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

I hope you enjoy both as much as we did. Both are way up there on my list of "best places I have ever visited".