Washington DC

We jumped in the car for the surprisingly brief trip from Baltimore to Maryland, where we were staying with Paloma’s family friends. I cannot properly describe how kind and generous these people were. Charo, the delightful mother from Peru, gave us dinner even though we arrived late at night, and essentially adopted us for the next three days. Each day, after an extremely comprehensive and delicious breakfast, and with snacks from Charo in our bags, we headed into DC on the Metro for some sight-seeing. On day one, we took an Old Town Trolley Tour to help us get around the city’s monuments, getting off at the Lincoln memorial and the Korean and Vietnam War memorials. We also visited the Lincoln museum at Ford’s Theatre, where he was shot, although unfortunately the theatre itself was closed that day. In the evening, we went to a gig at a venue called Madam’s Organ which we could only describe as interesting. Stuffed dead animals lined the walls, ceilings and fixtures in the low light, with the spotlight turning on over the stage right before the gig to reveal a disturbing taxidermy goat suspended above it. I spent the whole performance slightly on edge that the vibrations from the music would make it fall on the stage and crush the highly energetic bass player under its unnaturally large scrotum. Aside from the bizarreness of the venue, the band – a sort of rock/blues act it seemed to me, though you’d have to ask the other two who are the experts – was pretty good. The second day we saw the Newseum, which included exhibits like the FBI and the press, the news coverage of 9/11, the Baby Boomer generation, the history of news, a world press freedom map and the Today’s Front Pages gallery featuring the day’s newspaper covers from around the world, but we were unable to cover the entirety of its six floors in the three hours we spent there. It was extremely interesting and I would definitely recommend a visit. Afterwards we saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives. After hunting down some cupcakes in Georgetown, we headed back early in anticipation of our eight-hour journey the next day, and spent the evening chatting to our hosts and feasting on delicious Peruvian chicken and rice. Special mention this time goes to Kip, the family’s little parakeet who was at his sweetest when snacking on almonds and cereal flakes. We didn’t have enough time in DC to cover even a tiny portion of the culture it has to offer, but getting a taste of the city has been enough to make me want to visit again and see the rest!