Hello NYC

My plan this morning was to get up early, pack, check-out and make my way to one of the art galleries along The Mall before my train to New York at 2pm. I'd run out of time to visit these on Tuesday and I was a little intrigued by a sign for one of the exhibits. Everything went according to plan until I discovered that, unlike most of the other museums, the art galleries don't open until 11:30; I think it's because they stay open until later. Bum! 

So, after grabbing a coffee and something to eat, I made my way to another museum instead. I decided on the American History Museum. I think I have a fair handle on American history in general but thought it might be interesting all the same. And it was. As with all of the Smithsonian museums, it's extremely well laid out and presented. I spent a few hours wandering before it was time to make my way back to the hotel, pick up my bags and get to the train station. 

As you may have guessed, train travel is my preferred mode of transport and the Acela Express is a relatively high speed train that takes a couple of hours to get from Washington to NYC. My ticket gave me access to the lounge so I could sit somewhere comfortable and await my train.

The train journey was good. The train was comfortable, great service and some nice scenery. I didn't take any pictures though: a) I was feeling a bit camera-ed out and b) the other passengers mainly appeared to be businessmen wheeling and dealing on their cell phones and I didn't really want to blow my cover as a "tourist".

Anyway, we got to NYC on time. I eventually found my way out of the station and to the taxi queue - that kept getting longer and longer and longer as I made my way around the corner. It was 5:00pm, after all. And it was freezing, much colder than the sunny DC I had left. Oh well, what can you do? I waited patiently in line with everyone else and about 1/2 hour later my taxi arrived. He got me to the hotel quickly while I thawed out in the back seat. 

Fortunately, the hotel is pretty much as I had expected. This is my view out of one window. 

This is my view out of the other.

And I can see both from the comfort of my bed!

This will be home for the next 12 nights and I'm pretty happy with that!

New York was the reason for this trip. It's the only place in North America I've always wanted to visit. Sure, I've discovered some fantastic places along the way. But this is what I came for. Can't wait to get out there tomorrow. 

But tonight I'm going to chill out here. The beauty of being here for more than a week is that I don't have to rush myself. New York nightlife can wait. 

Wet Wednesday in Washington

It started raining shortly after I returned to the hotel last night. It continued all night and through most of the day. Luckily, today my plan was for an indoor activity. I just had to brave the rain to get to that activity.

The Udar-Hazy Centre is part of the Air and Space Museum. It's located at the edge of the Washington Dulles International Airport. That's the airport I arrived at on Monday and it's a fair way out of downtown Washington. 

So the first challenge was to find out how to get there. Luckily they provided that information at the museum I visited yesterday. It would involve a train trip and a connecting bus. After assessing the options I decided to get a SmartTrip card which is like Oyster in London or the new MetroCard in Adelaide. It would just make the trip simpler. 

The metro station was only a couple of blocks away but it was raining constantly. When I got there I found a machine to dispense SmartTrip cards but it didn't accept $20 notes which were all I had. For some reason it wouldn't accept my MasterCard or Travel Card either. Oh well, I was craving a coffee so I left the station to find some coffee and break the $20. Silver lining moment? I returned to the station a bit later armed with two $5 notes and, after some user error moments, I soon had my card. The rest of the trip went smoothly, but it did take nearly 2 hours.

I knew what the draw cards of the museum were for me were. This museum was my reason for visiting Washington in the first place. I THOUGHT I knew what to expect. But when I walked in to this view (which is only part of the museum) I nearly wet myself with excitement! 

I spent hours wandering around the various exhibits. There was too much to describe here in detail but I'd like to share some highlights. And they're highlights for a variety of reasons.

In the space section was the space shuttle Discovery! Amazing! I still remember being glued to my TV as a kid when the very first shuttle lifted off. Now I was seeing one "in the flesh" .

I had to get a close up of some of the tiles on the underside. You can see how they're individually numbered.

Another highlight was seeing a Concorde.

And a more sobering, but still significant highlight was seeing this plane - the Enola Gay. This was the actual plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It was chilling listening to the guide speak about it. But he also spoke about the B-29 itself: some of the stories behind its development and innovations that we now take for granted in our planes. There wasn't a discussion about the morality behind the use of the atomic bomb, just an account of what happened.

Then this plane got my attention. Although this particular one was only a prototype for the 707, the moment was still significant because my family flew in a 707 when we emigrated from the UK in 1969. I can remember many things about the plane and the trip, including getting to visit the cockpit at the same time as we were being escorted by US fighter jets somewhere near Vietnam. 

There was a Gemini space capsule that made me realise just how cramped the interior was, and just how scary it must have been to fly through space in that tiny tin can.

Speaking of cramped, this is another way to fly. But you'll never get me in one!

And for something completely different there was the actual model of the mother ship used in filming Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The last part was a visit to an observation desk where you could see Washingron Dulles airport, the runways and flights landing.

Then the reverse trip home. A great day. And a great trip. I wish I had another full day in Washington DC. But I do still have tomorrow morning, so I'm hopefully going to get a chance to visit one of the art galleries before my train trip to NYC. 

Grrrrr!

The hotel has a light hearted approach to much of their signage and literature. A bit hip. Anyway, the bath robe is equally light hearted.

Look at me ... grrrrr! 

A monumental day

I awoke early. I tried my best to stay in bed as long as possible but by 6:30 I had to get up. I was excited to get out and about and it was nice to feel that again; I'd lost it a bit over the last couple of days.

