After our delayed flight, we eventually arrived in Washington, DC at around 2am on Wednesday 11 April. We waited in a long line at immigration, but the guy was quite nice and let us through without much hassle. It was bitterly cold outside the airport, so we quickly bundled into the nearest taxi for the trip to out hostel. We arrived at the hostel at around 4am where we grabbed a quick shower and then collapsed into bed, completely exhausted.

After a few hours we were up again to pack up and move out. We left our bag in the storage area and went for our first walk around the city. It felt a bit wierd actually being in Washington - many of the sights were familiar from the movies. Soon we found a Subway where we got some food and, after a bit more wandering around, it was time to head back to the hostel to get our things. We hopped on a circulator bus and soon we were in Mount Pleasant, the neighborhood where our CouchSurfing host Gene stayed. We waited in a local bar for him to finish work and then chatted over a few drinks before heading home. Later we walked to the nearby Target to get some things for supper, had a quick meal and went to sleep.

Gene really helped us out at the last minute, even though he was quite busy. He was super helpful with tips and advice and we had some great times chatting with him and learning more about what it's like to live in America. He stays in a cool apartment with his big furry cat and massive TV :-)

Thursday we were up at a decent time and ate a yummy breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. We were off to visit the memorials today. One of the cool things about Washington is that most of the interesting places are all located around a huge strip of land called the Mall. Its still a lot of walking, but you can see a lot in a day if you mission. Also, all of the memorials and most of the museums and galleries are free :-) There are so many memorials to visit that we walked around pretty much until the sun went down and weren't able to see them all. They are all very thoughtfully put together and some of them are pretty big and quite elaborate. We caught the bus home and were glad to have a chilled out evening at home after all the walking.

Friday we needed to try and sort out an issue at the bank which only got resolved at around lunch time. We grabbed some McDonalds (they were having a special - buy one get the 2nd burger for 1c!) and headed back to the Mall to see some museums. Most of them you could spend a whole day at on their own, so we kinda rushed through the main parts of each. Like the memorials, they are very well done and the exhibitions are expertly put together. Everything about the city seems to be done as best as possible - no shortcuts or half-jobs. As the sun was setting we walked to the subway to catch a train home, where we ate supper and chilled out on the couch.

Saturday we were due to leave Washington, so we stayed close to home and just wandered around the neighborhood. There are some very cool, old, quaint houses around and it was nice to get a bit more of a feel for the area. At around lunch time we got our things together, said our final goodbyes to Gene and then headed off to catch our bus to New York City!