Washington DC.

Hello!
The ankle is better. Well, now it is starting to twinge, but I am no longer using painkillers or a strap over the ankle to stop it from moving. I think it is only starting to hurt as I went walking in some woods yesterday, and then sat there watching baseball for a couple of hours. Either way, I sincerely doubt it is broken anymore, but it does now mean that I have sprained each ankle now.

I thought today I would update what I have been doing since I last typed here, and it has occured to me that this might be the last time I fill out this blog in the USA. I fly back Sunday evening, and land Monday morning. Because I will be spending a lot of time with Jesse and his family before I go, I doubt I will write anymore while I am here. Instead I plan to sum up my experiences once I get home, and keep on using this blog regularly. However, because Jesse and I do not plan to go out anywhere until this afternoon I thought I might as well fill in my thoughts about Washington. This is going to be a bit shorter than the New York post, simply as I only spent about three days in Washington, compared to almost a week in New Jersey.

Getting there
The journey there was not as knackering than the epic trip from North Carolina to New Jersey, and it only took us a couple of hours. However, the roads of New Jersey seem only to be designed to confuse and intimidate. Thankfully, getting into Washington DC was simple enough as all the roads are labelled.

The B&B
I could not recommend the place we stayed well enough. It was a 3 floored B&B townhouse, with extensive views over grassland and on a quiet street. It felt like we were staying in a Hotel, and was extensively restored throughout. They also kept the rooms immacualte, which was quite something since we left our room in a bit of state a few times (our luggage kept on exploding out of our bags). They also did Waffles for breakfast. Truly this place was a find, and if anyone is interested in going here I will pass on the details to you.

Getting to the City Centre
Another good thing about our B&B was the proximity of it to the City Centre. We could see the State Capitol building from where we got the bus each day. However, the sad thing was the poor area we would travel through on the way to the City Centre. I felt it was such a shame to have such a poor community right in eyeshot of the Government buildings, as you would think that such urban deprivation so close to there would be given loads of government funding. This unfortunately wasn't the case. This area was much like what our Guidebook described, as Washington DC does have a serious problem with urban deprivation and gun crime. It would be very easy of me to take some kind of moral high ground and exclaim that such poor areas would not exist like that in Britain, but they do. Call me optimistic, but it would be great if areas such as this were given the investment they desperately need in cases like this, as then it would not not influence a Tourists perception of the city.

Tourism
I realise that what I just typed gives the impression that I didn't enjoy Washington DC, and another complaint follows...
May just be me here, but I got the impression that Washington DC only tolerates Tourists as they bring in money. Don't get me wrong, there were lots about all doing the kinds of things that us Tourists do, but I got the feeling around landmarks such as the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument that they didn't really want you there. We couldn't get into any of those areas, as they relied on a ticketing system or planning up to six months in advance for a security pass. You were not allowed to sit on the Capitol steps or anything like that, as they had barriers everywhere and lots of Guards about.
There were also the numerous security checks you got every time you entered a building, and so half of Washington DC security guys saw what I was buying and the sweets I was carrying in my handbag. It got quite annoying after a day of hearing the question: "Can you show me your bag, Ma'am?". I understand why they would need to do this, but it didn't feel friendly to me.

Right, so my rants are over. Here is the good things about Washington DC, and what I recommend seeing.

The Sights

• Washington is essentially a planned city. Nothing in it is left to chance, and so all buildings are ordered and easy to find. Most of the Tourist sights are stretched out along the Mall-a three mile long stretch of grass. This does mean that everything can be a bit of walk. I'm guessing from the stuff I read in the White House Tourist Office that the distances between buildings is ideological (a literal representation of keeping all the houses of government seperate son they don't influence each other) and also because up to the early 20th Century people rode horses everywhere in Washington DC. Therefore, while everything is a bit of a walk, it is only a short gallop away. Saying that, there are lots of Tourist buses to take you about.
  
