Washington DC

3rd - 5th November, 2010
After arriving at our hotel we took the hire car back to the airport. We caught the metro train back to DuPont Circle, right near our hotel. The train was full of Washinton Capitals (ice hockey) fans. The Americans sure do love their sports.
We only had two days in DC and as the first morning it was pouring rain we decided to go and see some of the Smithsonian Museums. We went to the Air and Space Museum and saw the Wright brothers plane, Amelia Aerhart's flying gear, replicas of the Hubble telescope and moon space landing module as well as loads of aircraft and rockets and memorabilia such as uniforms the airline attendants wore through the ages.

From there we went next door (it was still raining) to the Museum of the American Indian. There were some interesting artefacts and traditional costumes as well as a large display of how Native American culture tries to survive in the modern day.
The next day the weather had improved and we set off  intending to catch one of the hop on - hop off tour buses. We passed by the White House and then while we were waiting at the bus stop a private guide pulled up in his car and although we we a bit sceptical at first, he convinced us to go with him and it turned out to be great.
He took us around all the major sites, including some we weren't planning on seeing. We visited Arlington cemetery, Capitol Hill, the Washington Monument, Lincoln and Roosevelt memorials.

 
We ended the day with a visit to the top of the Old Post Office clock tower for views over the city and then went to the Museum of American History. Here we saw pop-culture things like Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz, Fonzie's Leather Jacket and Kermit the Frog, as well as the original Stars and Stripes flag, made in 1836, Edison's light bulb and the Model T Ford.