Looking forward to reading your report. Yes, JFK is a nightmare to come thru customs. We try to avoid it whenever possible. And yes, crazy taxi drivers in NYC. They can give me a headache with all the jerky driving and lane changing. Glad u loved Central Park -- its an oasis in all the hecticness of the city itself.

Sunday it rained fairly heavily, we walked up as far as 86th street, then through central park walking the wrong way round the reservoir (sorry - didn't see the signs until late) and puzzling how to cross one of the roads when it seemed there was a constant stream of runners , 20 abreast because of some sort of fun run.

We ended up eating brunch at Tarallucci E Vino which we enjoyed, particularly watching the families of seemingly every colour and nationality coming in for coffee and cake. On Leaving, I managed to inadvertantly upset my first New Yorker by attempting to take a photograph of a pretty dog tied up against a lamppost. This drew angry shouts and I was told off.

We carried on, meandering until we reached Lincoln Square then via Broadway down and across to Bryant Park. It was not that we planned on a long walk in the rain, just that everything was all so interesting. We stopped for a quick lunchtime drink in a nearby bar/restaurant while waiting for the library to open.

The children’s library was a surprise for my beloved who has always loved the work of AA Milne. We only stayed for about 10 minutes, but that was plenty to see the original Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and other toys that belonged to Christopher Robin. We then spent about an hour exploring the main library – a very impressive building.

Onwards to Grand Central Station which was another iconic building which we spent some time exploring, until the walking and previous days travel caught up with us. Tired, we bought our weekly travel passes, and took the subway back up to the UES.

Monday, we spent most of the day in the American Museum of Natural History, and I cannot praise it highly enough. If I lived anywhere within a couple of hours I would have signed up for membership, and could willingly have come back several times during our stay as there was just so much to see. I would go as far as to say this is the greatest museum I have ever visited.

There is only so much an average brain can take in, so we slipped out of the museum at lunchtime, buying soup from Soup stop, and eating in central park. We returned to the museum for another couple of hours before mental exhaustion set in.

Needing to do something without need of mental exertion, we decided to catch the subway down to Brooklyn, and walk back across the Brooklyn Bridge. This proved fun, although I managed to get us a little lost on the way and doubled back on myself several times before finding the pedestrian entrance.

It was quite dark, blustery and overcast but the walk was enjoyable, and the views very good. We walked back up from the bridge, through parts of China Town and Little Italy.

That night we ate at Vermicelli. It is difficult to make a comparison as this is the first time I have eaten Vietnamese food. We were impressed. The food was very tasty, and the waiter was particularly helpful, taking the time to explain to tourists who were obviously confused.

Thanks for posting, we are headed to NYC and Washington DC later in the year so this is really interesting for me.

Keep up the good work, it's enjoyable reading.

Enjoying your report! Looking forward to more...

Hi willit,

I'm still thankful for your advice when I went to Southampton and Hampshire generally a few years back and wanted to read your trip report as soon as I saw your name as the author. I'm thoroughly enjoying your perspective on New York and looking forward to your thoughts on Washington, two cities I know very well this side of the pond. I love seeing things through "new eyes".

Best wishes, Daniel

Wednesday
The actual day of our anniversary, but we had no firm plans.

We took our morning walk up towards 86th street and the subway station, and decided to stop for breakfast at Gracie Mews Diner. Diners presented a bit of a problem for me in that I am not used to them, am overwhelmed by the choices, and seem to frustrate waiters immensely because of this.

Someone needs to give out a “guide to diners” at the airport so bumpkin tourists like me know that ordering eggs on toast is not sufficient – you have to specify how many, exact cooking method, types of spread, type of bread etc, etc. otherwise you get a sigh followed by “do you want your toast white,brown,.wholewheat, rye, pumpernickel …. (goes on for 3 minutes) and I’m sitting there thinking “Toast, just toast”.

My beloved had a Mexican Frittata , which was delicious, but rather too hot for my taste.

Breakfast done, we set off for the Staten Island ferry. This is free, but would be worth paying for. The terminal was crowded, but we were entertained by a decent busking violinist
Nearly everybody on the mid morning ferry was a tourist, and the open air sections were crammed while inside there were rows and rows of empty seats.

On deck, it was a scrum – people barging others out of the way to get the best places for photographs, particularly when we approached the Statue of Liberty. On Staten Island we walked around the immediate neighbourhood, stopping to take pictures of Manhattan and to visit the simple but moving 9-11 monument. On the trip back the cold seemed to dissuade most people from standing at the bow, and I was able to take many pictures of the spectacular Manhattan skyline as we approached.

Heading back we decided as it was a special day, we would have a bit of a splurge. We had heard that the Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse on Grand Central was excellent, but it was closed for a private party. Looking in the guidebook we found that Uncle Jack’s steakhouse was highly regarded so we thought we would see if we could get a table.

I think this was one of the most memorable meals I have ever eaten, and for several reasons. We obviously did not fit into their normal clientèle, the well dressed but often loud and foul mouthed financial people sitting at the bar.
The front of house greeter looked at us although were were something the cat had dragged in, but relented and said she could probably find us something but only a high table near the bar (90 minutes later, when we left, there were only two other tables occupied, all others had remained empty during our stay).

If the maître de had worked a little harder he might have graduated from contemptuous to merely condescending (at times he bordered on the rude), although other waiting staff were all very pleasant.

