If I had to choose anywhere in the US to go, it wouldn't be here. I had to go to Baltimore for work to present at a conference, otherwise I wouldn't have gone. The conference was from 6-11 May and I'd planned for a couple of days in DC, so this is based on my experiences in Baltimore.

Nicknamed 'Charm City', I didn't see much in the way of charm but rather a lot in the way of racism. There were advertisements on the street for resturaunts and scrawled over them was "Smile! White is Beautiful!" despite a mostly black population in that area. I was hassled as I walked down the street (I move quickly, thankfully) and couldn't find a convenience store (or 7-11) that was open at 8pm on a Saturday evening. I guessed this was for safety rather than convenience.

The touristy areas of which I speak are centred around the Inner Harbor. here, you'll find the landmark Constellation, a large sailing ship which is permanently docked at the harbor for tours. Don't be surprised if you hear a shot - it's from the ship cannon! You can also jump on a water taxi from the Inner Harbor, these run to the area of Fells Point (good by day for shopping in 'Broadway' but not by night) and other surrounding areas. You have to tell the first mate where you're going because not all stops are made. Also, the National Aquarium is on the harbor. My advice is to go early in the morning, as it gets very busy. I went along the day before to get a timed pass for 9:15am (and not working - gasp!) and went along at 9am. this was a weekday, so I didn't expect it to be busy. It was empty as I went in, but mobbed by the time I left about two hours later. This was one attraction definitely worth seeing - a good pool of rays on entering, a diverse range of sealife (with an exhibition on seahorses when I was visiting) from the surrounding area and worldwide. On the top floor (of 3), there was a re-created rainforest with birdlife and insects. This was very impressive and the highlight of the centre.

The scientist in me also took me to the Science Center, located at the south end of the Inner Harbor. The science exhibits were poor, but the Imax cinema was fine. I saw a film on the wreckage of the Titanic and the research into it's demise. It was good, but the affiliated exhibition was much better. Normally, I like flashy exhibits with buttons to press and so on, but this one had it just right with a lot of information but also fun. I wouldn't recommend this to under 10's, though, as some of the exhibits were quite technical.

There were a lot of resturaunts in and around the touristy areas. The Hard Rock Cafe I've already mentionned, Planet Hollywood (10% off with ticket from Science Center), Fuddruckers (I kid you not), as well as more ethnic orientated eatieries. And yes, I did eat at Fuddruckers. I had to, jsut based on the name alone. They made 1lb beefburgers, but no, I didn't have one. I have a mere salad, which came in a bowl as big as a basin. I was then instructed to help myself to extras from the salad bar, including olives, chillis (I was tempted by the chillis but realised I was giving a poster presentation in an hour and didn't want to kill anyone with my breath) and, well, anything else you'd care to mention.

Baltimore is a simple city to get around. Like many others, it's based on a grid system, with rectangular blocks. I didn't experience any of the public transport, preferring to run everywhere, but a light rail system operates with about 5 stops downtown and runs out to the BWI airport. About 20 blocks north of the Inner Harbor, there is also a train station, Penn Station, which runs to D.C., New York and many other interstate destinations. This is in an undesirable area, but is nonetheless a nice building.

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As for the conference, it was good! My work had a lot of interest from small and international companies, and I got a handful of employment interests, including a company which wanted to fly me to Connecticut that day. I politely declined and so they want to fly me out from Glasgow soon. We'll see, eh?

*some of the ratings below do not apply as I was on business and therefore expenses, but I've tried to be as consistent as possible with what I expeienced as average.