The Capital

Apologies for the gap since the last blog. The weather has been great and I've not wanted to use up any outdoor time. I spent 5 days in Washington DC, staying with a family friend, Andrew. He lives with a guy who works for the Republican Party and I happened to arrive in town just as the parliament was voting on the Health Care Bill so my first port of call was a protest rally. I didn't have much of an idea what the issue was and the longer I stayed at the rally the more confused I became. Everybody there seemed to have a different message on their placards. Since it was one of the first warm sunny days of the year I think a lot of people just went along to enjoy a day in the park - either that or they just like to disagree with anything the government tries to do.

The Mall is pretty amazing. It is a long grassy strip from Capitol Hill to the Lincoln Monument with the Washington Monument in the middle. The Washington Monument is one big phallus, presumably a symbol of American potency. There are many other memorials and and monuments around the mall, all impressive and the White House off to the side. Across the Potomac River is the Arlington Cemetery, which is vast and still has plenty of room to grow so keep those service men rolling in. Next door is the Pentagon, I believe the worlds largest office building. I spent 2 days visiting all these places which all add up to affirm that America is great, we are the most powerful nation in the world, and don't anyone forget it! It is a beautifully designed outdoor space and well worth the time spent there.

Bordering the Mall are the seemingly endless Smithsonian Institute Museums. I visited the Air and Space Museum, which houses loads of air and space craft that achieved phenomenal feats. Armstrong and Aldrin's lunar module is there along with the Wright Brothers first plane, Lindbergh's and Erhard's crafts, satellites, telescopes (including the Hubble), a moon rock and much, much more. Incidentally, in the 1960s I could not have been a stewardess for American Airlines because I'm too tall and heavy, neither could any males or anyone over 30.

Next was the Museum of the Native Americans. This was an interesting place with exhibits covering Native people from Alaska to Argentina. It displayed all the different tribes separately so became a bit overwhelming after a while as there were so many.

My final museum (though you could go on for months and not visit them all) was the Holocaust Museum. This was amazing in a cold, chilling and horrific way. I would say it's not a place recommended for small children but a must-see for anyone who might not understand what the regime was all about.

Also during my stay in DC I had dinner in Georgetown which has a more European vibe and met lots of great, forward thinking and passionate people.

Next stop... NYC!