I can also comfortably say that it was the most expensive meal I have ever eaten. What saved it from being an utter disaster? The food was exquisite; everything from the several varieties in the bread basket through to the desert. Our shared Porterhouse steak did cost more than our weekly grocery bill, but it was the most perfect piece of meat I have ever sampled. I wanted to pick up the remains and gnaw every last morsel from the bone (I didn’t ).

I had read that some NYC steakhouses have a reputation for brusque service, so maybe it is the norm and expected. I didn’t enjoy it and in a way it rather spoilt the occasion, but we won’t forget it easily.

willet,

Good stuff and a pleasure to read - I'm in.

Your description of the steakhouse is priceless!

Great narrative, willie. Keep it coming!

Apologies for my ijit autocorrect, willit.

If they didn't get specifics they would get yelled out by the diner who wanted rye toast, dry when they just brought the usual white toast, buttered. And I can't imagine not being specific about how the eggs should be cooked....love scrambled despise over easy. I am enjoying your report but you don't expect the wait staff to read your mind, do you?

denisea - sometimes attempts at humour don't work, and this was obvious one of them.

No of course I don't expect the staff to read my mind, I was trying to give the impression of being overwhelmed by the choices available.

Thursday
Time for more culture, but first breakfast – the 3 star diner close to the apartment – I had corn beef hash and eggs (remembering this time around to ask specifically for eggs over easy and brown toast) , my beloved had pancakes with maple syrup and bacon (an abomination unto the Lord!).

There are many points of difference between Fodorites on opposite sides of the Atlantic, but I suspect we will reach agreement on gun control and socialised medicine before the thorny subject of breakfast.Such was the portion size , we decided we would walk downtown to exercise off some of the excess.

The Museum of Modern art wasn’t really on my list of “must sees”. I am a bit of a philistine with regard to art, but DB wanted to go.

It was surprisingly enjoyable, if only to look sideways at some of the pieces on display and try and work out quite why they were anything special.

A special mention of the interactive smart phone or tablet programs. I think this was the most impressive use of modern IT that I have seen. Limited wireless was free within the museum, and logging on to the MoMA site brought up an overall plan, then detailed floor maps with highlights listed. For many of the exhibits there were extensive discussions on the art, both in note for, or as audio files of artist/curator/expert pointing out facets of the work.

Returning to the philistine mode, these explanations often left me even more confused, and at some stages giggling at the profound statements made by these eminent people. Lacking a background or education in arts I often wonder if there is more than an element of “emperor’s new clothes” in some critiques.

We spent several hours in the museum and left in mid afternoon when it was becoming uncomfortably crowded. We were enjoying walking with no obvious destination, and after an hour or so, found ourselves back in little Italy again. We decided that as our take away pizza had been so disappointing, it was unfair to leave NY without trying a decent pizzeria, and got a table at Lombardi’s.

We shared a fresh clam pizza without cheese , and it was excellent. On the walk down, we had seen Eileen’s special cheesecake shop, so that was desert sorted (Good, although I preferred the cheesecake at two little red hens). Bloated from too much food, and tired from walking we decided on an early evening.

Wonderful willit! I agree with Daniel about how cool it is to read another person's reactions to favorite places.

More, please!

Friday
Looking at my photographs, I see I have got my days confused. The afternoon pizza and cheesecake described as Thursday were actually the Friday. This explains a few things – mostly how I had managed to eat a giant pizza on the same day as the enormous breakfast – it didn’t happen – they were separated by a day.

Our last full day in New York, but we had very few plans. We decided on a pastrami sandwich from a nearby deli for breakfast, and ate it in Central park. It was a really pleasant morning, but I cannot really see what all the fuss is about regarding pastrami sandwiches.

We must have spent a couple of hours in the park, trying to find the nooks and crannies we had missed on previous trips.
While in the south of the park, there was a commotion – people shouting and looking at the sky. The Space shuttle was arriving in the city, and being flown around piggybacked on the modified Jumbo Jet. I only know this second hand – as I managed to miss it and only know because somebody rushed up and asked had I got any decent photos of the shuttle. I think this was the biggest disappointment of the trip.

We continued our walk, stopping off briefly at Macy’s – well it had to be done, but fortunately I am not married to a shopaholic. There followed a strange experience. As we walked away from the shop several large gentlemen, initially friendly, blocking my way and thrusting music CDs into my hand, then demanding I pay for them – suggesting $10 go. I wish I could say I resisted, but I took the cowards way out, and haggled them down to $5 – still shameful but I suppose they rely on the “prey’s” confusion and eagerness to get away. It wasn’t quite a mugging – plenty of people around, no threats issued, no bad or aggressive language, but I felt very intimidated.

After we got back to the apartment in the early evening, we tidied up, and packed up most of our stuff. I was restless, and wanted to try and get to the Empire State building. My beloved declined , pleading tiredness and not feeling too well, but suggested I go on my own.

The problem was that it was the first clear evening of the week, and seemed every tourist in New York wanted to go to the top of the ESB. I was told the queue for buying tickets was greater than an hour, the wait for the elevator nearer two and a half, and that I was very unlikely to get to the top until after midnight.

I briefly played with the idea of catching the Staten Island Ferry again, and trying for some long exposure photographs from the Island itself, but sense prevailed, and after pausing for 30 minutes in Bryant Park, I wandered back home.