• The Statues are worth seeing. I loved the Lincoln, Jefferson and FDR Memorial. The Lincoln memorial is particularly memorable, as it is set out right at the end of the mall. It is also very imposing, and you can see why most of the big protests that have occured in America over the past 70 years or so stop here. It also has a darn fine bookshop that I have bought a biography of Lincoln in, plus a very informative exhibition. I liked the exhibition as it contained many of Lincoln's quotes and gave the historic context of them. The Jefferson Memorial is built in a similar style to Lincoln's (all classical sculpture looking), but the FDR memorial is totally different, and exists as a walk through memorial of FDR's life and most famous quotes (I previously had no idea that he was responsible for the 'We have nothing to fear but fear itself' statement).
  
• This time of year is siginificant in Washington DC, as it is the Cherry Blossom Festival. This celebrates the blossoming of around 94 (?) trees that were given to Washington DC by the Japanese Government in 1912. They are well worth sitting under and walking through, as they look beautiful.
  
• The Smithsonian is the kind of Museum I wish existed everywhere. You could easily spend a week looking at everything and not visit the city entirely. Split up into 5 or 6 buildings (though admittedly only 4 buildings were open for us), it houses some of the most influential exhibits on the planet. During our visit, we only visited the Air and Space Museum, and it is well worth the queues and the sheer number of people to look about in. I really recommend the 'Space race' exhibit there, though bring your own packed lunch. Getting fast food took an eternity.
  

Food
Washington DC is not known for its food like New York, but I can recommend a few places. 'My Brother's place' is a good place to eat, though you have to be over 21. Union Station has the most amazing amount of food, and my stomach recommends that.

For now, that is all I can recommend for Washington DC. I admit, I liked New york a little better, but if you want a quiet ed-du-ma-cated break then it is well worth it. I particularly recommend it if you are a Pub-Quiz fact fan/Historian like me.

The Bobbin the Brit guide to the where, what and 'Eh'? of New York City.

Hello!
Once again I live up to my reputation of being the one who develops stupid injuries. From the girl who brought you 'the cut on the thumb from a craft knife when making a Viking Village out of Bolser Wood when she was 7' and 'the sprained ankle from falling over a slide during Fresher's Week' is now 'the incident from falling up the stairs'.
Currently I am having to rest my right foot after I sprained it going up the stairs of the National Art Gallery of Washington DC. Two days ago it was really quite painful, and even yesterday I couldn't put very weight on it without hobbling like a peg legged pirate. I was even told yesterday I should get it checked out at a Doctors as it could be a hair-line fracture. Thankfully now I can walk on it again and the bruising seems to be from a sprain. If it starts getting bad again tomorrow, then I'll see a doctor but otherwise I'm not as worried now about it. At least it happened before we drove back from Washington DC, and not when we arrived in New York.
So, because I am going to watch a few movies with Jesse in a bit, I am going to give my review of New York.
... and type this while eating lunch.
My account of Washington DC shall follow probably tomorrow or in a few days.
I was planning to write this in as an account of what we did and when, but then I couldn't remember the order. Therefore, what I am writing is just my opinion and recommendations based on what we experienced. If you don't agree with anything I am saying, then feel free to rant and let me know why-though please be constructive in your criticism.

So, here goes.

Getting there
It took us over 12 hours to get to New Jersey. We drove longer than the length of the UK, with only a few stops for food and restrooms. We also went through North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and most of New Jersey before we arrived. This is not a journey to try if you do not like the person you are travelling with (which wasn't my experience with Jesse but we were knackered by the time we arrived), and while Virginia (in particular) is absolutely stunning, you will feel by the end that you have gotten to know every bit of the States personally.
I swear New Jersey Interstates are solely designed to infuriate you when you get lost.
To get to New York itself, we stayed outside the city and travelled in for the first few days by train, which involved changing at Newark Penn Station to get to New York Penn Station. It's really cheap compared to the UK- about ten pounds return and the journey took us over a hour each way.

Subways
We only used it a few times. I recommend getting a Metrocard, which is essentially a London Underground Oyster card. It takes a while to get used to the numbers that they use to name the lines, but it feels less claustrophobic than the London Underground. Get yourself a map if you want to get anywhere.

