We are staying at the Washington Hilton and as we knew the checkin was late, we stayed at the railway station and had some lunch. I went up to the travel desk where they sell "hop on, hop off" bus tours around the city. Found out that they have combined a couple of the routes because they can't access the bus stops, not a good sign!!.
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| Replica Liberty bell outside Railway |
I then asked which of the places where they have stops, the "attraction" is still open. It appears that over half the places are closed, basically anything that had a free access is closed, anything that has an admission is open. Closed are all the Smithsonian museums and galleries, Washington memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, National Gallery of Art, Washington Zoo, US Capitol Visitors centre, Holocaust Museum, National Library and Archives, National Mall and memorial parks etc etc. OK.....
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| Capital building, hopefully we can get a bit closer!! |
Got a taxi to the hotel and the room is not ready, waited an hour, still not ready, took an alternative room, got to the room, internet access is $14 per day, per device!! OK...
We have been in 27 hotels over the last 3 months and had to pay for the internet twice, I think, the most was $45 for 5 days, all devices included (we have 5). So "first impression", not good, hopefully when we get out and about tomorrow, those "impressions" will change, if not we may just have to go and camp at the train station, free internet access there :-) We are currently sitting in the lobby of the Hilton, with all our devices, blogging, charging, and updating :-)
Anyway here are a couple of photos from the railway station :-) To be continued.......... (hopefully)
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| Georgetown street 1 |
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| Georgetown street 2 |
Yes, it's official, the doors are shut!!, and it's raining today, the first days rain that we have had in the 3 months that we have been away. In spite of the rain we decided we would set out this morning and walk to the Phillips Art Museum, on route to Georgetown the oldest area of Washington, predating the "Federal Washington" that we know today. The Phillips Museum is a private Art collection that we would be able to pay to get in and enjoy a few hours viewing, of what looked like an impressive collection from what we had read, see
link for a better look. So off we headed only to find... yes you have guessed it the Museum is closed on Monday's :-).
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| Cute little house |
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| Old stone house in Washington |
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| looking at the bus timetable |
So we continued the walk to Georgetown and enjoyed viewing the quaint little streets, houses and nice shops in the main area of the town. Saw the stone house that is the oldest unchanged house in Washington, see
link for more details. At 2.00pm we decided to head back to the hotel as the rain was getting quite heavy. The forecast is for a fine day tomorrow so hopefully we can get out and at least take some photos of the places that we couldn't go into..
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| Down by the Potomac River. Any guess's where the umbrella was purchased? |
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| The Backyard of the White House |
It's now Tuesday the 8th Oct and our final day in Washington, and no rain :-). So out we went walking, and to kick a few doors open. Well Ruth was doing the kicking and I was recording the evidence. It is a little frustrating at being so close to things that we have seen for ages and not been able to "get to them". On top of that, this "close down" is just a whole lot of political posturing so didn't feel to guilty by going through the barriers, at a number of closed sites.
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| Do you sense a little rebellion in that stride? |
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| The Reflecting Pool |
Left the Hotel on Connecticut Ave and walked to the White House, then down to the National Mall and alongside the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial and the Korean War Monument, all of which are "closed". Had a good look around and then got back on the road and headed to Arlington Cemetery. Really enjoyed that, saw JFK and Jackie O's burial site and memorial, then went onto the Iwo Jima 2nd WW war memorial.
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| Lincoln Memorial |
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| Looking back to the Washington Monument |
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| A little more rebellion :-) |
For a break, took the metro back to the centre of town where we had lunch and then walked down Pennsylvania Av to the Washington Memorial and then up to the Capitol Building, following a "major" immigration demonstration, which was a bit exciting. Had about an hour up at the Capitol and then went back to the Hotel, via Constitution Ave, Pennsylvania Ave, The White House and Connecticut Ave, looking longingly at the outside of all the Smithsonian Museums and Art Galleries.
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| Korean War Memorial |
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| Arlington Cemetery |
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| Iwo Jima WW 2 Memorial |
Felt like we have got a "feel" for the city, although we never got to see inside the major attractions.
Tomorrow we are up at 4-30am in order to catch the flight to San Fran and the final leg of the trip :-(
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| Capitol Building |
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| Capitol Building 2 |
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| Spot the photographer |
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