I'm surprised (and embarrassed for my country) that the CD guys were so aggressive.

Hope you finally got to top of ESB!

Saturday brought the end of the NY portion of the trip. We awoke fairly early, showered, then cleaned up the apartment and finished packing.

We had both brought our large 60 litre backpacks figuring this would be the day when we needed them. While relatively mobile,

I couldn’t really plan to do much in the short time we had left, and lugging more than 40lbs of luggage on my back. We took the subway to 51st street, only to find that the planned change to the E train and on to Penn station wasn’t possible because of maintenance work.

Standing on the station discussing options for whether to get a cab, a large helpful voice belonging to a large helpful lady boomed out “you don wanna do that, you wanna go to grand central, take the shuttle to Times Square and catch the next train to 34th street” ... problem solved.

She typified my experience of New Yorkers – They might have a reputation for being rude, but I found them to be extremely helpful. If we ever took a map out and stood out of the way, it would normally be seconds before people offered help.

We reached the station with an hour to spare, claimed our tickets from the machines, and left New York without further
problems.

So some thoughts in summary, I wasn’t sure I wanted to come to New York, but I am so glad I did. I found it an incredibly vibrant, interesting city. I am not sure a lifetime would be enough to do everything. It is difficult for me to pick highlights as there were so many.

Some silly random moments: Sitting on the subway, watching the passengers on the seats opposite, my beloved whispered “it’s like a scene from the Anthropology section of the Natural History Museum” and it was – Eight people demonstrating Human diversity: A classic Nordic Blond Woman, A young African American Man, An Elderly Chinese woman with her granddaughter, A redheaded student who could have passed as the Irish stereotype and so it continued – they may well have been tourists, but I like to think they were all New Yorkers. Every race, creed, colour and language represented.


We were trying to sum up New York , and again I think my beloved described it best. “We only thought we lived in a city, but THIS is a city”. I know New Yorker’s think that theirs is the greatest city on Earth, they may well be correct.

A few photos: http://tinyurl.com/cv2xjly

Really enjoying your narrative and storytelling. Looking forward to your DC portion of the trip. Your photo's are great. I completely relate to the idea of being non plussed by the prospect of visiting a particular place and then being proven wrong and getting to say so.

BTW, that squirrel pictured about 10 rows down in your photo link totally had his eyes on your wallets. I am embarrassed for my country's squirrels.

Super photos! Looking forward to the D.C. portion. Please share where you stayed.

Still really enjoying your report and looking forward to DC. Great photo's, thanks for sharing.

willit - really enjoying your report and impressions. You stayed in my neighborhood - made the diner stories even more amusing! Where did you get the pastrami? I wonder if you missed 2nd Ave Deli on 1st and 75th? That is truly the best, but for breakfast???

Great pictures!! The Museum of Natural History is my favorite, glad you liked it too.

Thanks for the report, and keep it coming.

TDudette - I have tried hard not to say where I stayed for a couple of reasons. The first is embarrassment - having asked the advice of Fodorites, I ended up ignoring it and renting an apartment anyway. The second is that I know it is illegal to rent out certain apartments in NYC, so it seems irresponsible to promote such behaviour, even if it opens me up to allegations of hypocrisy.

I had initially tried to use a UK agency, figuring that if it went wrong, then I would have some local recourse and they would probably be using only "legitimate" rentals. It soon became apparent that several of them were offering the same apartments I could organise myself on Flipkey or VRBO, just charging higher fees.

That the apartment existed and I didn't get scammed was probably as much down to luck as judgement. As it was the place was exactly as advertised, the owner was extremely helpful, and all worked out fine - but I wasn't certain until the key turned in the lock that I had somewhere to stay.

Washington DC
The Amtrack train proved a pleasant way to travel. The comfortable seats and WiFi meant that the 3.5 hour journey seemed to go much faster.

I was shocked by the apparent poverty of some of the areas of Philadelphia (and later of Baltimore), although other parts of the city visible from the train made me think it would definitely be worth a visit.

We arrived in Washington, and had a small crisis. My beloved felt a sharp edge on her hand, looked down , and realised the diamond was missing from her engagement ring (which is welded to her wedding band). The train had already gone, and even if we could have searched, the diamond could have been anywhere between the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Washington Union station.

DB was almost inconsolable, it was not that it was a large or valuable (in money terms) stone, but what it represented. I tried to reassure her that it didn’t mean we were any less married, but apart from that there was not really much I could do.

The taxi from ride from the station to our rental accommodation was quick and easy – taking about 15 minutes and not of the exciting kind experienced in the New York. We were met by our hosts, Lara and Alex and shown down to a very nice basement room. A great deal of thought had gone into equipping the apartment, and we were to spend a very comfortable week here. (I am happy to post a link should anybody want me to).

It was still quite early, so map in hand we walked the up to the Metro station and recharged the metrocards that our hosts had lent us – at least I thought I had. It turned out I had misread the instructions, and donated $30 to the metro company (I assumed because the machine now showed a balance of $20 on the card, that the job was done – without realising that I had to re-swipe the card to update the changes.

We got off at Union station intending to have a look at the Capitol and Mall to orientate ourselves. The weather disagreed, and as we walked from the station, the heavens opened sending us scurrying inside. Nothing for it but to stop in one of the balcony bars and have a beer while waiting for the rain to clear: It didn’t.

