26 April - Washington DC

This will be the final blog entry for this trip. Tonight is our last night at the Hyatt Regency hotel here on Capitol Hill.

Tomorrow we fly to LA from Washington's Dulles International Airport and from LA, the 14 hour trek to Melbourne. The forecast for today was rain and thunderstorms so we had decided to make it our shopping day. The main shopping centre for Washington is located in Arlington VA, just across the river from Washington so this morning we once again used a trusty Uber to take us there, and not long after crossing the Potomac we passed the famous Pentagon (Dept of Defense) building on our right hand side.

The Pentagon Mall is a huge multi level shopping extravaganza and we spent a couple of hours there so Mark could get what he needed. By the time we finished here, after a quick lunch at Shake Shack the thunderstorm had truly set in and the resulting rain was of tropical proportions. So, back to the hotel and out of the rain, and all that's left now is to do our final packing and to get ourselves to the airport tomorrow after noon.

What a trip it has been. With modern technology it is easy to plan and book a trip such as this, and now having actually lived through it I am still amazed that all the arrangements we made unfolded perfectly as planned. The main event of the trip was the Boston Marathon. It is quite an experience to watch, over the years, the planning, dedication and commitment Mark has needed to finally get to the starting line in Boston. I feel very privileged to have been able to share with Mark the preliminary events and the finish of the actual run, and then to enjoy, from the sidelines, the congratulations and well wishes of many perfect strangers we encountered along the way.

Beyond Boston we were lucky to be able to extend our trip to New York and Washington which for me meant the opportunity to re-visit some previous experiences, but also to catch up on some for which there was no time on previous visits. Finally, this visit reinforced my earlier impressions of the US and its people. Once again we found without exception, that the people we encountered everywhere were, without exception, friendly, courteous and helpful. 

25 April 2019 - Washington DC

Another nice day today and after a quick breakfast we decided to take an Uber to Arlington Cemetery, America's most famous burial ground. Being spring time here and with the trees in full blossom Arlington was a magnificent sight. We had a quick look around and did what everyone does and that is to visit the JFK burial site. As you look around in every direction it's rolling green hills and white marble monuments. Next we decided to walk from Arlington to the Lincoln Memorial across a bridge over the Potomac.

There are quite a few school groups in town as the moment, but Washington is so large and spread out that it is not really crowded anywhere, and the Lincoln Memorial was well attended but not crowded. Just like our last visit, Abe Lincoln is still sitting there in his large marble chair looking out over the National Mall. Our next visit was to the Martin Luther King memorial which is also a massive statue of the man with the surrounding walls quoting some of his most famous sayings.

From here we continued our walk around a beautiful lake which features the Thomas Jefferson Memorial which ia another wonderful shrine to another famous American.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, was a Founding Father of the USA and the third President of the United States. As a product of The Enlightenment he understood the necessity for the separation between Church and the State and ensured it was enshrined in the US Constitution. After spending a little time with Thomas we walked to the Washington Monument with the idea of riding to the observation platform at the top, only to find that it is closed for renovations until August this year. By then it was well past mid afternoon and we continued our walk back to the hotel. Mark's watch estimated that we had walked 13km which is probably the longest walk I've done in decades.

It was really nice kicking back in our hotel until it was time to choose a place to have dinner. I've generally found that in the US one tends to eat a lot of hamburger/pizza/sandwich type meals and as we were in the mood for something a bit more substantial and balanced we chose a little French restaurant called Bistro Biz and had the best meal of the trip so far - Beef Burgoignon for me and Duck Comfit for Mark. 

A memorable meal indeed, followed by desserts to match. Tomorrow is our final day here in Washington DC and we plan to spend it at one of the major shopping centres here in the capital, and then on the following day it is time for the long flight home.

24 April 2019 - Washington DC

Our first full day in Washington DC. Our hotel is quite close to Capitol Hill and the National Mall so we headed there this morning. We walked to the Capitol Visitor Centre and were immediately able to join a guided tour of the Capitol. This tour takes you straight into the area under the central dome and is quite magnificent.

Mark took this photo standing directly under the dome and looking up. The room in which we are standing features many large oil paintings depicting scenes from US history.

It was a bit crowded as there are many tours happening simultaneously but eventually we got to see everything and with the help of our excellent guide came to understand the significance of many items in this 'sacred site' of US history. When this tour, which lasted about 45 minutes ended, we walked along the National Mall to find the Smithsonian Museum of Space and Flight. Like the Capitol, Rosa and I visited here with our friend the Hirs' some years ago, but it was great to once again visit the collection of history making aircraft and space vehicles. A highlight of the visit once again was to see the original Wright Brothers 'Flyer' the first aircraft ever to fly.

From there we continued on down the Mall and visited the Museum of American History, focusing mainly on the American Civil War display, and then on to the Holocaust Museum, which took us almost to the Washington Monument. We will continue our trek down the mall tomorrow. From here we walked back to our hotel for a bit of a rest (in my case) and a stretch on the treadmill in Mark's case.

This evening Mark used TripAdvisor to find a nearby Irish pub, The Alibi, for dinner.

