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.