Not wishing to have completely wasted the trip, we decided to eat at the Thunder Grill restaurant in the station. It was pleasant enough: The food and service were both fine, but uninspiring, and the incident with the engagement ring had put a downer on the whole day. Neither of us felt like doing anything more than heading for home.

There are some Washington photos at http://tinyurl.com/cp4a47o I have far more to upload, but will do so as I work through them. I made no notes in Washington, so am relying on the photos to jog my memory.

So sorry to hear of the loss of the diamond -- I would have felt the same way your wife did.

Your photo's are gorgeous! And you made it to Ben's Chili Bowl!! Not on the beaten track for most visitors!

Nice photos of DC! Looks like you covered some ground.

I'm not conversant with the apartment technicalities in NYC. If the place where you stayed was available through a bonafide agency, perhaps it was one of the legal ones? I'm glad your NYC apartment worked out OK and understand your hesitency.

Sorry about your diamond -- that is a bummer and would ruin my day too. Great photos! Where did u eat the lobster roll? It looks fabulous with such huge chunks of lobster.
Thanks for your contribution to the DC Metro -- it needs all the help it can get!

Sunday
A beautiful day in terms of weather – bright and sunny, but DB was feeling decidedly under the unwell. She dosed herself up with cold medicine, and insisted that it was too nice not to be out and about.

We set off early to explore, catching the metro into Union station again. We were amazed at how few people were about. We walked over to, then around the Capitol, and had it almost to ourselves.

I say almost, because there were a small group of campaigners involved in a 90 hour Bible reading session. I am not exactly sure of their point: whether they objected to/were promoting anything specific , but it was interesting to see. I suspect a similar effort in the UK might be considered a little strange.

We walked then walked down as far as the Grant memorial, then across to the Canadian Embassy and the FBI building, then turned up into the more built up areas in search of a pharmacy for more cold medicine (which we found).

On the way back towards the Mall, we past Luke’s Lobsters – it seemed like an idea, and we ordered a lobster roll, a crab roll, two beers , chips and pickles and thoroughly enjoyed sitting at a table in the street in the sunshine.

We finished lunch, and carried on, finding the Navy memorial which I found simple and effective. The single life sized statue of the sailor with kitbag is very evocative. My family has a long tradition of naval service, albeit in the Royal Navy, so this memorial struck a chord.

The walk continued up past the White House (And the obligatory large number of photographs), then on towards the Washington Monument, past large numbers of games of kickball – seemingly a hybrid of soccer and baseball – I’ve never seen it before, but there seemed like many teams were taking part, organising games informally. It appeared that having fun was far more important than winning, and as the game was played by mixed teams of men and women, it was all hugely social.

So on to the World War II memorial, and another preconception destroyed. In Internet discussions, even in intelligent and mostly good natured places like Fodor’s, there is a tendency for the occasional transatlantic argument to get out of hand, for World Wars to be brought up, for accusations to be made and eventually it will all end up as “If it wasn’t for us you’d all be speaking German”.

So I had assumed that war memorials would be some great flag waving celebration of American military prowess. I could not have been more wrong.

I found both the WWII and Korean War memorials to be simple and moving. Celebrations and commemorations of those who served and died, obviously American, but inclusive of her allies.
It was also good to see all the visitors to these memorials – groups of school kids, in a couple of cases accompanied by war veterans who were rightfully being lauded for their service.

There are no legal apartments in NYC for rent to transients (staying for less than 30 days).

Sorry about those CD guys. Funny, I've lived in NYC all my life and have never had anyone hassle me about buying stuff like that. Been approached, asked, but thats all. Not hassled. Just walk away. Sure you didn't have a t-shirt that said "tourist" on it? (ha ha) Don't feel guilty about NOT spending your money.

Yes, diner menus are huge. But since eggs can be made in various ways, it's a given that you will either be specific or will be asked. Don't you have choices where you're from? And there are many types of bread offered here in NYC diners - white, whole wheat, rye, sometimes Challah. That being said, you could have just run into a not very well humored server.

Sunday cont'd

Onwards, towards the Lincoln memorial- I was disappointed that there was so much renovation and repair work on the Mall, and the famous reflecting pools were empty, except for one pathetic narrow strip of water and two rather puzzled ducks. Realistically I suppose the window for repairs must be quite small between winter and the main influxes of tourists.

So slowly back towards home –or that was the plan. We followed the Potomac around to the Tidal Pool, rather unkindly smirking at the paddleboaters who had drifted to one side of the pool, blown by the wind, and now were struggling to get back to the boathouse – the harder the pedalling, the more the water is churned and the less forward motion attained.

Another 15 minutes or so brought us to the fish market, which was heaving with people, buying various seafood, and then having it cooked at the market itself. We carried on along the river, hoping to find a waterside restaurant, but those we did find were all packed.

We eventually reached the Navy yards, and a Titanic memorial. This was most strange, in that I live near Southampton, the port from which the Titanic set sail on her maiden voyage. As April marked the 100th anniversary, we had been inundated with all things Titanic for weeks. Having passed the actual date of the sinking, I had assumed we were safe!

Having no success with the seafood restaurant, we decided to find something DB had been wanting to try ever since arriving in the States, a chilli dog. Working on the assumption that if it is good enough for the president of the USA, it is good enough for clueless tourists, we set off to find Ben’s Chili Bowl. Despite my trepidation at the first look of the place, anywhere with lines that long couldn’t be all bad, and the food was very tasty indeed.

