December 18, Washington DC

It's amazing how two hotel beds can be so similar and yet so different. It's been a while since I slept in a sofa bed. In fact I think the last time would have been at Nanna's when I was around 8. The one in New York at the Beacon was very comfortable ... the one in Washington ... well, lets just say that I know where all the cross bars are!

After a somewhat long pickup last night at the Metro, it was decided that driving was a better way to get to Alexandria this morning. With minimal yelling at Chuck (the name of our 'navigator') we made it to old town Alexandria and parked. Alexandria is now kind of a suburb of Washington DC, but it was originally a colony of England, incorporated in 1695.

We walked down to the Potomac River, which was at high tide. So high in fact that the streets along the water front were flooding!

Flooding of the street

Next we went to the Torpedo Factory to visit the Archaeology Museum. The Museum was interesting, but more interesting were the art studios housed in the rest of the building. They ranged in size from around the size of a bedroom, to very large combined rooms, and there were heaps of artists working and selling their wares. Definitely worth a look.

From there we walked up King Street, peaking into stores (including one selling DC memorabilia. I was tempted by a sparkly 'First Lady' coffee tumbler!) heading to the Carlyle House.

This House was build in 1753 (or 1752) by John Carlyle. At the time it was the only stone building in the Colony. It played host to a number of important people, including George Washington. The really interesting part is that in the mid 1800s a hotel was built in the front yard, only a metre or two from the house. Completely hiding this important part of the history of Virginia. Slowly the house fell in to disrepair (it was used to house surgeons when the hotel was turned into a hospital in the Civil War).

In the 1970s the hotel was purchased, and ripped down and Carlyle House was restored. Now it's a fantastic piece of history. Entry costs $5 and we had a tour guide all to ourselves. Sue was very informative. All together the tour took around a hour, and the gift shop is also great.

Sue demonstrating how much the layout of the USA has changed.

During the tour they had talked about historic Gadsby's Tavern, and so we decided to head there for lunch. It was definitely a period experience, with the waitstaff wearing traditional costumes. The food was lovely. You could order 'soop' (Peanut soop no less!)  and a number of other traditional (I assume!) foods. I had a Chesapeake Bay Lump Crab Cake. Very nice.

We hurried through lunch as we could see the grey clouds banking up and walked up the hill to Christ Church. The cemetery is very picturesque. On entering the church we were offered a tour or the opportunity for prayer. We chose the latter, and wandered round the church exploring. The church is very different to churches back home. It reminds me of St Paul's Chapel in Manhattan. We found the pews that the Washingtons used, and the pew belonging to Robert E Lee.

After that we headed up Washington Street, to visit the Lee-Fendel Mansion. Which was closed. So we took some photos and took a slow walk back to the car.

Back at the hotel for dinner and a short Nanna Nap. Then we sorted out dinner ... thank goodness for hotels with restaurants. Although the quality of the food was a little dubious. Then it was time for some quality TV time, Full House style!