A quick peek ​around the curtain revealed a clear sunny day. I double checked the weather report and it looked as if I'd have good weather for most of the day.

When I looked out my hotel window on arrival yesterday the streetscape looked orderly and ordinary. That's a bit how I'd expected DC to be. A quick look down one of the cross streets reinforced this view.

I headed towards The Mall where many of the monuments and museums are. Before long I noticed the sun on the buildings. I hurriedly finished the coffee and pumpkin bread I'd grabbed on the way so I had both hands free to take advantage of the great light.

And it wasn't long before I started to notice a grandeur in the architecture that I hadn't expected; columns and neo-classical architecture everywhere.

As well as the neo-classical I could see, what felt like, a definite European influence.

Most of the monumental buildings appear to be made from sandstone or similar, so the vivid red brick of this building really grabbed my attention.

Soon followed by this amazing detail on the Hotel Washington.

Within 15 minutes I was at the northern entrance to the White House. That was the less familiar side but it was THE place for people taking pictures and organised groups of school children; probably because of the wide avenue. I later made it to the other, more quiet side where I took this shot.

Along from the White House I'd strolled into another area which didn't appear to be restricted. I was in the midst of taking this shot when security men on bikes made it very clear that we needed to move on; and I wasn't going to argue with them!

As I strolled towards The Mall, it was beautiful to walk through the neat rows of trees.

Commanding the most attention is the Washington Memorial. When you see photos you don't really get the scale of this monolith. It's only when you see the tiny people dotted around the base that you realise.

It's impressive, and the centrepiece for The Mall.

By now I was starting to get a little déjà vu. I'll explain more later. A quick turn around revealed another majestic building.

Right by the Washington Memorial is the World War II Memorial. It was beautiful but it didn't really move me. That would come later.

One monument I definitely wanted to visit was the Lincoln Memorial, so I headed that way along the reflection pool; the pool lives up to its name.

The use of the word "temple" in the inscription resonated with me because, so far, that's how many of these grand monuments and buildings had felt. Temples in the Greek or Roman traditions.

I paused to look back at the pool.

Beyond the Lincoln Memorial I came across this sight and that's when the déjà vu made sense. Paris! These grand boulevards, the monuments, the pool, these golden statues at the end of the bridge; they all reminded me of Paris.

When I got back to the hotel I did some research and it appears that a Frenchman did design Washington and that it does have some deliberate similarities.

Anyway, I love a good bridge so I eventually made my way to a vantage point to take some pictures. 

After that I wandered for a little, grabbed some lunch, doubled back and looked around. That brought me to the Korean War Memorial.

Now, this one moved me! It's an incredible piece of sculpture and placement. This picture only shows part of it, but I found the sight of these soldiers making their way through the garden "field" quite harrowing.

Beside it was another small water feature and this inscription. It made me stop and think. I felt really disturbed; I don't know that I can bring myself to agree.

After those moments of deep thought, this chap popped up out of a bin to lighten the mood.

I made my way along The Mall. Along each side are the various Smithsonian museums, most of which are further examples of classical architecture. But there were a couple of modern ones too.

When I made it to the Air and Space Museum I went inside, only intending to get information on how to get to the other part of the museum further out from Washington that I really wanted to see and planned to visit tomorrow. In fact, that part of the museum was the original reason for my visit to Washington. Well, needless to say, 10 seconds after walking in I was hooked and couldn't drag myself away. I saw lots of real gear such as space capsules, satellites, rockets, planes and ballistic missiles. This picture is just one small part. As you can see it's jam packed.

With my "big kid" moment now satisfied and my feet feeling increasingly sore I decided to start making my way back to the hotel; past more grand buildings and more grand monuments.

Out the front of one of those grand buildings this light pole amused me. Not only did it ruin the aesthetic of the building behind it but, with all those different signs, how on earth are you meant to work out what you're allowed to do anyway?

Shortly before reaching my hotel I noticed these pigeons sitting on the head of the poor eagle. How indignant he looked.

So today has really surprised me. I guess I wasn't expecting anything on this scale. And what surprised me most was the sense of grandeur, the epic, almost imperial. The centre of Washington is more than a city; it's a deliberate statement. And it reminded me of another city besides Paris. As we drove in last night past some massive buildings set apart and lit up, it occurred to me how it may have felt to enter Rome in its day. Today reinforced that association.

Now to rest my aching feet. It's been a fantastic day! And I made it back just before the rain started. 

Hello Washington DC

It's hard to write this without sounding mean or ungrateful to Canada, so bear with me. Canada was wonderful, beautiful, friendly and polite (though honestly Toronto didn't really do that much for me). But landing in the US I felt that travel buzz that has kind of eluded me so far this trip. It's not that I think the US is better than anywhere else. Maybe I think the opposite and that's what makes being here all the more strange and exciting. After all, I've always thought of Canada as a kind of cold northern version of Australia anyway (or vice versa), so I did feel quite at home there. But the United States, that feels foreign.

So the flight was fine. It was only a smallish plane and a 1 hour flight with some bumps on the way up and down. All the customs and security happened at the Toronto end so once we landed in Washington it was all open doors.

The hotel is quite central. It's dark outside but the streetscape I can see looks very orderly. Obviously there will be pictures tomorrow. For now, here's a couple of snaps of my sexy looking room., complete with circular walk in shower.

If the weather report is to believed I plan to take in the memorials and local museums tomorrow and then head a little further afield to the aerospace museum Wednesday.