Washington the U.S capital was formerly known as the District of Columbia.
Washington was named after George Washington, the first president of the United States.
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Travelling to Washington
We flew to Washington in the month from Miami. Unfortunately all the flights from Miami were over booked and we were not able to get on our original flight even though our luggage was already on the plane and heading to Washington. We decided to check out flights to Washington from Fort Lauderdale and there was flights available which we then booked. We got a taxi to Fort Lauderdale airport with cost around £45 which we thought was good value.
The flight was to take us to Washington via Cincinnati. We boarded our plane in plenty of time for allocated take off time. We were informed several times by the captain that there is a storm coming and that we would have to wait to be cleared for take off. After almost 3 hours sat on the runway the captain announced that he would be getting extra fuel and fly around the storm. There was a lot of turbulence but not too bad.
When we changed places in Cincinnati that was a completely different story. Throughout the journey nobody was allowed to leave their seats not even the cabin crew. The plane was a smaller plane and appeared to been blown about. We noticed people on the plane in tears and the look of fear was seen in many passenger faces. This was the worst flight we have ever experienced. Fortunately we landed safely and were able to continue our travels.
Accommodation
Although we pre booked a transfer from the airport to the hotel but unfortunately our driver got lost and had to call someone to direct him to the hotel even though we had sent full postal address when we booked. Finally we got to our hotel which was “West End part of Georgetown Collection”. We arrived 9 hours later than we had expected but nobody can be to blame for acts of god. The hotel room was very large and comfortable and within easy walk of all sightseeing attractions. As we had arrived late on a wet evening we decided to plan our sightseeing for the next day and get a good nights sleep.
Site Seeing
We were lucky that the following day the rain had stopped and we had the occasional bought of sunshine which made sightseeing a lot more enjoyable. There are so many places to visit in Washington you do need several days. Unfortunately we did not have several days therefore we tried to cram it all in in the time we had in Washington.
Fortunately most of the attractions are with walking distance from each other. Whitehouse, Washington Monument, The U.S Capitol Building, Supreme Court, Lincoln Memorial, National Air and Space Museum, World War II Memorial to name a few. All of them are free of charge to visit.
Where most of the attractions are there are several food vans selling everything from ice cream to American hot dogs. These vans are excellent value with so much choice. Ideal if you want a bite to eat on the move especially if time is of the essence like us.
Food and Drink
On the evening with ventured in to the area of shops, bars and restaurants. Unfortunately we did not find many bars that where you could go for a drink only. Not sure if we had gone to the wrong area but all we found were small eating restaurants or the big chains like Nando’s. Nando’s being one our favorite chain restaurant we decided to eat in. We were served by the rudest waiter we had ever experienced. Practically throwing cutlery at us. We don’t usually complain but the service was so appalling we asked to see the manager who was very polite and offered us 3 desert. We know it is compulsory to tip in America but with the service we received we didn’t tip. Only tip we offered was “get some manners” lol.
Summary
Washington is definitely worth a visit. So much to see and do for all ages. Unfortunately we did not have as much time as we had hoped to see everything so may be return to ensure we do.
Images
Things to do
- Visit the Whitehouse
- Visit United States Capitol
- Visit Library of Congress
- Visit Air and Space Museum
- Visit Lincoln Memorial
- Visit Washington Monument
Top Tips
- Try and stay near the Whitehouse etc..
- Allow plenty of time to see everything.
- Take appropriate clothing depending on the time of year. Check out chart below for temperatures and rainfall.
- In peak seasons allow time for queueing.
- Food from the vans near the attractions are very reasonably price and not bad for food on the go.
- Check out other destinations we have visited in America.
- Check out the UK government website for travel advice https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa
Weather
| Temp – Celsius Rain – mm | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| High Temp | 9 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 24 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 27 | 20 | 15 | 9 |
| Low Temp | -2 | -1 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| Rainfall | 70 | 70 | 70 | 70 | 100 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 70 | 80 | 80 |
| Number of days | 12 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |