Greetings once more avid readers. Yes, it is time for another instalment. Would you believe I had a little epiphany? Did you know there are sights and sounds in the world outside of a jet airliner? Did you know you could get food and drink served to you at things called restaurants and the food is not on a tray or in small square containes? Who knew? Seems like the whole world!So it is time to present to you my Washington Warblings. It has been many years since I have been to DC and I remember being really surprised and impressed by it. It is essentially a big town. No buildings higher than about six floors, road network all designed (gotta love a roundabout). Lots of green park and open spaces. Oh, and it has a number of cool monuments and attractions.
When I last left you (parting was such sweet sorrow) we were checking in at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. We decided to upgrade to a bigger room (size matters) and it had wonderful views across the water and to the Pentagon. The highlight for me was the view to the runways of Reagan Airport - plane porn! We had dinner in the fancy schmantzy CityZen Restaurant in the hotel. It is the only Five Diamond Restaurant in DC. We had to admit to never having heard of this rating and suspected that it was made up. The staff indicated otherwise. A likely story. Dinner was great and just what was needed after an eight hour flight. Some ate more than others....not pointing fingers. This was all washed down with an excellent Californian Zinfandel.
So now it is Saturday morning...all worms look out, these birds are up and about. We had decided to do a couple of the Smithsonian Museums today. The Smithsonian consists of 18 separate buildings which each specialise in something museum worthy - fine art, modern art, American Indian Art, Air & Space stuff, etc, etc. We decided to do the National Air & Space Museum first - no brainer really. It is filled with lots of cool stuff related to aviation and space exploration.
Washington was having a bit of a heat wave (about 32-34 degrees) and it was pretty toasty in the sun. The concierge at the hotel had recommended a place with excellent gelatti underneath two of the museums. So under the guise of seeking fine art we headed over there and had a quick refreshment.
It is always the unexpected sights that you come across that really make a holiday. Those little treasures that you find in the souks of Egypt or Oman, Venetian blown glass from Italy, that Chinese "antique" you come across in the market are what you remember and bore your friends with. So it is the same for me. In this case it is a certain Kodak moment that presented itself whilst we were slurping down our gelatti. I have to ask, do you not look in the mirror before you leave the house to ask if something looks good or is age appropriate? Furthermore, do you not check to see that you have put on all items that decency requires, for example underwear and a suitable lipstick? I think this is lost on some...I let you be the judge, and yes that is boob you can see. As they say in the classics, "thanks for the mammaries". Well, there was no warning for this in the guide books!
So it was back to a little wandering through the museums. At some point we had OD'd on this and headed back to the hotel for a little respite (that is also known as a beer). We then decided to head out to my town, yep, Georgetown for a little look around. This is the trendy part of Washington bustling with young University students, bohemians, Washingtonians and us. It is a truly beautiful part of the city and a must see. This is also where JFK lived and proposed to Jackie. S and I did a spot of shopping and picked up some bargains.
It was then back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. I had got in touch with my friend John who lives in Philadelphia and mentioned we were States-side. Lickety split he hopped in his horseless carriage (he is Amish, well, not really) and zoomed down the interstate to meet S and I for dinner. It was great to catch up and we enjoyed some locally sourced food. Of course no meal is complete without some sort of stuff up. How hard is it to wait until everyone one is finished and plates cleared before bringing out the main courses? One would have though quite simple but perhaps I am being too fussy. Moi? Jamais?
Sunday 29 July 2012
As much as I love the eating and just absorbing up atmosphere in a city, I also generally do not have an objection to seeing all the main sights. This is especially true if I have not been there before. This was the case for S, so I organised a private tour for us to take in the sights and monuments. There is always a moment of trepidation when you first meet the guide as you will be with them for some time. When I first saw him I was a bit nervous. He was an elderly chap and English....fish out of water??? My fears were soon quashed when it was clear that he knew his stuff. He had been in the USA since 1969 and came over with Associated Press. He then moved to DC in the 1980's to work for the now defunct News of the World. Since then he has written a number of books, mostly about Abraham Lincoln and gives regular speeches. He was an amazing guide and one of the best I have ever had. He also has taken some seriously famous people around Washington from politicians, to corporate heads to the odd celebrity. And to top it off he was invited on the first commercial flight of the original Boeing 747 - waaay cool! You can see him as the 375th person from the right.
So as you can imagine I was pretty happy that we had been given Anthony Pitch. He was certainly well known around the place. So what did we actually see....we took in the:
- White House and environs - including pointing out all the cameras and security aspects;
- Quickly past the Capitol Building;
- Washington Monument - big pointy thing that is now closed after an earthquake last year;
- Lincoln Memorial - very presidential;
- Jefferson Memorial - less visited but equally stunning;
- Roosevelt Memorial - everyone is getting in on the action. Interestingly Roosevelt only wanted a small memorial. This was completed many years later and pays homage to his four terms as President.;
- Vietnam War Memorial - one of the most moving sights I have ever been too. I am getting shivers as I type;
- Korean War Memorial;
- World War Two Memorial;
- Martin Luther King Memorial - Anthony was not happy with this one. He pointed out a number of "flaws" including the fact that the stone and artist were from China and that no where did it, amongst the 30 quotes, include the "I have a dream quote". Oops!
- Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was assassinated - we also bought Anthony's book which he graciously signed.
Washington Memorial and Capitol in the distance
"Four score and twenty years..."
This was all done in four hours. We were very lucky with the traffic and weather as Anthony said this normally would take six hours. He was an absolute delight and full of insights and stories. An excellent morning out.
It was then back to the hotel to prepare for departure. The weekend was done and it was time to take the Lufty 747-8i back to Frankfurt. Check-in was a complete mess and the staff were rude and unhelpful. Our seats had been changed from the upper deck to the main deck and we were separated. After much huffing and puffing we managed to get back upstairs (after being accused of changing the seats ourselves followed by claims of moving us to accommodate a family...it was all lies!).
So then it was finally on to the jet for our overnight flight home. Was not too bad and the new Business Class seats are comfortable and great to sleep in. The food was pretty average (there is a pattern forming on airline Business Class food - hmmmm).
I leave you with some obligatory interior shots:
Our seat in row 88, yes, 88!
Cool corporate ID
Frozen mozzarella and tomato salad
Questionable beef rendang and mashed potato
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