Calculating our various routes on google pedometer, it seems we walked well over ten miles during the day, so it was no surprise that we were a little tired by the time we got back to the apartment.

DB’s cold had got a great deal worse, and she didn’t want to do anything except sleep.

We had probably overdone it the day before, and for the entire week before that. We both really enjoy walking, but the cumulative effect was mounting, and DB complained that “Even my blisters have blisters”.

Today would be a good day to rest and recuperate – or to do the laundry. I found there was a laundromat not far from the house, so set off. Since first arriving, I’d found Brookland to be a very attractive area. It was clean, lots of greenery, a glut of squirrels, and the people seemed really friendly. I am presuming that the majority of inhabitants are black (based on all the candidates on the election posters in the area).

I was certainly unique in the Laundromat being the only male, and by far the palest person there. While I was reading the instructions , trying to work out what I would need (detergent and quarters as it turned out, twice I was asked “can I help you” in a tone that suggested “what are you doing here?” It was only when I started loading my laundry into the machine that the strange looks stopped (I might be exaggerating, but it seemed that way to me)

Spent the rest of the day catching up on Emails, sorting photographs etc.

Were you in DC on the first Thursday in May? If so, you probably happened upon a gathering for the National Day of Prayer.

Lee Ann

I'm enjoying your trip report. I leave in a week and a half for DC and NYC and I was excited to see your photo of the lobster roll - I've specifically made plans to venture to Luke's Lobster for lunch one day.

I know there are also locations in NYC, but going to the DC location worked better with our plans. Your lunch looked delicious!

Keep going willit - enjoying your review.

Your report is great. Hubby and I recently did the same trip, but DC first and then NYC. And where you traveled west to get there, we traveled east from CA. And we went the opposite route on the National Mall.

And your pics are great! Some nearly identical to ours--seriously, there's limited angles for Apollo and the Spirit of St Louis--others were unique. And so enjoyable.

Hi willit,

I'm still enjoying your post. I was struck by your comments about the poverty seen from the train in B'more and Philadelphia (I imagine you're referring to the boarded-up rowhomes, the burnt-out warehouses.) It's amazing to think how many people pass through that on the regional and Acela trains on a daily basis, sometimes even movers and shakers in financial and political circles. People shake their heads, the situation saddens, is criticized, bemoaned, looked down upon, but yet it's been this way as long as I've known. Tongue-clacking and head-shaking is unfortunately all most of us (myself included) do with regards to the situation.

Thankfully there are people out there who do care and work to improve the lot of the inner-city poor, but solutions are elusive and I think sadly crime probably seems to some to be the only way out. When I lived in Baltimore, I attended an advocacy group to improve public transit in the city, but I don't think we did much more than forward our suggestions to supportive delegates in the Maryland government.

Given what I've written above, it might surprise you that Philly and Baltimore are two of my favourite cities in the USA, with non-generic neighbourhoods and unique markets whose energy I just love. I'd recommend a visit should you come back to the US.

Best wishes, Daniel

My goodness, you did a long walk! Hope your DW felt better later.

Baltimore, Philly and DC have a wealth of wonderful places. It always troubled DH that so many of the "ways in" to these cities were so unattractive. Bravo, Daniel.

Brookland is a fairly integrated neighborhood, because of its proximity to Catholic University and a large hospital complex. It is more middle-class than surrounding neighborhoods, although that is rapidly changing as the surrounding neighborhoods gentrify.

Love it, willit. Thanks! Fun trip.

Thanks Mike. I just made the assumption that because it seemed all the council candidates appeared black, that the area would probably be as well - it wasn't meant in any negative sense.

Time to visit some museums. In particular the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – something I had been looking forward to ever since we booked the trip.

As usual, things didn’t quite work out as planned. After the metro trip in, we stopped for a quick coffee and Danish pastry at the station, then thought we would just take a few more pictures of the Capitol, especially as the scaffolding around the statue of Freedom had now been removed.

On heading towards the Air and Space, we passed the Botanic Gardens, and although we didn’t go into the “Greenhouse”, spent nearly an hour taking pictures of roses for my MIL.

We were further distracted by the Bartholdi fountain (more pictures) then the National Museum of the American Indian.

Of all the places I visited, the latter probably disappointed me most. I had avoided the halls with exhibits of Native Americans while visiting the AMNH in New York, because I believed there would be more in Washington.

Possibly I am lacking in basic knowledge so struggled to relate some of the exhibits. The recorded interviews with various elderly tribespeople were often interesting, but I couldn’t quite see the context of where they fitted into the bigger picture.

I almost got the impression that the museum was trying not to offend anybody. There seemed little history of what must be seen to close to a genocide, of wars, treaties broken, forced resettlements.

Similarly there was almost a hippie view of some sort of idyllic existence in tune with nature and each other, glossing over things like Mayan culture.

So we left the museum, and were surprised to find it far later than anticipated – Lunchtime already! I recalled a Fodor’s thread recommending the cascades restaurant between the East and West buildings of the National Gallery of Art (not at all bad), and seeing we had had to check the bags in, it seemed silly not to have a quick look around.

