lds89

very nice trip report so far! Brings me back to my days in NoVA / DC

DC was effectively built on top of a drained swamp, which is why it is so unbearably humid in the summer. Hope you check out the museums; they're really nice and are all air conditioned

Gerogetown is worth a look too - nice swanky area with a beautiful university campus and good food; although without air conditioning will certainly be hot to travel around in

Some up and coming areas include Eastern Market which has a Saturday farmers market and the U Street / 14th Street corridor which is where the biggest restauarant / bar scene now is. Enjoy!

pacenotes

Day 11 of a heatwave meant we had to have a change of plan for our sightseeing of DC. We were going to rent the DC bikes and cycle to each monument but this was out of the question. We decided to get a ticket to the big bus company. We got up early and made sure we did the red loop before the mid day heat.

We saw some amazing sights. We were able to do the whole route in one go. It was a great way to see all of DC.

Someone was making sure they had an address on Pennsylvania Ave in 2017 regardless.
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We got off at the Lincoln memorial and it was incredible just how life like Daniel Day-Lewis was able to become Lincoln. It was a huge space but is like a greenhouse so was trapping the heat inside the monument. We didn’t stay long.


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Some great views of the mile of Washington monument and Capitol Hill.

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We then walked on down to the Vietnam memorial. A powerful wall of all the men who gave there life. A personal touch as my uncle was in the war on the Australian side as a stretcher man.

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We walked around the duck pond before heading back to the bus route to hop back on the bus. We got a great view of the white house.

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We got off at the Newseum. Out side they had 52 different front pages one from each state. They are changed daily and it was interesting what each state had on its front page. Some of the story’s should have been in the national news.

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You start down the bottom with a piece of the Berlin wall. They tell the story of how the media helped to break the east and kept the news flowing into Berlin.

East side
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West side

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They had a FBI exhibition with how they have cracked some of the biggest cases. They had some interesting exhibits from bombings and some very sick people.

The first SNG truck. All you need now is a mobile phone.

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Then we went up to the top and worked our way down.

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They had some very old news papers and how the media has been part of America’s birth. They had some front pages for stories that we will all remember. But it also showed how much bias has been in the American press with most media owned by someone with an agenda even today with the likes of Murdoch owning half the world’s media you still have to question the agenda of some media.

As I work in Broadcast when I seen they were doing a tour of their studios I jumped at the chance. It was a bit bigger than the studios I work in as they could have a studio audience only 3 cameras which was quite small but they could expend it up to 5 which was still on the small side. They had Aljazeera in the other very small studio shooting while we were there. They used the small studio as it had a great view of Capital hill. I then looked at the MCR where I spend most of my day at work. Again not so big and it looked like they don’t do much here. At the end of the day it is a museum.

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We then went down to the 9/11 area. They had part of the TV antenna all mangled but surprisingly still intact. They had a short 10 minute video on what happened that day and how the media reacted. One photographer was killed and when they found his camera the last frame was exactly when the north tower collapsed. 6 Broadcast engineers were also killed who were at the top working for TV networks that was broadcast via the antenna on the roof.


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A map showing where there is free press in the world. Norway came out on top with North Korea last.

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A large section was given to the first war on TV the Vietnam war. Witch was shocking for the public to see how bad war really was.


The last floor and area was set aside for the Pulster prize. A very powerful area of some fantastic photos that have shaped our past. You could of spent a whole day in this museum.

We headed back to the hotel as we wanted to get ready for our meal that night. When I found out that the reservations open a month before hand for the Le Diplomat I was online at the hour it went midnight in America to make sure I got a table! This is the hottest place in DC at the moment. The First lady tried it out two weeks before it opened and gave her seal of approval. That might be why it is so hard to get a table!

When we got downstairs to get our cab it was raining heavily again but the Sofitel hand out umbrellas to everyone which we dully took. It was only a short 10 minute ride up to the Le diplomat.

This French styled restaurant used to be a laundrette so you still see some signs on the wall referring to dark shirts or blue shirts.

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They offered us a couple glasses of sparkling wine which was very thoughtful of them.

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I started with the Chilled Lobster as I clearly haven’t had enough recently.

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My wife had the Foie gras Parfait.

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When I arrived I asked for the wine to decanted as I knew with a 16 year old Bordeaux it would have some sediment in it and it would need time to breath. We left it an hour which was the time our mains arrived. A steal at $55!

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I had the Duck breast with Polenta mash & Green beans with a cherry sauce. It was the 2nd duck I have ever had it was sooo good. The wine went with it perfectly for a gaming meat.

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My wife had the steak frites which was cooked perfectly rare and came with the most amount of chips I had ever seen.

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As we were almost stuffed we shared pudding. We had three selections of cheese. Brie, a goat’s cheese and a ewe’s cheese. All very good and came with their own chutney which was a nice touch. I tried the three different years of pots with the best being the 1994. I found the 1985 Dow just a bit too harsh.

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It was the best meal of the trip. Great food & Wine. It did feel like it was the place to be. With what looked like people who worked in the city for the early sit down and then the younger snap chatters arrived they were all surprised they got tables at 10pm and were so excited. They looked more accustomed to a club than a fancy French restaurant.