Couldn't resist the opportunity to have a Guiness with my beef stew which was excellent. Mark had 'bangers and mash' with a side of steamed vegetables. Very nice meal. We continue our exploration tomorrow.

23 April 2019 - New York to Washington DC

We left NY this morning on the 10:25 Amtrak and arrived in Washington DC after travelling through New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. We arrived at Union Station around 2pm and found we were only a 15 minute walk from our hotel the Hyatt Regency on Capitol. Once again check-in was smooth and we were soon unpacking our suitcases (for the last time). While Mark did his 10k in the fitness centre I caught up on a bit of washing, and then it was time to go for a walk and orient oureliselves. The famous Capitol building is only a short walk from here and we visited just long enough to get familiar with our surroundings and to take some photos.

The temperature here in Washington today was 30ºC and even the evening was quite balmy as we strolled around looking for somewhere to eat. We eventually settled on Carmine's Italian restaurant which has to be experienced to be believed. It is an old fashioned Italian family restaurant which means that whatever dish you order comes out large enough to feed a number of people. We took a chance on the Penne Meatballs and when it finally arrived it was the largest plate of food we'd ever seen.

The meatballs and the sauce were both outstanding and we managed to almost finish the whole lot, leaving just a few scraps of penne. Believe it or not we then followed that with a family serve of the most delicious chocolate torte I have ever tasted. We managed about half of that and the rest is in the fridge in a take out box for later. After dinner it was still a lovely warm temperature and we decided to walk back to the hotel. Everywhere you look in Washington there are beautiful buildings and on our way we passed the District of Columbia Court of Appeal courthouse.

Altogether a big day. We left NYC this morning and we go to sleep in Washington DC and tomorrow we start the last stage of our trip.

22 April 2019 - New York

Woke to the sound of rain on our last full day in NYC. Not heavy rain, just a steady drizzle. We walked to Fluffy's for breakfast and then caught the subway all the way to the bottom tip of Manhattan to catch the Staten Island Ferry.

Staten Island is one of the five burroughs of New York city and is accessible by a ferry which leaves every 30 minutes and which is free. 

The attraction is that the ferry sails right past the statue of liberty. I was hoping to get a good photo as we sailed past but the windows were were totally covered in salt spray and rain drops and this is the best I could do.

Once we arrived at Staten Island we hopped straight from our ferry to the one returning to Manhattan. From there back on the subway and back to our hotel. We've both pretty well covered everything we wanted to do in NYC and with the steady rain we spent the afternoon resting and getting ready for our train trip to Washington DC tomorrow. For dinner we walked to Luigi's Pizzeria for a genuine 16" New York pizza which was terrific, but i couldn't eat all of my share. Tomorrow we catch the AMTRAK at 10:30 to Washington, for the last part of our trip.

21 April 2019 - Easter Sunday in New York

With the promise of good weather today we decided to take the subway to Brooklyn on the other side of the East River. Thirty minutes later we were having brunch in the Brooklyn Heights Wine Bar which turned out to be a very good choice. Then we walked down to the the area called DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) which is essentially an open area right on the water with parks, restaurants even an old fashioned carousel. From here we gained fabulous views of Manhattan and the Brooklyn bridge.

We spent a bit of time here taking photos and video and just enjoying the wonderful views and the great atmosphere.

Eventually it was time to return to Manhattan and we started our walk across the Brooklyn Bridge which is very busy.

It is absolutely chaos with lots of pedestrians and lots of people on bikes. It is fairly difficult to even photograph the bridge because of all the people but with a bit of patience it can be done.

After our long trek back the hotel it was time for a bit of a rest, for me anyway, Mark went on a 10km run around Central Park. This evening we decided to catch the lights in Times Square, which as always was also extremely crowded.

We stayed here just long enough to get photos and videos of the coloured lights and then walked all the way back to our hotel. Tomorrow is our last full day in New York and on Tuesday we catch the train to Washington DC.

20 April 2019 - Easter Saturday in New York

First of all - Happy Easter to all in Australia. It's still Easter Saturday here. Today was an overcast day with the threat of rain never far away.
Last night Mark and I attended a great concert at the famous Beacon Theatre. Nick Mason (Drummer - Pink Floyd) and band performed a concert of early Pink Floyd hits. The show was titled Nick Mason and the Saucerful of Secrets and it was fantastic. We had seen it advertised in Australia and the cheapest tickets were in excess of $100.

Yesterday Mark continually monitored availability and prices online and eventually picked up two great tickets for around $40 total for two tickets.

We decided today was shopping day and travelled down to Macys on Broadway - the world's largest store - it takes up a whole city block and many floors.

One thing we noticed straight away - it is much quieter in NYC on the weekend - it is actually quite pleasant to stroll around streets with far fewer pedestrians and streets without cars. After a few hours of looking and shopping we returned to the Salisbury to rest the aching feet. Having rested a bit I took a subway to photograph the famous Flatiron building in here in NYC. Didn't get to see it on previous visits and it is such an iconic building I'm glad I made the effort.

This evening we had dinner in a Cuban eatery called Sophie's kitchen. The food was fantastic and relatively cheap and as always in the US, far too much for me. Now we are hoping for the rain to clear up so that we can visit Brooklyn and walk back over the Brooklyn Bridge - fingers crossed.