Day 16 - Washington to San Francisco

All good things come to an end, and we finally had to leave Washington.  Our stay there was most enjoyable, and we were both a little sad to leave, still onward and westward.  If you like Canberra you'd probably like Washington as well -and we can't recommend the AKA White House too highly.  We spent the early morning finishing our packing and then travelled to the airport in a Lincoln limousine - for less than the cost of a taxi in Australia for a comparable journey.

The airport was a bit confusing at first - the self-check in wasn't overly intuitive.  With assistance we were able to complete the process, and, $50 later for our suitcases (apparently our tickets, flying with United Airlines, didn't include checked luggage).  Our seats were at the very back of the plane and we weren't initially seated next to each other.  Thankfully a very generous lady swapped seats with Rhonda so we could sit together.  Rhonda thinks the lady just didn't want to spend an entire flight sitting next to me - I understand that.  The Steward looking after our section of the plane was fantastic, a great sense of humour and he was very engaging - apart from trying to hit on Rhonda (in jest, although I understand his motivation).  Rhonda got a coffee, which was undrinkable, so she took it back and he gave her two complimentary bottles of wine.  The flight lasted about five and a half hours.

We got to our Hotel in the late afternoon and felt very relieved.  It's rather grand, as you can see from the pictures below.  I'm here for the 34th International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, which is being held at the hotel (as it is every year) so we get a very good room rate (less than the hotel in New York).

The Claremont Hotel Resort and Spa

Feeling pretty happy at this stage

I stayed here just over three years ago, and, frankly, had a better room (with views over San Francisco Bay), but we have no complaints.  We wandered down the road (and when people in San Francisco wander down the road they wander DOWN the road - it's very hilly here), had dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant, bought some groceries and staggered back up the mountain to the hotel.  Tomorrow we're off to the de Young Museum, in Golden Gate Park - apparently you can't visit too many museums.  See  you all then.
 

Day 15 - Botanicus perfectus

Our last full day in Washingtown DC (dirty clothes), and I have to say that we started the day with all of our clothes clean - Rhonda excelled.  The plan for today was the National Botanic Garden, some more museums, and a stroll to Georgetown.  The Botanic Gardens were beautiful.  They are not large, but are filled with small sections on themes, such as: Hawaii, deserts, jungle, medicinal plants, endangered plants, and other stuff (or, to give it its correct Latin name, otherus stufii).  A series of shots of the outside and inside are shown below.



I'd hate to have to clean the windows

Orchids

A steaming pile of jungle

I never knew cactus could be so pretty

A king-sized planter

After the Botanic Gardens,  we strolled up the National Mall and visited the Hirshhorn Museum (also called the donut - since it's a circular shape with a hollow centre.  The building is great and there was an amazing piece of sculpture outside - a column built from tubes of steel and wires that just seems to float in the air.

The outside of the Hirshhorn Museum

Inside the donut



You can't see too many Henry Moores 

The amazing column

Then it was on to the Smithsonian Castle and a couple more art galleries.  The Castle is not a museum, but is an interesting building. 

The Smithsonian Castle

It is, however, sadly devoid of punctuation. 

Apparently you can enter staff as long as you enter other people as well

The other art galleries, the Sackler and Freer Galleries featured Asian art and the work of James McNeill Whistler.  Fabulous collections and beautiful buildings, most of the galleries are actually under ground.  Below is a photo of the staircase in the Sackler Gallery.

After that it was back to the hotel for a short rest, before walking to Georgetown and having a final dinner in Washington.  On our way we saw the Mexican Embassy, which features a couple of preserved houses.

The plaque shown below was fixed to the front of the Embassy.

Georgetown is a beautiful, older area of Washington, full of interesting eateries and shops. 

The "Old Stone House", the oldest house and property in Washington

We had dinner at an interesting restaurant called "Thunder Burger Bar".  It was yummy, and, to be completely honest, probably did not provide a balanced diet.

Anyway, that's enough for today's blog.  Rhonda raised a martini to you all during our Thunder Burger Bar dinner.