All done we headed off into the rain to get a cab back to the hotel. I have changed to Lyft now as they offered $50 off the first 10 trips and you can tip which I like.

nequine

The Newseum is a fantastic place to visit in DC. I was impressed and moved at going through the 9/11 area.

pacenotes

Yes very moving. When I went in I seen the box of tissues thinking what's that for but left with a tear in my eye. What really hit it for my wife and I is the Broadcast engineers who were named at the end and when my wife leaned over and asked is that what you do.

offerendum

Wow! They even have a watch tower from the former German border!

farbster

Terrific trip. Nice to see USA as a destination for a honeymoon. I guess it's not all about Park Hyatt Maldives or whatever.

Looking forward to seeing more. Keep up the great reporting!

pacenotes

To make the most of our Big Bus ticket we had the plan to get up early and hit the other lines. But it was a Sunday and deserved a lie in. We got out of the hotel by 10 and were on the blue line by 10:20. The blue line heads over to the Pentagon & Arlington Cemetery. We got a great tour guide who knew everything about Washington He really made the trip.

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As close as you can get to the Pentagon

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We got to see the Marines memorial or the erra jerma memorial. We got a 360 degree view around it.

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We got back to the Washington monument and went on the yellow line. This line goes more into the suburbs of where we would live if we lived in Washington. Well I mean would like to live. We got to see motorcade drive on past too.

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The Kennedy centre for the arts was one of the last stops.

We got back to where we started our day and headed to ... for some Brunch.

I had some steak and eggs which was very good lovely and rare just how I like it.

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My wife had the Waffle crispy chicken and bacon. Lunch and breakfast all in one!

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We then headed back to the hotel as the mid afternoon sun was getting a bit too much.

As part of our tour tickets we also got a trip on the night tour. They said to arrive early and boy are we glad we did as there was a line but to be fair the buses kept coming and they were about to get us to use the bottom floors of the other buses before another arrived and we had a small group of about 25 on the last bus with us. We got a great tour guide in Nor and he was fantastic telling stories of his upbringing in DC and what he has done with his life. We got to see another side of DC with the lights on.

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It almost changes every time you would look back after a few minutes. We stopped off at the Lincoln memorial and went on a short walking tour to the Korean & Vietnam memorials including a short story about the tour guides father who fought in Vietnam.

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He brought us into the green house that was the Lincoln memorial and showed us the second face on Lincoln and the spelling mistake on the wall.

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Back on the bus they once again showed us around DC with more and more stories. The White house was all lit up as they had a dinner on for Singapore that night.

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When we finished we made sure that Norm got a great tip as he is what made our 2 hour trip great.

We then went to find some where to eat Norm recommended the Old Ebbitt Grill which he said was the cheapest place around for food. He wasn’t wrong. The humidity was building up so we were just glad to get in side to AC.

I had the cheese burger which was cooked rare and some lovely chips.

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My wife had a chicken sambo big enough to feed us both.

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We walked back via the White house

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We finished the night in the bar of the hotel with some bubbles.

offerendum

I see, the healthy option😉

nequine

Love your night photos.

When I did the night tour of DC, it wasn't getting dark until the bus was heading back to Union Station so didn't get as photos as good as I'd hope to.

pacenotes

I’m afraid today was going to be a man day. I spoke about going to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center when we were in Washington and she said sure lets go. I booked a car through Enterprise as they were two blocks from the hotel. I got up early and got a Dodge Challenger by 09:30.

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I used Waze for a sat nave and it had us out in a freeway in no time. I do have to say I didn’t look up the rules of the freeway before we left. I’ve no idea if I was to use the carpool lanes or not. I didn’t get flashed so think I must of stuck to the rules.
It took us 30 minutes to drive to the Museum. After a quick check of our bags we were in. We went straight to the tour area as a tour was starting at 10:30.

The first bird we seen was the STR71. A huge sight and an amazing bit of engineering.

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Next our tour guide bright us over to the space area. They have the space shuttle Discovery.

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Some daft person wanted them to repaint it but sense prevailed and it was shown with all its battle scares.
European space laboratory that would be put in the shuttle and sent up for experiments.

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To make sure people could survive 14 days in space like the moon missions they sent this up with two astronauts. When they came back to earth they exited and said that they were now both engaged.

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They didn’t know if when you went to the moon if you would come back with something so when you landed you were put in one of these and taken in a cargo plane back to the main land.

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First rocket propelled aeroplane.

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Some cold war stuff.

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The latest fighter jet. This is the prototype of the F35

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One of the most important planes in the world.

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Some commercial aircraft.

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The first Air France Concorde I have seen.

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It has to be one of the best tours I have ever done. He knew a lot about each plane and most had a story. The most incredible being the Japanese kamikaze pilot who came to look at a plane and looked up at the Enola Gay and said that he owed his life to that plane.

They have an observation deck 10 floors up. We went up for a quick look. You can see planes landing on the runway for Dulles.

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With that it was time to head back to Washington. A great day out that everyone should do.

