So today was the last real day I had for sightseeing in Washington DC. From tomorrow, it's going to be jam-packed all week, and with the Government Shutdown last time we were here, we had a lot of catching up to do. So I crammed in three museums into one busy day. I started with the Library of Congress at 9am. Like so many of the buildings in Washington DC, it has a classical architecture. Stepping inside, it's like a cathedral devoted to the worship of book...

For those that don't know, the title of this blog is taken from one of the most famous quotes from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It seemed an appropriate way to summarise the last few days here in the US. It's been full-on since the program started on Monday, and I've seen so much, spoken to so many people, and had so many ideas crammed into my head (not to mention the food crammed into my mouth), that it's a little overwhelming. As I'm renowned for long-winded writi...

After arduous international travel from one side of the planet to the other, I was relieved to land in Washington DC and check into our hotel. A reasonably decent night's sleep recharged the batteries enough to have a poke around the political mecca that is Washington DC... We (me and my posse of other exchangees) christened our shiny new Metro subway farecards, and after two failed attempts to breach the turnstile (don't need to insert it, don't try to go in...