Predictably this turned into another short visit that took hours, we were there almost until closing time. I really enjoyed the mobiles of Alexander Calder, then playing “spot the Po faced Madonna” among the Renaissance Italian art. DB wanted to go straight to the Van Goch’s.

After the paintings, outdoors to the sculpture garden – I was particularly bamboozled by Edward Lichtenstein’s House 1. Very difficult to describe for those who haven’t seen it – but it looks almost like a child’s toy house, but is a series of optical illusions. As you walk past it there is a point where your eyes “jump” and you realise that your brain had completely misinterpreted what it was seeing.

On my day out to see famous aeroplanes the score was
Sculptures – lots, Paintings –Many, Indian artifacts – loads, Famous planes – not one!

As it was still relatively early we decided that it would be a good time for an early supper, then maybe back to the Mall to get some pictures as it got dark.

We ate at Jaleo , a tapas restaurant sharing several dishes, mostly cold meats and cheeses accompanied by a couple of beers. It was pleasant, and the food was of a very high standard.

Wandering back down to the World War Two memorial, we suddenly ran out of energy. Too tired to carry on our planned walk to the Lincoln Memorial, we took our pictures at long range, then slowly made our way back to the metro and home.

Another long walk by you two! The Smithsonian buildings are so vast-DH and I spent our honeymoon and many Sundays over the course of 30 years visiting them. There are always new things coming in and I'm sure we missed much.

I can't speak to the Indian Museum as I've only been twice but I didn't see anything either--just surveys of the various tribes' way of living. The Botanical Gardens offers monthly activities (some free, some not) that you would love.

More, please!

U r really seeing a lot! Good 4 u! I agree on the American Indian Museum--it was a huge disappointment, but I do love the bldg itself. At least in DC when u don't like a museum u generally have not paid anything to c it.
Jaleos consistently serves up good food with lots of variety.
Agree with TD that the botanical gardens are beautiful with great activities.

Thursday (Nearly done folks - I promise!)

I was determined to get to the Air and Space, but first another detour – to the top of the old Post Office tower for panoramic views.

Probably not the best day for it as very misty. In addition the top of the tower is surrounded by plexiglass, or a series of close set fine wires, obviously both are security features, but they make photography quite tricky.

Finally, to the A&S. Did I enjoy it? I leave the description to my beloved. “Your just a large hyperactive three year old. I couldn’t take a picture, or turn my back for two minutes and you go rushing off, pointing at the sky and go “ohhhh plane”.

When we entered the man at the helpdesk pointed out “There will be a highlights tour at 1pm” – As far as I am concerned it is all highlights.

We paid to watch the Hubble 3D Imax presentation, I was sceptical but it was very well done and engrossing.

Not wishing to interrupt my trip “But it’s only 4 hours until closing” , we went into the food area – McDonalds – Ahhhhh - What looks least disgusting – Angus Burger and Iced Coffee.

Actually it turned out to be a very tasty well made burger and we enjoyed it despite our prejudices.
I was like a child in a sweetshop – my jaw ached from grinning so much and I photographed everything that didn’t move

I joked about highlights, but for me there were so many. The kids exhibition explaining over a large room filled with multiple experiments – buttons, leavers, air blows, wind tunnels etc, how things actually fly. You could learn more in an hour there than a month’s worth of traditional teaching.
The other thing that I really loved was the Wright Brother’s exhibit including the original Wright Flyer. I thought it should be in pride of place right at the front desk, but the exhibit is superb – not just the plane but the fill history of family, their trade and most importantly the meticulous efforts and research that they went through in order to be first to fly.

In a way it is a good thing that there was a closing time, otherwise I might still be there.

Earlier in the week we had been talking to our hosts about New York, and telling them about our experience of the steakhouse. They recommended we travel to Rosslyn and find a place called Ray’s the Steaks.

After some wandering, we found it by accident or rather we thought we had. We actually ate at Ray’s to the Third but hadn’t realised until I looked up the address about 5 minutes ago.

It wasn’t quite up to the NYC experience, but we had an excellent steak each, side dishes and with a couple of beers each the meal cost considerably less than a third of “posh” steakhouse, and included staff that actually seemed pleased to serve us.

Whoops - Messed up my timeline and am a day out although the events are still the same. Tuesday was our first warm day - by our standard - high 80s with high humidity and we spent it in the American Indian museum and art gallery. The last posting, labelled Thursday was in fact Wednesday. On Thursday we visited Georgetown, and I'll write that up tomorrow if I get a chance.

You are not alone willit! My DH was the same way in A&S!

spectacular photos. thank you for sharing.

So sorry about the diamond. Heartbreaking.

Sounds good...love a great lobster roll! I am still mad that I didn't get to Red Hook Lobster food truck in NYC!

And Ben's Chili Bowl-good work.

Glad McDonalds didn't kill you. Sometimes it's not so bad...at least you weren't like some fellow Americans we encountered in Paris a few years back. They confided that they didn't like the food and were going to McDonalds after leaving the restaurant we were in (which was terrific). Wanted to smack them on the heads!

Great report on two of my favorite cities.

Finally got on a computer where I can view your photos. Nice ones, and you certainly did get around. You're right: that duck does look puzzled.

When my daughter and I were planning a trip to NYC earlier this year, I found an apartment on VRBO, sent a query, and got a phone call back right away. The woman's first question was, "You're not the police, are you?" I think there's only one answer to that question, and I was able to make it honest. It did help me decide that a comparably priced hotel on Hotwire was our better bet.

