To be honest, we actually stayed just a tincy wincy outside of Washington D.C., in Arlington, Virginia and spent time in both cities. We were welcomed to the city by our host and friend, Jacci and her hubby, Menachem Wecker. They were amazing hosts, were really helpful and couldn't go out their way enough for us.

DC is famous for housing the house of all houses...the White House andall the political buildings that go with being the capital city. We spent a day walking around the capital buildings (massive structures that represent every piece of American society and culture), the Smithsonian Museums (we didn't actually go into any of the museums as we've both done them extensively before but it's still a nice walk), the Lincoln Memorial (yip, got a pic with Abe and interesting pics of the empty Reflection Pools that he watches over...hopefully not a sign of the future of the US :) ), and lastly a few pics in front of the White House while dodging some cops and flying baseballs to take them. Even though we've both done these before, we couldn't go to Washington without doing them again. We will put up all the fantastic pics we got of this so look out for them on the blog soon.

Washington is a beautiful city that is incredibly well run and clean. And apart from the political sights, there were plenty of funky areas and nice walks to keep us busy. We got a lesson in chilli eating at Hard Times Café in Virginia - neither of us had actually had real American chilli before (which is basically spiced minced meat) so it was a very unique experience that got the taste buds going nicely! We spent a day in Foggy Bottom (business district and med school campus), Georgetown (the 5th Ave of DC) and took a great walk across the Arlington Memorial Bridge.

The nightlife was also pretty exciting. Our first night out took us toward U Street. The night started a bit slow but picked up, perhaps coincidentally proportionately with our Jameson intake, and ended at the underground, hipster U Street Music Hall. We also had a great night in Chinatown where Jacci showed us around and helped us get our drink on in the local drinking holes that ranged from Irish bars to cool rooftop bars and ended typically with a slice of cheese in the wee hours of the morning. Waking up early, to give us time to catch our flight out to Chicago, we were treated to a very much appreciated gourmet brunch by chef Menachem which definitely helped soak up anything left in our systems.

We want to take this opportunity to thank Jacci and Menachem again for making our stay in Virginia really brilliant.

Trek on...Brett and Darren