Arrived back in Georgetown just before 5pm. I made a halfhearted attempt at shopping but all I could think about was a hot drink - I was chilled to the bone. We spotted a patisserie with a big line up - so it must be good. It was!! Coffee and chocolate/pecan/croissant later and we were revived. (Hey - I walked for 3 hours!) I then went on a quest for shoes. There was nothing that got me excited or perhaps I was just too tired. All I bought was a new black leather belt from The Gap - still cheaper than I could get in Australia - so once again I saved money. We made our way back to our hotel oasis. During the day I'd been raving on about how I wanted to get dressed up and go somewhat fabulous tonight - with dancing. Well - after walking for 3 hours and feeling weather beaten from heat, wind, cold and rain - I just don't have the energy. Oh - before I forget - today's outfit!! Glen told me not to be glamorous - so:- Blue denim Country Road skinny jeans - complete with a stain in the right leg and some fraying on the left leg; cream silk shirt (crushed), over a cream silk/cotton cami (as the silk shirt pops it's buttons without warning); usual boots and bag. I could not forgo my Coach purple cross body bag - it's a world gone mad when you can't walk around with a beautiful bag. I wanted to wear my pearls and Tiffany pendant (that I saved money on), but thought that might be a little too much. Settled for my pirate earrings aka big silver hoops. Warm enough when I started out to not worry about them getting cold and whacking me in the face - of course, that all went downhill by the afternoon - brrrrrrr. Carried my cashmere pashmina in case it became cold - which it did. We ended up back at the hotel bar/grill for "happy day". Did not get changed into anything fabulous - just changed my socks. Had $4 wine and a $6 "snack" which was dinner. So tomorrow we drive to New York. So tomorrow the New York Marathon is on. I did not think that through. The bridge we need to cross to get from Staten Island to JFK Airport is closed due to a whole lot of fit running people. (I wonder if they'll get Tiffany pendants just for finishing). The bridge will open at 3 so there is no point leaving here too early. It's a 4 hour trip according to google maps which, based on experience, means a 6 hour trip. We are staying overnight at a hotel near Brooklyn Bridge (which had no record of our reservation when I rang to confirm - thankfully Fight Centre Noosa Civic got it sorted for us). Went to another Apple store and bought some sort of technological brilliance that will copy the photos from our camera to my iPad to my blog. Not tonight though - I'm taaaaaaaaard. Goodnight :)