I have often been puzzled by that Loungeite business about how we saved you from speaking German. I've never heard a similar sentiment expressed anywhere but here, and can only conclude that it's up there with dentistry as the only schoolyard taunt the poster can think of.

So much enjoying your writing. Thanks, willit.

Lovely photos! If you make it back to DC, go to the "other" Air and Space Museum near Dulles. At the recommendation of a Fodorite, I went and thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't nearly as crowded, and it had an SR-71, a Concorde, a space shuttle, and the Enola Gay, just to name a few highlights.

Lovely to see a photo of the real Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.
Now I will have to see them for myself on my next trip to NYC.

What a thoroughly entertaining trip report. Very funny too.

Thursday (no really this time)

We decided on our destination on the toss of a coin: Heads = Georgetown (tails would have been Old Alexandria). We walked from Dupont Circle, just a gentle stroll admiring the neighbourhood as we went. Some of the houses appeared to have wreaths on the doors – I presume celebrating Easter? This is not something I had seen before.

We stopped at Thomas Sweet for Ice cream – very good, but I preferred Pitango Gelato, then carried onto the circular walk recommended by the Fodor’s guide: up to Dumbarton oaks, then back down the hill towards and a little along the C&O Canal. All the time we wondered how these poor unfortunate people managed in their tiny houses (This is a lie).

By our standards the day was warm; later on a thermometer outside of the Dupont Metro station showed 87F at around 5pm and the humidity was higher than I am used to. This combined with the cumulative fatigue meant we were no longer really enjoying our walk.

We decided to head down towards the water and find some lunch. There was building work at a complex next to the water, but we found a table at Tony and Joe’s seafood place.

They had a very limited menu but a couple of cold beers went very nicely with the crabcakes and steamed shrimps that we shared between us.

As we ate, we noticed a tourist boat taking 45 minute trips up the river. It seemed to nice an idea to miss out, and although it was a taped commentary it proved enjoyable to see the sights from another angle, particularly as we had the added excitement of aircraft apparently trying to land on the roof (it was on the flight path going in to Ronald Reagan airport).

Very hot and tired, we set off home, We ate a simple meal of olives, bread, cheese salad and wine in the garden of the house, enjoying the cooling weather. Every passer by commented, really nice and friendly. but most “unenglish”

Friday
One more museum, the Smithsonian Natural History. It was very good, but heaving with school children – noisy and boisterous. I cannot complain – My love of science probably comes as a direct result of visits to the Natural History Museum and Science Museum in London as a child.

We spent the morning doing the ocean life, mammals and dinosaur sections then took a break for lunch.

We had noticed a large collection of food vans of all descriptions around the L’Enfant plaza. They were doing a very good trade among office workers. We decided to join one of the longer lines, a van called Bayou Bros that today was serving Catfish po boy and Jambalaya among other things.

We took our lunch and ate it on a bench near the museum. I’m not sure I’d eat either dish again, but couldn’t complain about lack of taste or small portions.

Back to the museum – Ice Age fossils, Human Evolution and finally Minerals and gem stones - we decided not to pay extra for the butterfly collection, but peered briefly through the window.

Overall a very good museum, and had I not been comparing it to the AMNH in New York, I would probably have been even more impressed.

Being Friday Evening, the bars were packed and trying to find somewhere for a quiet drink proved impossible - so we went back home and had another "Al fresco" meal of "Whatever was left in the fridge. Half a bottle of red wine, some cheese, salad, a bag of peanuts and bizarrely, half a tin of clam chowder bought as lunch for DB when she was unwell.

Saturday

Time to go home, but first a longish day. Our flight out was after 9pm, but we needed to be out of the apartment by 11am.

Our hosts said that they would normally have looked after our bags, but they would be away for the weekend, and their next guests were due in the afternoon.

I had originally thought of dropping the bags at the airport, then going to the other Smithsonian Air And Space Exhibit at Chantilly, but this would have been unfair to my beloved, and proved very difficult as there are no left luggage facilities at Dulles.

The only place I could find to leave our backpacks was at Union station, and a rather expensive $11/hour, but the alternative was lugging around 50lbs of luggage all day (and not being able to go into anywhere with screening).

We settled on the station drop off – now what to do? Looking at the guidebook, a single word meant I had no choice in the matter. “Pandas”. Washington zoo has pandas – “You didn’t tell me “ was the accusation – oh well, that is today’s activity sorted.

The Zoo was very good – well laid out, lovely large areas for the animals , cool refreshing mist sprays, and did we mention… For all they did during our visit, we might as well have viewed the stuffed panda in the Natural history museum.

The Red pandas were hiding, the tigers were shy and retiring, the bears were nowhere to be found. The Orang-utan walking across the heads of the people on a special rope walkway was great, as was the humour of including the controls for the outside mist spray on the inside of his enclosure.

Wary of the time, we set back down into town, collected our bags and set out for Rosslyn to pick up the airport bus. All went smoothly, and we easily made the airport. Even the feared TSA was easy.

To summarise our second week, Washington was a huge contrast to New York. My beloved much preferred the latter, but I am not so sure.

I loved the Mall area and the museums, the architecture and the monuments. There is something very "Grand Europe" about the city. I didn't find New Yorkers to be rude, but I certainly felt Washingtonians were friendlier.

