Chrissie_Novelle

We got back yesterday morning from our whirlwind 3 day trip to DC and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Many thanks to the Fodorites who gave me help and advice.
The weather was just perfect - it was so nice we spent all our time outside and missed out on two museums we had planned to visit - but that just means we will be going back! Breakfast at Bob and Ediths's was just what we were looking for! It was a shame there was so much building work - the Vietnam memorial was only half open and the Monumnet was closed but we will be back to visit again .
A word of praise for Delta - I had booked a really cheap ticket through travelocity - we paid £155 each for our return trip( going out via Cincinnati and back via Atlanta) I had read some awful reviews about this airline so it was with some trepidation that we boarded our flight - but I have to say they were great. We had pre booked seats on all 4 flights and our luggage was actually waiting for us on our return to London gatwick! Ok, so we had to pay $4.00 for a gin and tonic on the flight - but as we had paid so little for the trip we didn't begrudge this at all. The flight attendants were all more than helpful and we could not fault anything (apart from having a problem understanding their lovely southern accents - could listen to them all day ! )- I would def. fly with them again.

Judyrem

Glad you had a great time! Delta is my FF airline and they have been great to me too. How was the shopping ;-)?

Keith

I'm delighted that you had such a good time. Thank you for sharing!

Any comments on the US immigration screening?

Keith

tudorprincess

Chrissie- I got a chuckle when I read you had a problem understanding the FA's southern accents as I always have a problem with the English accent. I could listen to it all day as well but I think I miss every third word! Glad you liked DC, not really a favorite of mine.

Chrissie_Novelle

Shopping !!!!!!!! Well we hit the Potomac mills big time - I found the Liz Claibourne factory outlet shop and husband got lost in the Tommy shop - we could have spent the whole three days shopping as the pound is so good against your dollar. I picked up a real bargain - a suede jacket for $40.! And eating out is so cheap for us we had some (huge) nice meals - have to get used to this "carry out" system - we don't really do this here in the UK - possibly as our portions are not as big you get to eat it all at the restaurant.
As for the immigration procedure it was fine - yes we had to give our fingerprints and have out photo taken but we have absolutely no objection to this at all - I wish we did this in the UK. The queue was not as bad as we had anticipated and we caught our conecting flight with plenty of time to spare.
We have just booked the time off to come back to DC next October - my husband and I belong to the "International walking league" and there is a walk taking place next Oct in DC which we are going to attend.( In fact we met our friends from Arlington whilst on a walk in Winston Salem some years ago - )
We would also like to come and see the Cherry Blossoms - I understand April is the best time to do this ?

Anonymous

Yes, early April is the best time for the cherry blossoms. There are several types of cherry trees, which bloom at different times. The famous ones along the river bloom relatively early and the Cherry Blossom Festival is scheduled for their AVERAGE date of bloom. However, just like New England foliage, the date of peak and the duration of the display can vary tremendously from one year to the next, based mostly on weather conditions. The Marriott Wardman Park hotel, up near the zoo, has many of the late-blooming cherries on its property; we had a lovely view of a tree in full bloom from our bathroom window last year in mid-April.

Here's the official site:

http://www.nps.gov/nacc/cherry/

Judyrem

Chrissie, what is the international walking league? Sounds interesting. Please don't remind me about the dollar ro GBP ratio...I just returned from a 2 week UK trip and the credit card bills are starting to come in . You did what I wished I could do.....SHOP in the UK!

Chrissie_Novelle

Hi Judyrem - the International Walking League is a non profit/political/religious organisation that promotes friendship through walking. There are a series of walks , all over the world, which encourages people to travel and meet others from different nationalities. Check out their website on www.internationalmarchingleague.org.

Through these walks Hubby and I have walked in Canada,USA ( Portland, Oregon) New Zealnd and Australia not to mention a host of European destinations. Walkers are awarded medals for each walk completed - there are a variety of distances that can be covered. We have met some great people who have gone on to be really good friends, some of whom we have recently visited in DC. They in turn have come over to see us in the UK and we are all going to Austria ski-ing in Jan.! It is a GREAT way of meeting people and travelling and we love it !
There is going to be one of these walks in DC next October ( check out www.usfreedomwalk.org) - see you there ????