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 via the "out" turnstile), we managed to access the network. It's a pretty simple system, and is similar to the London Underground. The hotel we're staying at is right next door to a subway entrance, which makes it very handy for public transport. We used the subway several times during the day and the total cost was $5 each.

We started the day with the Eastern Market, which is like a farmer's market, though I think it runs all the time, but is biggest at the weekend. It was a mix of produce and crafts, with some food vendors as well, and it stretched both indoors and outdoors.

Afterwards we started on a bit of a memorial junket. We saw the Washington Memorial from a distance, though it's under scaffolding for repairs. It obscured it somewhat, but it's a hard shape to completely disguise, so the photos weren't spoiled that much. Once you get into the Constitution Ave/Pennsylvania Ave area, it's always around - everywhere you turn, it seems to be there.

We got much closer to the White House than I thought we would. It was just one fence away. You get much closer than you do to Number 10 in London, which is completely blocked off. At least here you can take photos of the place. It also serves as a focal point for protests. There were plenty out there today, including one with a banner saying "Impeach Obama", presumably for his health care policy. There were about 40-50 people, plus plenty of other single-person protests on different issues, but all presumably caused or aggravated by the President. There was one protester, who seemed to favour smoking and opposed anti-smoking initiatives. To show his opposition, he had decorated his car creatively, and looked to be simply driving his protest round town. Gives new meaning to "drriving your point home."

We walked down and saw the WW1 memorial, and the WW2 memorial. The latter in particular was well attended. Having seen a number of castles round England last year, it's fair to say that England knows how to do history. Well, America does memorials the way England does history and castles. The war memorials in particular were impressive, managing to be respectful and peaceful. The size also impresses, especially the WW2 memorial which tops off the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool. At the Lincoln Memorial it was still closed due to the Government shutdown, so there were barriers at the bottom of the steps, with guards behind to stop enthusiastic visitors. While I was there, I saw half a dozen motorcycle police officers turn up, park their bikes, and go over to the memorial to "reinforce" the existing contingent. It was an odd thing to see, especially given the "freedom" message behind the memorial...

That was enough sightseeing for the day, especially for this jet-lagged Kiwi. Somehow, though, we ended up taking the long way round to Foggy Bottom, the Metro station where we caught the subway back to our hotel. Now admit it - you sniggered when you read "Foggy Bottom", didn't you. Yeah, you did. So did we, each and every one of us. I guess there's a seven-year-old in each of us…

We wrapped up the day with dinner at Union Market, a revamped building that houses a number of independent, artisanal vendors, a mix of homemaking-type shops and food vendors. It was a great place. I had Korean Tacos for dinner, with lovely gelato for dessert. A great way to end the day. The first, very busy, day of the exchange. Just 27 more to go, and I bet they'll all be just as busy.