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We got back to Washington in about 30 minutes again and dropped back the car. Then got a Lyft to Union station. We were taking the Amtrak to NYC. After a short wait in the station they opened the train for us to get on.

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Loads of leg room.

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It was comfy and was quick too. I caught up on this trip report and just had a good look out the window. I went up and got some drinks from the bar and it was a great way to travel between the two city’s.

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Before we knew it we were in Penn station. We got up to ground level and our hotel was two blocks away so we walked. We were staying at the Radisson Martinique on Broadway. When we arrived I had read online about queues at check in but after a few minutes wait we were seen to. There was a problem with our booking so he gave us a voucher for a drink at the bar and come back in 30 minutes.

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Once it was sorted out he gave us loads of freebies including Breakfast each day and a couple more drinks. He had upgraded us to a nicer room with a good view. For a NYC room it was huge with a Sofa. Bathroom was tiny but we are used to it by now.

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Best thing about this room was the view. Looking at the floor plan only one room on each floor can get this view. A great view of the Empire State building.

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I asked on Flyer talk about the NYC restaurant week and someone suggested Gaonnuri a Korean BBQ restaurant. It was 40 floors up.

Pork belly for me to start.

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Calamari salad for my wife.
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Then our BBQ was lit.

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Then it was up to us to cook it.

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A gimmick but it was fun. I did love how Prosecco was as cheap as the house white!

Too full for this but it came as part as the set menu.
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Some awesome views

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Not great photos tbh.

Then bed for us.

nequine

Loved your photos of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center especially of the Discover Space Shuttle. Its well worth the public transport hike (subway to Roslyn, bus to airport then local bus to museum) to get there and the view from the tower is amazing.

Great view you had of the ESB from your room.

pacenotes

There is some public transport but if you can drive! It was quite easy in the end.

The guy on the desk really spoilt us in the Raddison He really did bend over backwards for us when he heard we were on our honeymoon. But after looking at the forum here I knew some insider info about it changing to Hilton so we had a good chat while the booking was sorted.

nequine

I've never driven on the "wrong side" of the road so public transport it was for me. I will one day need to be brave and attempt it!

Getting extras in a hotel is nice even more so when its a honeymoon couple.

pacenotes

Before our holiday we got the NYC pass thinking it would save time getting tickets for each site. When we got to the Natural history museum and seen that the queue for the passes queue was longer than the normal queue that just set us up for the rest of the week.

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I’m sure many has seen it in the movies so we rushed around it.

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After a few hours of walking around we had enough. To be honest I learned a few things so was worth it. The amount of people though made it not a great experience.
We headed over to Central park and walked around for a bit.
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Wild Terrapins in the lake.

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For lunch we had booked into the Loeb Boathouse.

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We were early so took a seat at the bar.
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The whole reason for coming here is that When Harry met Sally is my wife’s favourite movie. Good food and a great view.

I had a beat salad.

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My wife had a tuna & avocado

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For main I had the scallops & corn.

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Whereas my wife had the seafood pasta.
 
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Everything was great, I went for the plate of cookies for pudd

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Great view but also great for people watching. Very interesting crowd most were New Yorkers with a few grandparents bringing grand kids out. (Tip for 20 year olds- If you’re out with your grandparents and they are spending a fortune on lunch for you put the phone down!!!)

Great sign when we were leaving.
 
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Walking further on we came across a radio controlled boat lake.

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$11 lighter later we had one for 30 mins. We were number 82.

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Very silly but after our lunch a great way to spend a half hour when still a bit pissed from lunch!

Later that night we headed to times square.

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We ended the night in a Champagne bar called the Flute. ( Note the address on google maps is not the right address!!)

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The group beside us were interesting, A boss had brought his whole team out but all we wanted to do was drink Whiskey fireballs. Even offering us a shot but had to decline as the champagne was a lot more up our street.
In the cab back we decided to try get up the Empire state building. We were through security in about 10 minutes. Great we thought our NYC pass would get us past the queue for tickets. No we had the wrong type of pass and had a 90 minute wait to get to the front of the queue so we turned around and left!

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The next morning we walked up to the New York public library.

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I have been informed this is where Carrie was told Big wasn’t going to marry her of Sex and the city fame.
Turns out most of it was closed so didn’t see much else 

We checked out Grand central but turns out I took rubbish photos

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So you will just have to visit to get how great it is. Such a lovely station.

We then headed over to Moma.
Some very interesting pictures. Here are a few notable ones.

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Only piece of art that has visited the moon.
 
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Then we visited Magnolia bakery.

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Then rushed over to Les Miserables.

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About to come off Broadway. It was the women’s who was sitting beside us 9th time seeing it. She should of saved her money and seen it in London. Very different to the London show. Different music and songs. Didn’t really enjoy it. Also huge queues for toilets.
After we had arranged to meet some of my wife’s distant family who live in NYC.
They brought us to a lovely French Bistro.

Where I had Lobster.

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Mussels & truffle for main.
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They had truffle salt all over the chips and it was sooooo good. Great dinner where the locals eat.

Tomorrow we take a helicopter trip around NYC!

offerendum

Wow! I envy you!