Washington DC, A Greyhound Bus Ride And An Edinburgh Reunion

I spent about 5 days in Washington DC - after after my week in NYC with Rach, it couldn't have been more different, but was probably just what I needed. The hostel I was staying in was relatively calm, but I did share my room with a comic Irish guy named Conner, and a succession of various Europeans - drinking with the Germans on the last couple of nights being a highlight.

DC is a pretty amazing city, if a little surreal. It was built for the sole purpose to hold the Government, and to be the capital city. So it's perfectly laid out and full of huge very grand buildings. On the plus side all the museums and art galleries (of which there are hundreds) are entirely free - a great place to be after you've spent a week in New York spending too much money! The weather was gorgeous, so I did a huge amount of walking - the National Mall is at the centre of the city, and holds monuments to many of the major wars, and presidents. The Vietnam Memorial is a very simple black wall carved into the ground with all the names of those who died on it, whilst I was there there was one woman in her 50's, who had never been before, and had found the name of her brother who had died in service age 19. It's become a tradition to take an engraving of the name from the wall, and was really quite moving to hear her talk to the park ranger about what she remembered of her brother.

I also visited Arlington, a mass grave site where many important figures from American military and politics are buried. A kinda strange morbid fascination, and it did indeed feel odd standing in front of JFK's grave with 20 other tourists, but I'm glad I've been.

Unfortunately the Museum of American History was shut so I didn't get to see Judy Garlands ruby slippers...but hey ho! You had to make an appointment at least 6 months in advance to go on a tour of the White House, but on the last day I did go into the Capitol Building, which again, was great to see, and really very interesting - although the American political system still goes over my head a little! The whole country is in the grip of election fever right now, and seems to be all anyone is talking about, so it was great to say I'd been in Washington at this exciting time...

So, then came my first long bus journey. All I can say is that Greyhound buses are my new favourite mode of transportation, simply for the people, the drivers, and pure comedy value! I felt like I was in a bizarre episode of an American version of Little Britain, and it was amazing! Some memorable quotes from the 22 hour journey to Milwaukee include...

• 'What the hell is that smell?!, What kind of person waits till they get on a bus to take to take a shit...?!' - after an old man had spent far too long in the toilet.
• 'The government have a new rule, you're not allowed to take any of your clothes off on the bus.' 'What, so I can't take my sweater off?' 'Ah Mam, I don't know, it's the government, not me - take it all off if you realy wanna'. The woman then began to sing a strip song as she took her sweater off.
• 'If you're too cold, or too hot.....tuff shit, you should have brought a coat'
• 'You're from London, that's waaaaay cool'. 

So I made it to the midwest...after 22 hours, lots of crazy people, and finally sobbing my way through the last couple of chapters of A Thousand Splendid Suns. Now, for those of you I haven't spoken to since leaving London in June you may be wondering what the hell I'm doing in Milwaukee....over the Summer in Edinburgh, through various circumstances I bonded with a group of quite amazing Americans (and a Canadian) over a shared love of travel and Driving Helicopter Style Three Quarters Of The Way To The Moon...long story! Anne and I also lived together for the summer, and became firm friends after discovering we were both total musical theatre geeks and stayed up until the early hours discussing our respective Stephen Sondheim dissertations.....tragic!

After only a month or so, it has been wonderful to see her again. Anne and her family have been perfect hosts, and I've had a truly wonderful time here so far. We spent the weekend at her Mum's partners cottage in the woods  - totally gorgeous, and went to see a Eugene O'Neil play on Saturday night at an open air theatre in the woods (Ann'e favourite place, for those Driving Helicopter Style people who remember those stories...).

On Sunday there was a huge baseball game, as the Milwaukee Brewers had got further into the play-offs than they had in 15 years or something. Had said from the start I really wanted to go to a baseball or American football game, and Anne's Dad had managed through his work to get amazing 5th row tickets, which he very kindly shared with us. It was so much fun, absolutely crazy - and probably the most 'American' thing I've done so far. They didn't win - which made me feel very much like I was at home watching a Welsh rugby international...

Anne is at work this week, so I'm taking it easy, doing my washing, catching up on emails and going for some long walks along the lake. Last night we went to a very cool bar called the SpyHouse which was slightly insane - you need a password to get in, and the place is filled with mad little spy holes, gadgets, and ways of looking at people in secret!

Wisconsin is famous for cheese, so I'm eating a lot of that too! Hooray!

On Friday we are going to Chicago for the weekend to catch up with another American from Edinburgh, and I'm still planning my next move after that....

Tonight is the second Presidential debate, which should be a lot fun...! I really am fascinated by American politics, it seems so much more exciting and flashy than anything back home, but I'm still not entirely sure what anyone actually stands for.....

Rich

xxx