Today we squeezed in a quick trip to the Lego shop at the Rockefeller Centre. Daniel raided the Lego wall and got a cool pot of unusual bits and pieces. Then we trundled down to Penn Station to catch the Amtrak train to Washington DC. It occurred to us that New York would be heaven to certain young friends over ours who enjoy public transport... The yellow cabs, black cars, water taxis, ferries, planes, buses, subway, metro and Amtrak lines that punctuate this city are like a transportation Mecca! There is no best way to travel New York...it just depends where and when you travel. Anyway, we settled into our spacious and comfy seats on the train (think airline business class) ready for the 3 hour interstate trip. We travelled through New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware...you get to see a lot from the train so it was an interesting trip. Gemma even spotted some Opti yachts out on the water. With wifi and a packed lunch we found the time went quickly, and if was nice to travel without being searched and having to take off your shoes every 5 minutes. We did learn however that it is extraordinarily difficult to go to the toilet on a swaying train!!! When we emerged from Union station in DC we found it a bit of a shock as the temperature was 34°...we had left 20° in New York, so quite a jump ( though the taxi driver told us it had come out of nowhere and they were all feeling it). We checked in to our very cool room at the Kimpton hotel... The kids have their own roomette with bunks and kid size robes and an x box, and we have a big room with a lounge so we can all get some much needed space for a few days. Then we took a walk down to the local icon - the Whitehouse. It is massive and guarded from every possible angle. We played frisbee in the grounds outside, under the shady trees, with squirrels bounding about all around us. Then, we strolled the long way back to the hotel. It was so hot! We tried to find somewhere to eat but it was a madhouse...half the streets were closed for a parade, and there were people everywhere. So we negotiated our way back eventually and settled on room service! Washington lends itself to exploration, so we will no doubt be doing lots of hat for e next couple of days...