The Hostel
To be honest, I would have loved our hostel and would have recommended it to anyone if it was much closer to Manhattan and was in a better area. We were close to a Subway station (113th Street), but we were in an area referred to (by a Taxi driver we used) as 'Spanish Harlem'. It took ages to walk anywhere. While this area was around ten minutes west of Colombia University, the area wasn't all that nice. There were gangs of people hanging about near our Hostel and we weren't always sure what they were doing. Saying that though, they never approached us.
Now the Good Part: The Hostel was well worth its price. It was cheap, warm, comfortable, friendly and provided the best breakfast I have ever had at a Hostel. Considering I have stayed at a Hostel that once beleived that people solely survived on topast and watered down coffee, that is high praise.

Food
If you are willing to walk around for hours-especially at the end of the day-then you will find some great places to eat. Here is what I recommend:

• You must eat Pizza. Not because it is essential, but because it tastes so good! I never like Pizza usually, but no-one can resist big slices of gooey Pizzas with lots of cheese. Most pieces I ate were bigger than my head. If you want Pizza, then I recommend the restaurant chain 'Sbarro' or the authentic 'Ray's Pizza' we ate near the Natural History Museum.
  
• Delis are good for supplies of drinks. One we ate provided hot and cold food, but it wasn't that good as the food, by the time we got there, was stale from sitting out all day.
• You really don't get enough Mexican food in the UK. We ate at a really cheap chain place called 'Chipotle' one evening that tasted superb. I am addicted to Tacos and Guacomole.
• If you can finish a large McDonalds meal, then you have a stronger stomach than me. I managed, but only just.
• Fruit Juices are cheap, and you get far more smoothie for your buck.

Places I recommend to go
This is just a quick summary of my favourite places.

• If you want to see the Skyline, then go to the Rockerfeller Centre off 5th Avenue. We were originally going to go up the Empire State, but the queue was stupidly long and we were told it was a bit crap. If you go to the Rockfellers 'Top of the Rock', it is a reasonable price (we got a discount through our Hostel) and you get to walk about up there, taking lots of pictures of different angles. It is 67 floors up. We went up during the evening, and seeing the sunlight bounce off each building was beautful. I would wrap up warm though.
  
• New York itself is great fun to walk around. Most of what we found to see and eat was done through looking upwards and aiming towards buildings. New York is shockingly loud and busy the first moments you arrive, but once you have found your barings it is a lot of fun. That is how we found Trump Towers, The Chrysler Building and Grand Central Station.
• Central Park is great if you just want to relax and see a landscape that is not dominated by buildings. The green areas tend to be fenced off at this time of year, but there are lots of benches and vendors. Central Park Zoo is interesting, albeit a bit small. It's worth seeing the Sealions being fed at 4pm, and the Penguins are too cute.
• I didn't actually shop that much, except at Times Square. There are lots of tourist shops, but clothes are a lot cheaper than the UK (especially for sport tops and at Gap). Times Square is more of an experience than a place, and you can easily pass a few hours there without realising it. It is so busy and loud, it reminded me vaguely of the cityscape in Bladerunner-but without the scaqry robots or Harrison Ford. I also recommend FAO Schwarz and the Apple Store. The Village and Soho are just very artsy and expensive, but worth seeing for the Buildings.
  
• I loved the dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum and the Metropolitian Art Museum was interesting as well. As I found to my curiousity, alarms go off if you touch a sculture, so be more careful than I did (no worries, I didn't knock it over).
  
• There are celebrities thast you can spot. However, I dunno if seeing Tarentinos feet and 'the tall guy off Everybody Loves Raymond' counts as a celeb spot.

I think that is everything I have to say about NY, though I will update it if anything occurs to me. However, while it seems like I saw everyhting, Jesse and I got nowhere near close to that. I just wish I had seen the Statue of Liberty up close, but I honestly don't think my trip to New York and New Jersey could have been improved upon.

Counting down!

Hello everybody-I'm taking a break from packing-I'm off to Washington DC tomorrow!
I would like to aplogise for not updating this as much as I would like, but I have been really busy with being a archetypal tourist. Therefore, I plan to do a few massive blog entries on where I recommend to go in New York, and Washington DC and anywhere else I recommend.
I have been updating people via my email as I do not have a lot of time on the computer at the moment-if you aren't one of these people, its because I cannot access all of my email addresses. Just to let you guys know that I will write more-honest! I have piles of stuff to say, as usual.
Only a minute left, so see you guys soon!
Byebye!