SATURDAY
Christmas Day in Washington DC and when we awoke (quite late) and looked out our window we could little flurries of snow flakes drifting past the window!!!! Not quite the White Christmas we were searching for but it was actually snowflakes!
After having some brekky we rugged up with our warmest gear and set out to see the sights, and as we opened the front door of the hotel the cold hit us!!! Boy! It was breathtaking. So we walked downtown about 3 or 4 blocks, had a quick coffee at a Starbucks that was actually open, and then found ourselves at the White House, among a handful of tourists doing the same thing! 
We took some photos and then walked around to the front to see the White House Xmas tree and all the bits and pieces around it. Everything is so different from when we were here two years ago (which was in the summer), with all the trees devoid of leaves and all the lovely lawns are frost burnt brown!!!! The whole National Mall looked as barren as hell and when we got the the World War Two Memorial, the Lake of Reflection which extends down to the Lincoln Memorial was frozen solid and fenced off to stop people skating on it!
After taking a few photos we walked back to the Washington Monument and took a few more, then walked back into the city, stopping at the posh Willard Hotel to look at the decorations and for the girls to cuddle up to Santa! There wasn't much open to get a snack, but we found a hotel with a bistro open and had a fantastic sandwich before heading back to our hotel and the lovely warm room!
We were going to venture back down to the big Xmas tree all lit up but we chickened out and after booking some tour bus tickets for tomorrow, had a few drinks and snacks before going to bed.
So that was our Xmas Day! We didn't expect there to be much happening here in the city and as it turned out, that was the case! But we filled in the day nicely and tomorrow we will do some tours.

SUNDAY
We were up a bit earlier this morning and took advantage of the free breakfast here at the Homewood Suites. It was a fantastic spread, with cereals, fruit, hot dishes and of course the beaut, easy to make, fresh waffles just to tempt the taste buds - and naturally we had to try it all! After breakfast we caught a shuttle bus down to the Trolley Tours start point and set out on a city and Mall tour which gave us all the highlights and landmarks along with a very funny driver!!!
The tour took an hour or so and we didn't get off anywhere, prefering to stay in the warm for today and maybe do some more tomorrow, and after it we found a Starbucks for a coffee and then took the other tour up through Dupont Circle and Embassy Row to the National Cathedral where we hopped off and had a look through.
It was even colder up there on the hill and we got the next passing bus back through Georgetown and the trendy shopping area there, and as we were the only four on the bus the driver chatted away to us giving us a great insight into the local region. It was mid afternoon by the time the tour finished and we grabbed a snack and I bought an extra hoodie and a Russian type snow hat to keep out the cold before we wandered back to our hotel through the light snow that has been falling all day. The snow pretty much melts as it hits the ground but we can plainly see it on the trees and parked cars, making it all very pretty, and thankfully it is not enough to stop the tours!
After having a bit of a rest we rugged up again and braved the by now very cold weather and walked down to the White House for the girls to see the Xmas tree lit up - the things we do!!! Turned out to be way colder than we we thought with snow and ice still on the pavement, so we wasted no time in coming home, stopping at a CVS to get some bagels and stuff for a light dinner which we cooked up in our room.
It has been very unusual to be doing the tourist thing in these conditions today but it has its advantage - no crowds, no queues, no heat and no pushing through crowds on the footpath or in shops - and we saw the snow ploughs and ice spreading trucks all waiting on the road sides for the predicted snow falls that did not eventuate. The forecast was for severe storms after noon, but apparently the storm, which contained blizzards of up to 120kph, kept further to the east and missed Washington DC.
It must cost a fortune to have all these machines on standby and the amounts of salt mixture they spread on the roads are immense! No wonder all the locals think the snow is a bloody nuisance, especially those who had their travel plans wrecked by closed airports and cancelled flights!