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".