Oh Mr President....

Photos at: http://www.globalregulators.com/gallery2/v/usa/washingtonDC/

We decided that it would be nice to break up our time in NY with a little detour to another city. There was a little discussion as to whether it should be Boston, Philadelphia or Washington DC. I’m glad we went for DC, as there was certainly a lot to see and do there. And no, we didn't get to see any famous politians.

To get there, we got stuck into the china town buses – think it cost something like US$30 for a return ticket from NY->DC. The journey takes about 4 hours and compared to trains or planes, this was a pretty damn good choice for value for money. Cheah also joined us in DC, although only for 1 night. Lisa and me stayed for 2 nights so that we could try and see a bit more.

Highlights

1. We arrived pretty much around 4pm, so made it straight down to the mall in the hope of finding Cheah. Luckily, we had about 30p credit left on our phone so were able to message him, and even better meet up with him at Washington memorial. Seeing the sunset over the reflection lakes was definitely pretty special. We also managed to get some choice shots around the Abraham Lincoln memorial.

2. The evening was spent walking around some of the other tributes, heading past 1600 Pennsylvania avenue (the White House) – tried to peer through the fence, but couldn’t see much :(

3. The next day was going to be a full day of sightseeing. First stop was capitol Hill. An extremely high number of school students meant that Cheah would be in his element. They were extremely strict with security in there, as you would expect.

4. Next stop was museum time. We headed to the space/air museum, which was interesting, but I don’t think any of us were really in the mood. We then went our separate ways, with Lisa and me heading to the American History museum. I wish we had more time there as there was a lot to see – we just aimed on focusing on some of the more interesting exhibitions

5. Cheah at this point was continuing on his "visit as many American Colleges in 3 weeks" tour, so he was off to Georgetown. Lisa and me decided it was time to check out the Spy Musuem. Unlike most of the other museums in DC, this one we did have to pay to get in - but it was definitely worth it. Lots of cool stories about spies who have defected/been caught, and a lot of the tricks of the trade were shown to us.

6.With Cheah on a coach back to NY, Lisa and me headed to Les Halles restaurant (of Anthony Bourdaine fame). We had hoped to go to the one in NY, but a Wednesday night in DC, we were able to get a seat without a problem. Must say, that we both absolutely loved our dishes (the duck was supurb!) . Was kind of cool having read (part of) one of his books.

So that ends the brief visit of the US Capital. We did splurge a bit on a hotel staying at a 4 star hotel – which was really nice to be able to put our feet out once back at the hotel. Used www.hotwire.com to get a decent price for the room – the deal is you pick what sort of hotel you want (eg 3 or 4 star, etc) and the location, and you pay. Only after you’ve paid does it tell you where abouts you will be staying. Apparently they can get cheaper room deals that way???