Overall, this trip was to celebrate our anniversary, and a celebration it certainly was. We had a wonderful time - far exceeding our expectations. I would like to spend a lot more time in both cities, and of course now I have had a taste of America, I want to see a great deal more.

Driving and parking a car in San Francisco is challenge enough. There is nowhere to park a 31' RV.

Oops, wrong thread.

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

Very enjoyable, willit. Many people keep wreaths on their doors and change them seasonally.

I would be hard-pressed to choose between NYC and DC since each has its own flavors. Come back again and go into Dumbarton Oaks and get over to Old Town Alexandria.

You stumbled on the food truck craze! I regret that I didn't make it to the food trucks in NYC that I follow on Twitter. There is some creative and delicious food that comes out of food trucks! Sounds like a great trip.

Thanks for posting, willit - I enjoyed your report. It was interesting to read the perspective of a newbie to two great East Coast cities. Having lived in both (well, outside DC now), I think "great city" is about the only thing they have in common!

Great report, thanks Willit. The safe walking options in Washington have obviously improved considerably since my one and only visit in the late 70s - on my return to work in Sydney an American on secondment asked what I got to see in his capital and adopted home city - "Well", I said, "I walked from the bus station... " "You WALKED from the bus station!!??"

You and your DW are champion walkers! Glad your trip was so successful. Interesting...whenever I go to England I get a cold. Each country seems to have its own cold germs just waiting for tourists.

I enjoyed your trip report, willit, thanks for sharing your experience. I made the trip from NYC to DC and loved the contrast. NYC was so vibrant, loud, colorful, and overwhelmingly busy; when I got off the train in DC, it seemed so very reserved and refined.

Willit: you have given us such a marvelous new view of NYC and DC! It is fascinating to see how you experienced each city.

We too love the Air and Space Museum. Last time in Washington we were escorting Dutch friends, and got another European view of that city thru their eyes.

You Brits are world class walkers. I doubt if any Americans I know would have even attempted the mileage you covered. Bravo!

Your going to the laundromat reminds me of my Darling Husband who always wants all his clothes clean
(God forbid that anything slightly dirty touch his clean things in the suitcase; ergo, he seeks out laundromats in foreign countries, usually to the hysterical reactions of all the (usually female) usual users. He has made lots of friends in laundromats, in Riquewhir, (Alsace) - in Bath (UK) - along the Rhine - even in any rental houses we've had, he is automatically in charge of laundry) I, of course, have no objections, since I am on vacation, and he lets me throw my stuff in also.

Your photos are so very well displayed. Would love to know how you do that.

By the way, I completely agree with your reaction to the American Indian Museum. We found it to be confusing and basically an unattractive "politically correct" mishmash.

Many thanks for a very well written report.

Ttt, what a wonderful review. I too loved the Lib of Congress and went twice on my visit to DC in 2004.

This was a wonderful report. I have been to DC three times in the last 6 years I have never found the boat tour on the Potomac. Now I will have to go back again.

I also agree with you on the American Indian Museum. I visited the Museum on my last day and was a bit tired so I thought that I had just seen one to many museums and was no longer interested.

I am so glad that you had a wonderful time in the US.

An amazing report - I'm off to DC and NYC in a few weeks and have made lots of notes from your wonderful trip !

Bookmarking your very interesting trip report in anticipation of a trip to both cities.

A long time after the event, I know - but as I was converting this report into a webpage for my own use, I looked up the web address for the Natural history museum in Washington and was reminded of an excellent exhibition of nature and wildlife photographs that I spent a good hour admiring.
There is a slideshow on the museum website which is well worth viewing as a full screen presentation.

http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/natures-best-2011/

farrermog - your "walking in Washington" experience was repeated this weekend, when I met up with an a friend who
on a visit to Washington around 30 years ago decided to go for an evening stroll around the monuments, and was confronted by two Washington Policemen in a patrol car who allegedly suggested in the strongest possible terms that he was not totally sane and should return to his lodgings immediately as it wasn't safe. They must have made some impression as he was , at that time, a Sargent Major in the Royal Marines.

willit - yeah, I remember wondering why the streets were virtually deserted and why I was getting strange looks from shifty-looking dudes in doorways. Later on the same trip I was walking along the main drag in Vegas at 7pm on a Sunday night (thrillseeker!) when a police car pulled up behind me, lights flashing, and I was told to very slowly decant the contents of my daypack onto the police car's bonnet/hood. "You got a gern, son?" "A what?" - at first it didn't register - then I was like, "What? ...me?, a gun?!" - and as soon as the patrolman discovered I wasn't American, but Australian, everything was sweet as apple pie. Those five weeks on and off Greyhound buses across North America remain among my favourite travel experiences.

I've lived in NY all my life and have never been approached by some aggressive CD guy.

If anything like this happens to anyone - just keep walking and pay no attention. Or look at them like they're crazy. They'll give up. Harmless.

If I had an obnoxious maitre 'd at a steak or any kind of restaurant I think I would just leave. There's no cause for that kind of behavior. Sorry that was your experience. Glad the food was so stupendous!

Just discovered this thread and I want to say thank you! I am heading to both NYC & DC in a months time for the first time, and read your report with great interest. I am very much looking forward to visiting both cities for very different reasons. You have a great way of telling a story and your photos are amazing. I can't wait to visit these cities and enjoying the many experiences I am sure they will provide