Saturday 12 November 2016

Sylvia had been at a conference in Washington DC all week. I arrived last night. Just down the road from the hotel a Statue of George Washington stood in the middle of a round-about on Pennsylvania Ave.

Off to the left some distance down on F Street is the International Spy Museum. Although most of the exhibits are pre 1970 this place is well worth a visit, displaying all sorts of gadgets and devices used in the spy world. Just now it is running a 007 exhibition covering the James Bond area from the beginning.

After exploring the museum we headed back onto Pennsylvania Ave and down to the White House.

The road is blocked off there just now with some construction going on. Taking a detour we made our way down to Capitol Hill.

A few people stood around with “Don’t want Trump” banners, but nothing like the numbers CNN had been banging on about on the morning news. We made our way down the National Mall past the Smithsonian and other Museums to the Washington Monument.

Last time I was here a couple of years ago this was surrounded in scaffolding being repaired from earthquake damage. Apparently the lifts are still not working so we couldn’t take a journey to the top.

At the other end of the mall is the Lindon Memorial. Lots of people strolled around enjoying the fresh autumn day.   With a big memorial to WWII and others of many other conflicts it’s a special place to visit.

A dinner with long-time friend Paula rounded out a pleasant day in the US capital.